Nation and world at a glance
6 Americans detained in South Korea
SEOUL, South Korea — Six Americans were detained Friday in South Korea for trying to send 1,600 plastic bottles filled with rice, miniature Bibles, $1 bills and USB sticks toward North Korea by sea, police said.
The Americans were apprehended on front-line Gwanghwa Island before throwing the bottles into the sea so they could float toward North Korean shores on the tides, two Gwanghwa police officers said. They said the Americans are being investigated on allegations they violated the law on the management of safety and disasters.
The officers, who requested anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak to media on the issue, refused to provide personal details of the Americans in line with privacy rules.
Gwanghwa police said they haven’t found what is on the USB sticks.
The U.S. Embassy in South Korea had no immediate public comment.
Flash floods in Pakistan kill 8
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Flash floods triggered by pre-monsoon rains swept away dozens of tourists in northwest Pakistan on Friday, killing at least eight people.
The nationwide death toll from rain-related incidents rose to 18 over the past 24 hours, officials said.
Nearly 100 rescuers in various groups rescued a total of 58 people and were searching for the missing tourists who were swept away while picnicking along the Swat River in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said Shah Fahad, a spokesman for the provincial emergency service.
J.M. Smucker plans to remove artificial colors
J.M. Smucker Co. plans to remove artificial colors from its products by the end of 2027.
Orrville, Ohio-based Smucker said Thursday it will also remove synthetic dyes from foods sold to K-12 schools by the 2026-2027 school year.
Smucker said the majority of its products – including its Uncrustables sandwiches – are already free of synthetic dyes. But some products still have them, including sugar-free jams and ice cream toppings.
Smucker said some products from Hostess, which it acquired in 2023, also contain artificial colors. Twinkies are made with Red 40 and Yellow 5, for example, while Snoballs snack cakes are made with Red 40 Lake, a dye combined with aluminum to keep it from dissolving in water.
Man pleads not guilty to hate crimes in Colorado attack
DENVER — A man accused of hurling Molotov cocktails at a group of people who were demonstrating in Boulder, Colorado, in support of Israeli hostages pleaded not guilty Friday to federal hate crime charges.
Mohamed Sabry Soliman was indicted earlier this week on 12 hate crime counts in the June 1 attack. He is accused of trying to kill eight people who were hurt by the Molotov cocktails and others who were nearby.
Magistrate Judge Kathryn Starnella noted that lawyers had acknowledged that a plea agreement in the case was possible later.
Investigators say Soliman told them he intended to kill the roughly 20 participants at the weekly demonstration on Boulder’s Pearl Street pedestrian mall. But he threw just two of his over two dozen Molotov cocktails while yelling “Free Palestine.”
The Associated Press
Nation and world at a glance
Oil rises, US stock futures slip
as markets react to US strikes
NEW YORK — The price of oil rose and U.S. stock futures fell as global markets react to the U.S. strike against nuclear targets in Iran.
The price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 2.6% to $79 a barrel. U.S. crude rose 2.6% to $75.76 a barrel. Futures for the S&P 500 fell 0.3%. Treasury yields fell slightly.
The modest moves indicate markets are taking the latest development in the conflict between Iran and Israel in stride.
Suicide bomber kills at least 22
in Greek Orthodox church in Syria
DWEIL’A, Syria — State media says a suicide bomber in Syria has detonated himself inside a church filled with people, killing at least 22.
The explosion in Dweil’a in the outskirts of Damascus took place Sunday as people were praying inside the Mar Elias Church. Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says there were 30 people wounded and killed, but the exact numbers are unclear. Some local media reported that children were among the casualties.
The attack was the first of its kind in Syria in years, and comes as Damascus under its de facto Islamist rule is trying to win the support of minorities.
Judge will order Abrego Garcia’s
release, but ICE plans to detain him
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A Tennessee judge plans to order Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s release from jail while he awaits a federal trial on human smuggling charges, but he is not expected to be allowed to go free.
Prosecutors at his June 13 detention hearing said that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement would take him into custody if he were released.
He could be deported before he has a chance to stand trial. Abrego Garcia is a citizen of El Salvador whose mistaken deportation has become a rallying point for opposition to President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
International Criminal Court asked
to probe allegations of war crimes
DAKAR, Senegal — The International Criminal Court has been asked to review a confidential legal report arguing that the Russia-linked Wagner group has committed war crimes by spreading images of apparent atrocities in West Africa on social media.
They include videos alluding to cannibalism.
The brief was seen exclusively by The Associated Press. Violence in the Sahel has reached record levels as military governments battle extremist groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. Governments have turned from Western allies like the United States and France and instead embraced Russia and its mercenary fighters as partners in offensives.
Fred Smith, 80-year-old founder
of FedEx Corp., dies in Tennessee
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Fred Smith, the FedEx Corp. founder who revolutionized the express delivery industry, has died, the company said. He was 80.
FedEx started operating in 1973, delivering small parcels and documents more quickly than the postal service. Over the next half-century, Smith, a Marine Corps veteran, oversaw the growth of a company that became something of an economic bellwether because so many other companies rely on it.
