Month: June 2023

By KEMO CHAM and SAM MEDNICK Associated Press FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) — Sierra Leoneans are heading to the polls on Saturday, June 24, to select their next president amid mounting frustration due to an ailing economy, rising unemployment and the loom of deadly protests. Experts say it’s likely to be a two-horse race between

By YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — For nearly three years, a harsh crackdown on dissent in Belarus by its authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko has filled the country’s penal colonies with thousands of political prisoners, with new arrests reported daily. At the same time, a government campaign has gotten rid of many independent

BERLIN (AP) — A majority of Swiss citizens on Sunday voted in favor of a bill aimed at introducing new climate measures to sharply curb the rich Alpine nation’s greenhouse gas emissions. Final results released by public broadcaster SRF showed that 59.1% of voters were in favor of the bill, while 40.9% voted against. The

By TIA GOLDENBERG Associated Press LOD, Israel (AP) — A relentless wave of violent crime within Israel’s Palestinian minority is turning cities and towns into bloody battlefields, exasperating a community feeling increasingly forsaken by Israeli authorities. Anger over the mounting insecurity is directed at Israel’s government and its ultranationalist minister in charge of police, Itamar

By LLAZAR SEMINI Associated Press SHENGJIN, Albania (AP) — Hundreds of Afghans are languishing in Albania, waiting for the U.S. visas they were promised, almost two years after fleeing the Taliban takeover of their country. For many, it’s an emotional roller coaster. Some try to find work and live with a semblance of normalcy but

GEORGE, Wash. (AP) — Two people were killed and three others injured after police said a shooter began firing “randomly” into a crowd at a Washington state campground that was hosting people attending a nearby music festival on Saturday night, police said. Authorities received the first report of the shooting shortly before 8:30 p.m. at

By MARK THIESSEN Associated Press ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The cruise ship with about 1,000 passengers anchored off Nome, too big to squeeze into into the tundra city’s tiny port. Its well-heeled tourists had to shimmy into small boats for another ride to shore. It was 2016, and at the time, the cruise ship Serenity

By MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — After appointees of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took over Walt Disney World’s governing district earlier this year, its firefighters were among the few employees who publicly welcomed them with open arms. But that warm relationship is in jeopardy as a new district administrator has reopened negotiations

By TRÂN NGUYỄN Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration has proposed an end to public disclosure of investigations of abusive and corrupt police officers, handing the responsibility instead to local agencies in an effort to help cover an estimated $31.5 billion budget deficit. The proposal, part of the governor’s budget

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rickie Fowler only had 3 1/2 feet left for par on what should have been his last shot Saturday in a U.S. Open round filled with far bigger moments. At stake was his first 54-hole lead in a major. Shockingly, he missed and slipped into

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — All 120 passengers and crew members aboard a Philippine ferry that caught fire at sea on Sunday were rescued safely and the fire was extinguished, the coast guard said. The M/V Esperanza Star caught fire at dawn while traveling from Siquijor province to Bohol province in the central Philippines with 65

CARSON, Calif. (AP) — A shooting at a Southern California home left eight people wounded, authorities said Saturday. KABC-TV reported authorities were dispatched shortly after midnight after the shooting occurred at a pool party in the city of Carson, south of Los Angeles. Victims were taken to hospitals, and two were listed in critical condition,

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Police have hunted down a velociraptor that was stolen from outside a South Dakota arts and science center. Sioux Falls police Sgt. Aaron Benson said Friday that a security officer spotted three people carrying the statue away from the Washington Pavilion and called police just after midnight. Surveillance video then

LEWISTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A state trooper and a suspect were killed Saturday in a shootout in central Pennsylvania, hours after the suspect seriously wounded another trooper, state police said. Police in Juniata County said a man engaged troopers at about 12:45 p.m. near the Lewistown barracks and shot one trooper, who was taken to

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Authorities say a man died of injuries after what a jail official called altercations and an escape attempt at the county jail. A Bernalillo County sheriff’s spokesperson said Friday that 34-year-old John Sanchez was taken off life support at University of New Mexico Hospital and the sheriff’s office is investigating his

By STEVE PEOPLES AP National Political Writer GARDNERVILLE, Nevada (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Saturday condemned Walt Disney World and the U.S. Justice Department — not his chief Republican rival, Donald Trump — as he courted Nevada Republicans deep in the heart of Trump country. The U.S. “is off the rails,” the Republican