Helicopter carrying Iran’s hard-line president apparently crashes in foggy, mountainous region
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and other officials apparently has crashed in the mountainous northwest reaches of his country. It sparked a massive rescue operation Sunday in a fog-shrouded forest as the public was urged to pray. Raisi was traveling in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province. State TV said the crash happened near Jolfa, on the border with the nation of Azerbaijan. He had been at the inauguration of a dam. Iran under Raisi and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei launched an unprecedented drone-and-missile attack on Israel last month and has enriched uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels. Meanwhile, Iran has faced mass protests against its Shiite theocracy over an ailing economy and women’s rights.
Helicopter crash could reverberate across the Middle East, where Iran’s influence runs wide and deep
JERUSALEM (AP) — The apparent crash of a helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the country’s foreign minister and other officials is likely to reverberate across the Middle East. That’s because Iran has spent decades supporting armed groups in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and the Palestinian territories that allow it to project power and potentially deter any attack from the United States or Israel, the sworn enemies of its 1979 Islamic Revolution. Tensions have soared since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, and Israel and Iran directly traded fire for the first time ever last month.
Airstrike kills 27 in central Gaza and fighting rages as Israel’s leaders are increasingly divided
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli airstrike has killed 27 people in central Gaza, mostly women and children, and fighting again rages across the north. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces criticism from the two other members of his War Cabinet over the war that is now in its eighth month. Popular centrist War Cabinet member Benny Gantz has threatened to leave the government if a plan for Gaza, including a postwar vision, isn’t created by June 8. U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has met with Netanyahu to discuss a plan for Saudi Arabia to recognize Israel and help the Palestinian Authority to govern Gaza.
What we’ve learned so far in the Trump hush money trial and what to watch for as it wraps up
NEW YORK (AP) — Testimony in the hush money trial of Donald Trump is set to conclude in the coming days. The New York jury in the landmark case will determine whether it ends in a mistrial, an acquittal or the first-ever felony conviction of a former American president. Jurors have heard testimony about sex and bookkeeping, tabloid journalism and presidential campaigns. Their task will be to decide whether prosecutors who’ve charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records have proved their case beyond a reasonable doubt. Any verdict must be unanimous. Trump’s legal team hasn’t yet called witnesses, and it’s unclear what his lawyers will do when it’s their turn to present evidence.
Xander Schauffele wins first major at PGA Championship in a thriller at Valhalla
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Xander Schauffele has won his first major with a thrilling win at the PGA Championship. Schauffele made a 6-foot birdie putt on the last hole at Valhalla for a one-shot victory over Bryson DeChambeau. Schauffele set a major championship scoring record in the process. The Olympic gold medalist now has something even more valuable in silver. He gets to hoist the Wanamaker Trophy. Schauffele finished at 21-under 263, breaking by one shot the major record. Schauffele is the first player since Phil Mickelson in 2005 to birdie the last hole of the PGA Championship to win by one.
The Israel-Hamas war is testing whether campuses are sacrosanct places for speech and protest
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — Colleges and universities have long been protected places for free expression without pressure or punishment. But protests over Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza have tested that ideal around the world. Columbia University officials called the police after demonstrators who took over an administration building. UCLA looked more like a war zone as police scuffled with protesters in the darkness. Overseas, officials in Amsterdam and Berlin broke up demonstrations. The protesters want their schools to divest from Israel. Israel’s allies say the demonstrations are antisemitic and made campuses unsafe for Jews, with some wealthy donors threatening to withhold contributions.
Dominicans await results of general elections with eyes on crisis in neighboring Haiti
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Voters in the Dominican Republic have cast ballots in general elections likely to reinforce the government’s crackdown on its shared border with crisis-stricken Haiti. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled the violence-stricken nation. President Luis Abinader has built a Trump-like wall along his country’s border with Haiti and has carried out mass deportations of Haitians. Such policies have fueled accusations of human rights abuses but have also been highly popular among voters. Abinader is seeking reelection Sunday as one of the most popular leaders in the Americas. If he tops 50% of the vote, he will win another term without proceeding to a second round of voting.
Biden tells Morehouse graduates that scenes in Gaza from the Israel-Hamas war break his heart, too
ATLANTA (AP) — President Joe Biden has offered his most direct recognition of the anguish American college students are feeling over the Israel-Hamas war. Biden said during a commencement address Sunday at historically Black Morehouse College in Atlanta that he has heard the students’ voices of protest and that scenes from the conflict in Gaza break his heart, too. The speech, and a separate one he gave later in Detroit, are part of a burst of outreach to Black constituents by the president. Black support for Biden has softened since he was elected in 2020. There were scattered demonstrations over the war but the Morehouse ceremony was not disrupted.
Ed Dwight, America’s first Black astronaut candidate, finally goes to space 60 years later
VAN HORN, Texas (AP) — Ed Dwight, America’s first Black astronaut candidate, has finally made it to space 60 years later, flying with Jeff Bezos’ rocket company. The 90-year-old Dwight blasted off from West Texas with five other passengers on Sunday. Dwight was an Air Force pilot when President John F. Kennedy championed him as a NASA astronaut candidate. But he wasn’t picked. The trip made Dwight the record-holder for being oldest person in space. He eclipsed the record of “Star Trek” actor William Shatner, who flew in 2021. This was Blue Origin’s first passenger flight since a rocket crash nearly two years ago.
Diddy admits beating ex-girlfriend Cassie, says he’s sorry, calls his actions ‘inexcusable’
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sean “Diddy” Combs admitted Sunday that he beat his ex-girlfriend Cassie in a hotel hallway in 2016 after CNN released video of the attack, saying in a video apology he was “truly sorry” and his actions were “inexcusable.” The music mogul, who cannot be charged over the attack, said he takes full responsibility for his actions in a video statement posted to Instagram and Facebook. The video aired by CNN Friday shows Combs, wearing only a white towel, punching and kicking the R&B singer who was his protege and longtime girlfriend at the time. The footage also shows Combs shoving and dragging Cassie, and throwing a vase in her direction.
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