Memphis, Tennessee-based FedEx became a global transportation and logistics company that averages 17 million shipments per business day. Smith stepped down as CEO in 2022 but remained executive chairman.
Smith, a 1966 graduate of Yale University, used a business theory he came up with in college to create a delivery system based on coordinated air cargo flights centered on a main hub, a “hub and spokes” system, as it became known.
The company also played a major role in the shift by American business and industry to a greater use of time-sensitive deliveries and less dependence on large inventories and warehouses.
Russia offers to help in peace
effort to both Iran and Israel
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia) — President Vladimir Putin says he has secured Israel’s pledge to safeguard Russian personnel at Iran’s Russia-built nuclear power plant and that he has reached out to both sides to try to end the week-old war.
Addressing a variety of issues at a conference in St. Petersburg, Putin also warned Ukraine that it could lose more territory if it keeps rejecting Russia’s conditions for peace. Putin said Russia has proposed ideas for a possible settlement between Iran and Israel. He rejected allegations that Moscow has failed to back Tehran, saying the Kremlin has maintained good ties with both Iran and Israel. He noted that Israel is home to nearly 2 million people from Russia and other ex-Soviet nations.
Ukraine to get cold shoulder from
US at this week’s NATO summit
BRUSSELS — At summits after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, NATO welcomed President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with open arms. In Washington last year, it vowed to supply long-term security assistance and support Ukraine “on its irreversible path” to NATO membership. In 2023, a NATO-Ukraine Council was set up, and Kyiv’s membership path fast-tracked. The summit in the Netherlands starting Tuesday will be different. NATO’s most powerful member, the United States, is vetoing Ukraine’s membership. Zelenskyy is invited again, but he won’t be seated at NATO’s table. Ukraine is only likely to get a brief mention in this year’s summit statement.
The Associated Press
Nation and world at a glance
Columbia protester Khalil freed from his detention
JENA, La. — Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil has been released from federal immigration detention.
The former Columbia University graduate student left a federal facility in Louisiana on Friday after 104 days in custody. He said justice prevailed but was very long overdue.
Khalil was released after a federal judge said it would be “highly unusual” for the government to keep detaining a legal U.S. resident who was unlikely to flee and hadn’t been accused of any violence.
The Trump administration has filed notice it plans to appeal Khalil’s release. The government says Khalil must be expelled from the country because his presence could harm American foreign policy. His lawyers say the Trump administration is cracking down on free speech.
Judge: Trump cannot force
Harvard to bar foreigners
WASHINGTON — A federal judge has granted a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration’s efforts to keep Harvard University from hosting international students.
The order from U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs preserves the ability of Harvard to host foreign students while the case is decided.
It marks another victory for the Ivy League school as it challenges multiple government sanctions amid a battle with the White House.
Harvard sued the Department of Homeland Security in May after the agency withdrew the school’s certification to host foreign students and issue paperwork for their visas.
10 years past migration crisis,
fallout still felt in Greece
LESBOS, Greece — Amena Namjoyan arrived on the Greek island of Lesbos as part of a migration crisis that would rock the European Union.
She spent months in an overcrowded camp. She struggled with illness and depression. She moved to Germany but eventually returned to Lesbos.
She works at a restaurant, preparing Iranian dishes that locals devour. Islanders say this is part of Lesbos’ legacy, helping outsiders in need. The migration crisis peaked from 2015 to 2016, and 10 years later the fallout still reverberates on the island and beyond. Migration policy in Europe has shifted toward deterrence.
Far fewer people are arriving illegally. Officials and politicians maintain that strong borders are needed. Critics say enforcement has gone too far and violates fundamental EU values.
Judge asks if troops in LA
violate Posse Comitatus Act
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge held a brief hearing over whether the Trump administration should continue its deployment of troops to Los Angeles. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer Breyer on Friday put off issuing any additional rulings after an appellate court on Thursday gave President Donald Trump a key procedural victory, saying he can keep control of the National Guard during California’s legal challenge. Breyer instead asked for briefings from both sides by noon on Monday on whether the Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits troops from conducting civilian law enforcement on U.S. soil, is being violated in Los Angeles.
Food rations are halved
in Africa after US aid cuts
KAKUMA, Kenya) — More than 300,000 refugees in the Kakuma camp in remote Kenya have had their food rations cut in half. And now the monthly cash transfers to buy proteins and vegetables to supplement them are gone. Funding for the U.N. World Food Program has dropped after the Trump administration paused support in March.
It’s part of the widespread dismantling of foreign aid by the United States, once the world’s biggest donor. Some refugees are surviving on one meal a day. Some malnourished babies arrive too late at a local hospital and die within hours. Workers fear they will see more.
Trump stayed silent despite
his Juneteenth history
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump honored Juneteenth in each of his first four years as president, before it became a federal holiday. He even claimed once to have made Juneteenth “very famous.”
