At least 14 dead in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas after severe weather roars across region
VALLEY VIEW, Texas (AP) — Powerful storms have killed at least 14 people and left a wide trail of destruction across Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. The weather obliterated homes and destroyed a truck stop where drivers took shelter during the latest deadly weather to strike the central U.S. Seven deaths were reported in Cooke County, Texas, near the Oklahoma border, where a tornado Saturday night plowed through a rural area near a mobile home park, officials said. Storms also caused damage in Oklahoma, where guests at an outdoor wedding were injured. Tens of thousands of residents were without power across the region.
Hamas rocket attack from Gaza sets off air raid sirens in Tel Aviv for the first time in months
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas has fired a barrage of rockets from Gaza that set off air raid sirens as far away as Tel Aviv for the first time in months. The show of resilience came more than seven months into Israel’s air, sea and ground offensive. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Hamas’ military wing has claimed the attack. Meanwhile, aid trucks have entered southern Gaza under a new agreement while the key Rafah crossing remains closed because of Israel’s incursion in that city. But it’s not clear whether aid groups can access what’s now coming in via Kerem Shalom.
Here’s what every key witness said at Donald Trump’s hush money trial. Closing arguments are coming
NEW YORK (AP) — Testimony is over at Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York after a parade of 22 witnesses, including a porn actor, tabloid publisher and White House insiders. Prosecutors and Trump’s lawyers are scheduled to make their closing arguments on Tuesday. After that, it’ll be up to 12 jurors to decide whether prosecutors have proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Trump illegally falsified records at his company as part of an effort to keep embarrassing stories from becoming public during his 2016 presidential campaign. He’s pleaded not guilty. A conviction could come down to how the jurors interpret the testimony they heard and which witnesses they found credible.
In one North Carolina county, it’s ‘growth, growth, growth.’ But will Biden reap the benefit?
SILER CITY, N.C. (AP) — Just 81,000 people live in rural Chatham County in North Carolina, where there are more than 1,000 farms. But life is changing. The new Wolfspeed factory that overlooks I-64 will soon produce advanced wafers for computer chips. Automaker Vinfast is scheduled to open a factory next year. Both projects stem in large part from incentives that President Joe Biden signed into law. The Democrat has campaigned on how his policies helped pump hundreds of billions of dollars in private and federal investment into companies. But so far this election year, the investments haven’t significantly swayed a public concerned about inflation.
Over 670 people died in a massive Papua New Guinea landslide, UN estimates, as survivors seek safety
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The International Organization for Migration has increased its estimate of the death toll from a massive landslide in Papua New Guinea to more than 670. Serhan Aktoprak, the chief of the U.N. migration agency’s mission in the South Pacific island nation, said the revised death toll is based on calculations by Yambali village and Enga provincial officials that more than 150 homes were buried by Friday’s landslide. The previous estimate had been 60 homes and local officials had initially put the death toll on Friday at 100 or more. Only five bodies and a leg of a sixth victim had been recovered by Sunday.
Sunak’s plan to make 18-year-olds do national service grabs attention on UK election trail
LONDON (AP) — All 18-year-olds in Britain will have to perform a year of mandatory military or civilian national service if the governing Conservative Party wins the July 4 national election. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged to bring back a form of national service for the first time since 1960. Under the plan, a small minority of 18-year-olds would spend 12 months in the military. The rest would spend one weekend a month working for charities, community groups or public organizations. It was unclear how it would be made mandatory. Sunak is seeking to energize his election campaign after a faltering start. The opposition Labour Party dismissed the plan as a gimmick. Polls currently put Labour well ahead of the Conservatives.
National Spelling Bee reflects the economic success and cultural impact of immigrants from India
Since 1999, 28 of the last 34 Scripps National Spelling Bee champions have been Indian American. And most of those winners are the offspring of parents who arrived in the United States on student or work visas. The experiences of first-generation Indian Americans and their spelling bee champion children illustrate the economic success and cultural impact of the nation’s second-largest immigrant group. Many parents say they emphasize the value of education to their children because education was their pathway to the U.S. This year’s bee begins Tuesday at a convention center outside Washington and, as usual, many of the expected contenders are Indian American.
Grayson Murray’s parents say the two-time PGA Tour winner died of suicide
Grayson Murray’s parents say their 30-year-old son took his own life. Murray died on Saturday, one day after he withdrew from a PGA Tour event at Colonial. Eric and Terry Murray are asking for privacy and that people honor Murray by being kind to one another. His death comes at a time when Murray appeared to be on track with his life and his golf. He has been open about his struggles with mental health and alcoholism. He said when he won the Sony Open in January that he had been sober for the last eight months.
Why did the French Open cancel a farewell ceremony for Rafael Nadal? And why is he unseeded?
PARIS (AP) — The French tennis federation has decided to put off holding a ceremony to celebrate Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros this year. He has said this might not necessarily be his final appearance at the tournament he has won a record 14 times. Tournament director Amélie Mauresmo said on Sunday at the clay-court Grand Slam event that Nadal let officials know he didn’t want to close the door on a return before he told the world that at a pre-tournament news conference. Mauresmo said it is up to Nadal when he wants to have a ceremony. The unseeded Nadal will face No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev in the first round on Monday.
Indigenous community in the heart of Peru’s Amazon hosts film festival celebrating tropical forests
BELÉN, Peru (AP) — In the heart of Peru’s Amazon region, a poor Indigenous community put aside the trials and tribulations of everyday life and celebrated an international film festival with works from countries with tropical forests. Many who attended the 10-day event had never seen a movie on the big screen. Life in the community of Belén revolves around water. Houses and businesses are built on stilts because rains regularly lead to monthslong floods. Families own canoes to move around. So, members of the Muyuna Floating Film Festival set the screen on a 10-meter (33-foot) high wooden structure, allowing residents to enjoy the films from their canoes or the windows of their homes.
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