But on this year’s Juneteenth holiday on Thursday, Trump kept silent about a day important to black Americans for marking the end of slavery in the country he leads again. The president had been expected to issue a proclamation about Juneteenth but White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters she wasn’t tracking that. She declined to say whether Trump would recognize the occasion another way or on another day.
Supreme Court sides with
vaping firms against FDA
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is siding with e-cigarette companies in a ruling that’ll make it easier to sue over Food and Drug Administration decisions blocking their products from the multibillion-dollar vaping market. Friday’s opinion comes as companies push back against a yearslong federal regulatory crackdown on electronic cigarettes. It’s expected to give the companies more control over which judges hear lawsuits filed against the agency. R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. is based in North Carolina but sued in Texas, where other businesses affected by the FDA decisions are located. The justices ruled the other way on vaping in April, upholding a ban on most sweet-flavored vapes instituted after a spike in youth vaping.
The Associated Press
Nation and world at a glance
Federal immigration agents asked
to leave Dodger Stadium parking lot
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers organization says it asked federal immigration agents to leave the Dodger Stadium grounds after they arrived at a parking lot near one of the gates.
The team said the agents requested permission to access the stadium’s parking lot but they were denied entry and were asked to leave.
Local media reported dozens of federal agents with their faces covered arrived in SUVs and cargo vans to a lot near the stadium’s Gate E entrance. A group of protesters started amassing shortly after. By Thursday afternoon, only about four agents remained outside the stadium.
Some US restaurants and servers
oppose GOP’s ‘no tax on tips’ plan
Some segments of the U.S. restaurant industry don’t support President Donald Trump’s proposal to eliminate federal taxes on tips.
They say it would help too few people and obscure bigger issues in the way tipped workers are paid.
The Independent Restaurant Coalition, which represents nearly 100,000 restaurant and bars, has appealed to Congress to reconsider the proposal, which is part of the president’s spending bill. Even some workers who rely on tips say they oppose making them tax-deductible.
For now, making tips tax-free appears to have broad support among lawmakers. The House included it in a tax cuts package approved last month. The Senate Finance Committee passed a modified version on Monday.
Russia’s economy minister: nation
teeters on ‘the brink of recession’
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — Russia’s Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov says the country is on the brink of a recession. Reshetnikov delivered the warning Thursday at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, an annual event designed to highlight the country’s economic prowess and court foreign investors.
“Judging by the way businesses currently feel and the indicators, we are already, it seems to me, on the brink of going into a recession,” the minister was cited by the Russian business news outlet RBC as saying, The economy has outperformed predictions since imposition of a slew of sanctions after Russia sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. But it is unclear how long the militarized economy can keep going.
Greenpeace warns of environmental
disaster as two oil tankers collide
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Greenpeace has warned of a “potential environmental disaster” after two oil tankers collided near the Strait of Hormuz. Giant tankers ADALYNN and Front Eagle, crashed and caught fire in the Gulf of Oman on Tuesday before the Emirati national guard intervened to evacuate crew members. Satellite imagery from the crash site shows a plume of oil stretching to about 1,500 hectares.
England keeps interest rate unchanged
LONDON — The Bank of England has kept its main interest rate at the two-year low of 4.25% as fears grow that the conflict between Israel and Iran will escalate. The decision Thursday by the bank’s nine-member Monetary Policy Committee was widely anticipated. With U.K. inflation at 3.4%, policymakers were mindful of how the conflict in the Middle East will impact on oil prices, which have risen sharply in recent days to over $75 a barrel. The prevailing view at the bank was that inflation would remain high over the coming months but start to head back towards next year. The uptick in oil prices has the potential to offset that.
The Associated Press
Nation and world at a glance
G7 leaders fail to reach ambitious joint agreements
KANANASKIS, Alberta — Six of the Group of Seven leaders discussed Russia’s war in Ukraine and the Israel-Iran conflict but failed to reach major agreements on those and many other top issues — wrapping up a summit that was forced to try and show how the wealthy nations’ club might still shape global policy despite the early departure of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and his counterparts from the U.K., France, Germany, Italy and Japan were joined during Tuesday’s final sessions by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and NATO chief Mark Rutte.
But the gathered leaders adjourned without offering a joint statement on Ukraine and only released a modest one on Iran-Israel.
Los Angeles mayor lifts downtown curfew
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is lifting a curfew in downtown Los Angeles. Her announcement Tuesday comes after she first imposed the curfew June 10 in response to clashes with police, looting and vandalism amid protests against President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in the city.
Bass, a Democrat, says she is lifting the curfew following “successful crime prevention and suppression efforts.” On Monday she trimmed back the hours after a drop in arrests during evening demonstrations. She says the curfew protected stores, restaurants, businesses and residents from people engaging in vandalism and looting.
TV chef Anne Burrell who coached ‘Worst Cooks,’ dies
NEW YORK — TV chef Anne Burrell, who coached culinary fumblers through hundreds of episodes of “Worst Cooks in America,” has died.
The Food Network confirms that the 55-year-old Burrell died Tuesday at her New York home. Medical examiners are set to determine what caused her death. Burrell worked in upscale New York City restaurants before beginning her two-decade television career on “Iron Chef America.”
She started hosting “Secrets of a Restaurant Chef” in 2008. She was known for bold and flavorful but not overly fancy dishes and for her 27 seasons on “Worst Cooks in America.”
NYC mayoral candidate Brad Lander arrested
NEW YORK — New York City Comptroller and Democratic mayoral candidate Brad Lander has been arrested by federal agents at an immigration court after he linked arms with a person who authorities were attempting to detain.
A reporter with The Associated Press witnessed Lander’s arrest on Tuesday. The immigrant Lander escorted out of the courtroom was also arrested.
Lander was released from custody after a few hours after spending the morning observing immigration court hearings.
He told an AP reporter that he was there to “accompany” some immigrants out of the building. The episode occurred as federal immigration officials are conducting large-scale arrests outside immigration courtrooms across the country.
UK lawmakers vote to
decriminalize abortion
LONDON — British lawmakers voted to decriminalize abortion after a lawmaker argued it was cruel to prosecute women for ending a pregnancy. The House of Commons voted 379-137 on Tuesday on an amendment to a broader crime bill that would bar the prosecution of women who take steps to end their pregnancies at any stage. Tonia Antoniazzi, the Labour member of Parliament who introduced the amendment, said the change was needed because police have investigated more than 100 women for suspected illegal abortions over the past five years, including some who suffered natural miscarriages and stillbirths.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is
unlikely to testify
NEW YORK — Hopes that Sean “Diddy” Combs might testify at his federal sex trafficking trial have faded after his lawyer predicted a defense presentation lasting two to five days.
Defense lawyers made the estimate Tuesday when the judge asked how long their case would last. Prosecutors say they’ll rest Friday after presenting evidence for six weeks.
The judge says the jury could begin deliberations next week. The 55-year-old Combs has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges.
The judge also scolded prosecutors and defense lawyers on Tuesday, saying information about a closed court proceeding involving a juror last week was leaked to a media outlet.
Former Sen. Menendez
arrives at federal prison
NEW YORK — Former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez arrived at a federal prison on Tuesday to begin serving an 11-year sentence for accepting bribes of gold and cash and acting as an agent of Egypt.
The New Jersey Democrat has been mocked for the crimes as “Gold Bar Bob,” according to his own lawyer.
The federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed that Menendez was in custody at the Federal Correctional Institution, Schuylkill in Minersville, Pennsylvania.
The facility has a medium-security prison and a minimum-security prison camp. Given the white-collar nature of his crimes, it’s likely he’ll end up in the camp.
The prison is about 118 miles (190 kilometers) west of New York City.
It’s home to about 1,200 inmates, including ex-New York City organized crime boss James Coonan and former gas station owner Gurmeet Singh Dhinsa, whom the New York Post dubbed “Gas-Station Gotti” for his ruthless, violent ways.
Menendez, 71, maintains his innocence. Last week, a federal appeals court rejected his last-ditch effort to remain free on bail while he fights to get his bribery conviction overturned. A three-judge panel on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied his bail motion.
Pleading for leniency, Menendez told a judge at his sentencing in January: “I am far from a perfect man. I have made more than my share of mistakes and bad decisions. I’ve done far more good than bad.”
The Associated Press
Nation and world at a glance
GOP calls for deeper cuts to Medicaid including work requirements
WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans are proposing deeper Medicaid cuts, including new work requirements for parents of teens, as a way to offset the costs of making President Donald Trump’s tax breaks more permanent.
They are keeping in place an existing $10,000 annual cap on state and local tax deductions known as SALT. But they boost a tax credit for some seniors to $6,000. T
he proposals unveiled Monday by Republicans for Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” provide the most comprehensive look yet at changes the GOP senators want to make to the package approved by House Republicans last month. Republican leaders are pushing to fast-track the package by Trump’s Fourth of July deadline.
Federal jury finds MyPillow founder
defamed a former employee
DENVER — A federal jury in Colorado has found MyPillow founder Mike Lindell defamed a former employee for a leading voting equipment company. Jurors reached the verdict Monday for Lindell, one of the nation’s most prominent election conspiracy theorists.
He had called the employee for Dominion Voting Systems, Eric Coomer, a traitor. Lindell’s online media platform also streamed an event where a conservative podcaster accused Coomer of helping rig the 2020 election.
During the trial in Denver, Lindell denied making any statements he knew to be false about Coomer. Coomer said his career and life have been destroyed as a result of the statements. Coomer’s lawyers said Lindell either knew the statements were lies, or conveyed them recklessly without knowing if they were true.
Jurors see clips of ‘freak-off’ sex marathons central to charges
NEW YORK — Jurors at Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking trial have viewed videos of the “freak-off” sex marathons at the heart of the case. Brief clips of three videos were available for viewing Monday only by jurors, the judge and lawyers because of their explicit nature.
Combs listened through headphones as the videos were shown. Defense lawyers have said the videos prove that Combs was engaging in consensual sex rather than committing crimes. He has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges.
After six weeks of witnesses and evidence, prosecutors said they plan to rest on Wednesday. After that, Combs’ lawyers said they’ll start calling witnesses.
The Trump family’s next venture is reportedly a mobile phone company
NEW YORK — The Trump family company says it’s launching a mobile phone company, the latest in a string of ventures that have been announced while Donald Trump is in the White House.
Eric Trump, one of President Trump’s sons, said Monday that the new company would build its own phones and maintain a call center in the U.S.
The new business follows several real estate deals for towers and resorts in the Middle East, including a golf development in Qatar announced in April, and a $1.5 billion partnership to build golf courses, hotels and real estate projects in Vietnam.
Poll shows Catholics excited about new leader in Pope Leo XIV
WASHINGTON — A new AP-NORC poll finds that just over a month after Pope Leo XIV became the first U.S.-born pontiff, American Catholics are feeling excited about their new religious leader. About two-thirds of American Catholics have a “very” or “somewhat” favorable view of Pope Leo, according to the new survey, while about 3 in 10 don’t know enough to have an opinion.
Very few Catholics — less than 1 in 10 — view him unfavorably.
Among Americans overall, plenty of people are still making up their minds about Pope Leo. But among those who do have an opinion, feelings about the pope are overwhelmingly positive.
The Associated Press
Nation and world at a glance
Trump vetoed Israeli plan to kill
Iran’s supreme leader, official says
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump vetoed a plan presented to the U.S. in recent days to kill Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter.
The Israelis informed the Trump administration in recent days that it had developed a credible plan to kill Khamenei.
After being briefed on the plan, the White House made clear to Israeli officials that Trump was opposed to the Israelis making the move. That’s according to the official, who was not authorized to comment on the sensitive matter.
Remains of Air India crash victims
are handed over to relatives
AHMEDABAD, India — Indian authorities have started handing over remains of the victims of one of India’s worst aviation disasters after identifying some through DNA tests.
The Air India flight crashed shortly after takeoff Thursday and killed at least 270 people, including 29 on the ground, in the northwestern city of Ahmedabad. One passenger survived.
Hundreds of relatives of the crash victims have provided DNA samples at the hospital. Most of the bodies were charred or mutilated, making them unrecognizable. Among the passengers, 169 were Indians, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese and one Canadian.
G7 leaders gather in Canada for
summit overshadowed by crises
KANANASKIS, Alberta — Leaders of some of the world’s biggest economic powers arrive in the Canadian Rockies for a Group of Seven summit that’s been shadowed by an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran and U.S. President Donald Trump’s unresolved trade war. Israel’s strikes on Iran and Tehran’s retaliation appeared to catch many world leaders unawares. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has decided to abandon the annual practice of issuing a joint statement. With other leaders wanting to talk to Trump in an effort to talk him out of slapping tariffs, the summit risks being a series of bilateral conversations rather than a show of unity.
Justice Department’s early moves
on voting and elections signal shift
ATLANTA — The Trump administration’s Justice Department has begun targeting Democratic and presidential swing states with demands for election data or changes to voter registration procedures.
While the requests may seem technical and mundane, collectively they suggest the department is moving away from its traditional stance of protecting access to the ballot box. Instead, the actions address concerns that have been raised by a host of conservative activists following years of false claims surrounding elections in the U.S. By targeting certain states — presidential battlegrounds or those controlled by Democrats — they also could be foreshadowing an expanded role for the department in future elections.
Residents turn water guns on visitors
in Barcelona to protest mass tourism
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Water guns are back squirting at unsuspecting tourists in Barcelona. About a thousand Spaniards marched to demand a rethink of an economic model they believe is fueling a housing crunch and erasing the character of their city on Sunday. Several toted squirt guns and shot at would-be foreign visitors. Similar scenes took place when around 2,000 people rallied on the Spanish island of Mallorca. The marches were part of a coordinated effort by activists concerned with the ills of overtourism across southern Europe’s top destinations, including Venice, Italy and Portugal’s capital of Lisbon.
The Associated Press
Nation and world at a glance
Trump’s new travel ban to begin
as tensions escalate over immigration
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s new ban on travel to the United States by citizens from 12 mainly African and Middle Eastern countries is set to take effect today.
The ban comes amid escalating tension over the president’s unprecedented campaign of immigration enforcement. Trump signed the new proclamation June 2.. It applies to citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
It also imposes heightened restrictions on people from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela who are outside the U.S. and don’t hold a valid visa.
Russia awaits Ukraine’s confirmation
on planned exchange of dead fighters
Russian officials say that Moscow is still awaiting confirmation from Kyiv on a planned exchange of 6,000 bodies of soldiers killed in action. Russia is accusing Ukraine of delaying the process. Russian negotiator Lt. Gen. Alexander Zorin said Sunday that Russia delivered 1,212 bodies of Ukrainian troops to a border site. Zorin said that the Russians are receiving “signals” that the transfer may be postponed until next week.
The swap was agreed on during direct talks in Istanbul. But both sides have since accused each other of undermining the plan. Ukraine has denied a date was agreed upon and accused Russia of manipulating facts and submitting incorrect repatriation lists.
Trump officials are vowing to end
school desegregation orders in US
FERRIDAY, La. — Six decades after the federal government ordered Concordia Parish to desegregate its schools, the district remains racially divided.
Black students make up more than 92% of Ferriday High School, while 15 minutes away, Vidalia High is 62% white.
Yet state and local officials say it’s time to free Concordia Parish and other districts from court-ordered desegregation orders dating back decades.
In a shift that reverses decades of policy, they have allies in the federal government. The Trump administration has vowed to lift more desegregation plans from the 1960s. Civil rights activists say it would leave families with little recourse when they face discrimination.
Chinese hackers and user lapses turn
smartphones into ‘security crisis’
WASHINGTON — Hackers tied to China’s government have tried repeatedly to access the phones of prominent Americans, part of Beijing’s sprawling cyberespionage efforts. Smartphones and other mobile devices present significant national security and cybersecurity risks, as foreign government hackers exploit vulnerabilities in mobile networks and apps to spy on people and steal secrets.
And people’s careless use of mobile devices to share sensitive information is another concern. National security experts say that mobile security hasn’t kept up as mobile devices and networks have proliferated, making them a significant vulnerability in the nation’s cyber defenses.
Ex-police chief and convicted killer
who escaped prison is captured
A former police chief and convicted killer known as the “Devil in the Ozarks” has been captured after he escaped from prison, triggering a massive, nearly two-weeks-long manhunt in the mountains of northern Arkansas. Grant Hardin was serving lengthy sentences for murder and rape. He previously served as police chief in the small town of Gateway near the Arkansas-Missouri border. A spokesperson for the Arkansas prison system says Hardin briefly attempted to run from officers when he saw them approach, but he was quickly tackled to the ground. Hardin had been held at the Calico Rock prison since 2017 after pleading guilty to first-degree murder.
Police probe if ‘King of Hill’ actor’s
sexual orientation had role in killing
HOUSTON — Authorities in Texas say investigators are looking into whether the sexual orientation of “King of the Hill” voice actor Jonathan Joss played a role in his shooting death. Joss’ husband has claimed the person who killed the actor yelled “violent homophobic slurs” before opening fire outside his home in San Antonio last Sunday night
A day after the shooting, however, San Antonio police issued a statement saying they had found “no evidence whatsoever to indicate that Mr. Joss’ murder was related to his sexual orientation.”
World Pride celebrations end with
defiant politics on display in DC
WASHINGTON — After the raucous rainbow-hued festivities of Saturday’s parade, the final day of World Pride 2025 in the nation’s capital Sunday kicked off on a more downbeat note.
Thousands gathered under grey skies Sunday morning at the Lincoln Memorial for a rally and protest march, as the community gathers its strength for a looming fight under President Donald Trump’s second administration.
The speeches didn’t just target the Trump administration or the Republican party. Some turned their ire on Democratic politicians, who they say have wilted under the pressure of Republican control of the White House and both houses of Congress.
The Associated Press
Nation and world at a glance
Abrego Garcia returned to US,
charged with transporting people
WASHINGTON — Kilmar Abrego Garcia has been charged by the Trump administration with transporting people who were in the country illegally.
The federal charges unsealed Friday stem from a traffic stop in 2022. The charges allege that Abrego Garcia conspired to bring undocumented immigrants to the U.S. from Guatemala, El Salvador and other countries. The indictment also states that Abrego Garcia was an MS-13 gang member. Abrego Garcia has never been charged with being in MS-13 and has denied membership in the gang. A judge in Nashville, Tennessee, determined that Abrego Garcia will be held in custody until at least next Friday, when there will be an arraignment and detention hearing.
Trump administration asks court
to keep Eduation Department layoffs
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to pause a court order to reinstate Education Department employees who were fired in mass layoffs as part of President Donald Trump’s plan to dismantle the agency.
The Justice Department’s emergency appeal to the high court Friday said U.S. District Judge Myong Joun in Boston exceeded his authority last month when he issued a preliminary injunction reversing the layoffs of nearly 1,400 people and putting the broader plan on hold. Joun’s order has blocked one of Trump’s biggest campaign promises and effectively stalled the effort to wind down the department.
A federal appeals court refused to put the order on hold while the administration appealed.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ ex-girlfriend
sobs in court, saying he ignored pleas
NEW YORK — Sean “Diddy” Combs’ recent ex-girlfriend is back on the witness stand testifying about how he allegedly pressured her to take part in drug-fueled sex marathons.
The woman is using the pseudonym “Jane” at Combs’ sex trafficking trial in New York as she testifies for a second day Friday. Combs has pleaded not guilty to running his business empire as a racketeering enterprise that enabled the abuse of women.
Jane sobbed on Friday as she testified that Combs ignored her when she signaled she wanted to stop the sex encounters. She said felt obligated to participate, as Combs paid her rent and controlled many parts of her life.
Measles outbreaks in Michigan, Pa.
end, while Texas logs 4 new cases
The U.S. is up to 1,168 confirmed measles cases this year. Texas added four cases in the past week, which shows continued slowing in its outbreak.
Health officials in Pennsylvania and Michigan declared their outbreaks over.
Two elementary school-aged children and an adult have died from measles-related illnesses this year. Other states with active outbreaks include Colorado, Kansas, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Ohio, and Tennessee. Measles is caused by a highly contagious virus that’s airborne. It is preventable through vaccines, and has been considered eliminated from the U.S. since 2000.
Federal vs. state power at issue
over Trump’s election executive order
BOSTON — Democratic state attorneys general are seeking to block President Donald Trump’s proposal for an overhaul of U.S. elections in a case that tests a constitutional bedrock — the separation of powers.
The top law enforcement officials from 19 states filed a federal lawsuit after the Republican president signed the executive order in March, arguing its provisions would step on states’ power to set their own election rules. During a Friday hearing in federal court in Boston, lawyers for the states argued the changes outlined in the order could not be implemented before the next election and could cost California alone $1 million just to update its voter registration database. Trump administration lawyers say any enforcement actions haven’t been decided.
Republicans urge Donald Trump
and Elon Musk to end their feud
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk are showing no signs of reconciling on Friday, but Republicans are increasingly urging them to settle their dispute.
They know what’s at stake — a massive tax and border spending bill from the Republican Party that Musk has been railing against for days. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas says he hopes “that both of them come back together.” Still, the feud between Trump and Musk is probably best described as a moving target.
One person familiar with the president’s thinking says Musk wants to speak with Trump, but that the president doesn’t want to do it — or at least, not on Friday.
Appeals court hands AP loss in try
to regain its access to Trump events
A three-judge appeals court panel ruled against The Associated Press in its continuing bid to restore full access to covering events involving President Donald Trump. The panel granted the president a stay of a lower-court ruling that he had improperly punished the AP for the content of its speech — in this case not renaming the Gulf of Mexico to Trump’s liking. Two judges at the U.S. Court of Appeals agreed with Trump’s contention that a president has the discretion to invite whatever reporters he wants to cover him in small spaces like the Oval Office, Air Force One or Mar-a-Lago.
The Associated Press
Nation and world at a glance
Ukraine undergoes Russian missile,
drone attack that wounds at least 3
KYIV, Ukraine — Officials say Ukraine was under an ongoing Russian ballistic missile and drone attack early Friday that wounded at least three people.
Multiple explosions were heard in the capital, Kyiv, where falling debris sparked fires across several districts as air defense systems attempted to intercept incoming targets.
Three people were wounded, local officials said. They urged residents to seek shelter. Authorities reported damage in several districts, and rescue workers were responding at multiple locations. In northern Chernihiv region, a Shahed drone exploded near an apartment building, shattering windows and doors, according to the regional military administration chief. He added that explosions from ballistic missiles were also recorded on the outskirts of the city.
Man accused of yelling ‘Free Palestine’
is charged with attempted murder
BOULDER, Colo. — A man accused of yelling “Free Palestine” and throwing Molotov cocktails at demonstrators calling for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza has been charged with 118 counts including attempted murder.
Mohamed Sabry Soliman has been jailed since his arrest following Sunday’s attack in Colorado. He was advised of the charges during a court hearing in Boulder on Thursday.
The 118 counts include attempt to commit murder, assault in the first and third degrees, use of explosive or incendiary devices and animal cruelty. He has also been charged with a hate crime in federal court. Soliman’s attorney waived a formal reading of the charges.
Harvard files legal challenge over
Trump’s ban on foreign students
Harvard University is challenging President Donald Trump’s move to block foreign students from coming to the United States to attend the Ivy League school, calling it illegal retaliation for Harvard’s rejection of White House demands.
In an amended complaint filed Thursday, Harvard called the president’s action an end-run around a previous court order. Last month, a federal judge blocked the Department of Homeland Security from revoking Harvard’s ability to host foreign students.
The filing attacks Trump’s legal justification for the action — a federal law allowing him to block a “class of aliens” deemed detrimental to the nation’s interests.
Leader Netanyahu says Israel has
‘activated’ anti-Hamas Palestinians
JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel has “activated” some clans of Palestinians in Gaza that are opposed to Hamas, though it was not immediately clear what role they would play.
His comments Thursday were the first public acknowledgment of Israel’s backing for armed Palestinian groups within Gaza, based around powerful families. In a video posted to his X account, Netanyahu said the government made the move on the advice of “security officials” in order to save lives of Israeli soldiers.
The announcement came hours after a political opponent criticized him for arming unofficial groups of Palestinians in Gaza. One group’s media office said in response to emailed questions that it operates in Israeli military-controlled areas for a “purely humanitarian” reason.
Mass. student arrested on way to
volleyball practice has been released
CHELMSFORD, Mass. — A Massachusetts high school student who was arrested by immigration agents on his way to volleyball practice has been released from custody. An immigration judge granted Marcelo Gomes da Silva a $2,000 bond Thursday.
Eighteen-year-old Gomes da Silva, who came to the U.S. from Brazil at age 7, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents Saturday. Authorities have said the agents were looking for the Milford High School teen’s father, who owns the car Gomes da Silva was driving at the time and had parked in a friend’s driveway. Authorities said that although they never intended to apprehend him, he was found to be in the U.S. illegally.
The Associated Press
Nation and world at a glance
Immigration officials detain
family of suspect in attack
BOULDER, Colo. — Federal officials say the wife and five children of a man accused of throwing Molotov cocktails at demonstrators in Boulder have been taken into custody. The White House said in a post on X Tuesday that the family of Mohamed Sabry Soliman could be deported as early as Tuesday night.
Authorities say Soliman, an Egyptian national who has been living in the U.S. illegally, had 18 Molotov cocktails but threw just two during Sunday’s attack in which he yelled “Free Palestine.” Police wrote in an affidavit that Soliman didn’t carry out his full plan “because he got scared and had never hurt anyone before.” Soliman faces federal hate crime and state attempted murder charges.
Outspoken liberal leader Lee
elected S. Korea’s president
SEOUL, South Korea — Liberal opposition candidate Lee Jae-myung has been elected president of South Korea. South Korean media outlets including Yonhap news agency and SBS television station report early Wednesday that Lee has won the election.
The main conservative candidate Kim Moon Soo earlier conceded defeat. The victory caps months of political turmoil triggered by the stunning but brief imposition of martial law by now-ousted conservative leader Yoon Suk Yeol.
Russian rockets kill four in Ukraine; bridge damaged
KYIV, Ukraine — A Russian rocket attack targeted the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy, killing at least four people and wounding 25. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denounced Tuesday’s assault, saying it underscored that Moscow has no intentions of halting the 3-year-old war.
The attack came a day after direct peace talks in Istanbul made no progress on ending the fighting. Local authorities said the barrage of rockets struck apartment buildings and a medical facility in the center of Sumy.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s secret services said they struck inside Russia again, two days after a spectacular Ukrainian drone attack on air bases deep inside the country.
Gaza officials: Israel troops
killed 27 heading to aid site
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Palestinian health officials and witnesses say 27 people are dead after Israeli forces opened fire as people headed toward an aid distribution site.
It was the third such shooting in three days. The army says it fired “near a few individual suspects” who left the designated route, approached its forces and ignored warning shots Tuesday. The near-daily shootings have occurred after an Israeli and U.S.-backed foundation established aid distribution points inside Israeli military zones.
It says the system is designed to circumvent Hamas. The United Nations says the new system doesn’t address Gaza’s mounting hunger crisis and allows Israel to use aid as a weapon.
New Orleans jail escapee
releases series of videos
NEW ORLEANS — A man who identifies himself as New Orleans jail escapee has released videos on social media while still on the run from authorities. A senior law enforcement official says authorities were so convinced the videos were authentic that they searched a home late Monday where they believe escapee Antoine Massey recorded them.
The official said Massey wasn’t in the home, but some clothes he apparently wore during filming were found there. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation into the May 16 breakout by 10 inmates. Eight have since been recaptured.
Arkansas authorities release
photo rendering of ‘Devil’
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas authorities have released a photo rendering of a convicted murderer and former police chief known as the “Devil in the Ozarks” who escaped from prison. The Arkansas Department of Corrections said Tuesday the rendering shows what 56-year-old Grant Hardin may look like more than a week after his escape from the Calico Rock prison.
Hardin was serving sentences for rape and murder when he escaped May 25. Authorities have said he donned an outfit designed to look like a law enforcement uniform. Police continued to search the north-central Arkansas region for Hardin.
US prisons must provide
hormone therapy to inmates
WASHINGTON — A judge says the federal Bureau of Prisons must keep providing hormone therapy to hundreds of transgender inmates following an executive order signed by President Donald Trump that led to a disruption in medical treatment. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth in Washington said Tuesday a federal law prohibits prison officials from arbitrarily depriving inmates of medications the bureau’s own medical staff deems appropriate.
The judge says the transgender inmates who sued to block Trump’s order are trying to lessen the anguish caused by their gender dysphoria.
Hegseth orders name of gay activist scrubbed from ship
WASHINGTON — U.S. officials say Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the Navy to rename the USNS Harvey Milk in a highly rare move. The ship was named after the slain gay rights activist who served as a sailor during the Korean War. The officials say Navy Secretary John Phelan put together a small team to rename the replenishment oiler, and that a new name is expected this month. It marks the latest move by Hegseth to purge diversity, equity and inclusion references, and it comes during Pride Month. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. Phelan’s office didn’t respond to requests for comment.
The Associated Press