Jury in Trump hush money trial resumes deliberations after rehearing instructions, testimony
NEW YORK (AP) — The jury in former President Donald Trump’s New York hush money trial has resumed deliberations after asking to rehear potentially crucial testimony about the alleged scheme at the heart of the history-making case. The 12-person jury met for 4 1/2 hours of deliberations Wednesday without reaching a verdict and returned to work Thursday. The jury reheard testimony from a tabloid publisher and Trump’s former lawyer and personal fixer. The jurors also revisited part of the judge’s instructions to them. Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records at his company. The presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee denies any wrongdoing.
The Latest | Slovenia moves to recognize a Palestinian state as Israel fights in Rafah
Slovenia’s government has endorsed a motion to recognize a Palestinian state and asked the parliament to do the same. Thursday’s move comes just two days after Spain, Norway and Ireland formally recognized a Palestinian state, which was condemned by Israel. In the Gaza Strip, Palestinians in the border city of Rafah reported heavy fighting Wednesday as Israel’s military widened its offensive in the south, seizing control of the entire length of Gaza’s border with Egypt. Beyond Rafah, Israeli forces are still battling militants in parts of Gaza that the military said it wrested control of months ago. It’s a potential sign of a low-level insurgency that could keep Israeli troops engaged in the territory.
Boeing tells federal regulators how it plans to fix aircraft safety and quality problems
Boeing has told federal regulators how it plans to fix the safety and quality problems that have plagued its aircraft-manufacturing work in recent years. The Federal Aviation Administration gave the company 90 days to produce a turnaround plan after one of its jetliners suffered a blowout of a fuselage panel during an Alaska Airlines flight in January. The deadline for submitting the plan is Thursday. Boeing also is the subject of multiple civil and criminal investigations from the panel blowout. Whistleblowers accuse the company of taking shortcuts that endanger passengers, a claim Boeing disputes. A panel convened by the FAA found shortcomings in Boeing’s safety culture.
Stuck at sea for years, a sailor’s plight highlights a surge in shipowner abandonment
The United Nations over the last decade has logged an increasing number of crew members abandoned by shipowners around the world. That’s left sailors aboard months and sometimes years without pay. More than 2,000 seafarers on some 150 ships were abandoned last year. The number of cases is at its highest since the U.N.’s labor and maritime organizations began tracking abandonments 20 years ago. The numbers spiked during the global pandemic and continued to rise as inflation and logistical bottlenecks increased costs for shipowners. And the problem shows no signs of abating.
Lab-grown meat isn’t on store shelves yet, but some states have already banned it
Lab-grown meat is not currently available in any U.S. grocery stores or restaurants. If some lawmakers have their way, it never will be. Earlier this month, both Florida and Arizona banned the sale of cultivated meat and seafood, which is grown from animal cells. In Iowa, the governor signed a bill prohibiting schools from buying lab-grown meat. Federal lawmakers are also looking to restrict it. It’s unclear how far these efforts will go. Some cultivated meat companies say they’re considering legal action, and some states shelved proposed bans after lawmakers argued they would restrict consumers’ choices. The U.S. first approved the sale of lab-grown meat a year ago.
One Tech Tip: Want to turn off Meta AI? You can’t — but there are some workarounds
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — If you use Facebook, WhatsApp or Instagram. you probably noticed a new character pop up — answering search queries, entering your group chats and eagerly offering tidbits of information in your feeds. It’s Meta AI, and it’s here to help, at least according to Meta, whose CEO Mark Zuckerberg calls it “the most intelligent AI assistant that you can freely use.” There is no button to turn off Meta AI on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger or WhatsApp. But if want to limit it, there are some (imperfect) workarounds.
North Korea’s trash rains down onto South Korea, balloon by balloon. Here’s what it means
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea floated huge balloons to dump trashes like manures, cigarette butts, scrap cloth pieces and waste batteries across rival South Korea. It’s an old-fashioned, Cold War-style provocation that the country has rarely used in recent years. Many experts say the balloon campaigning is meant to stoke a division in South Korea over its conservative government’s hardline policy on North Korea. They also say North Korea will also likely launch new types of provocations in coming months to meddle in November’s U.S. presidential election.
NRA can sue ex-NY official it says tried to blacklist it after Parkland shooting, Supreme Court says
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has cleared the way for a National Rifle Association lawsuit against an ex-New York state official over claims she pressured companies to blacklist it following the 2018 Parkland, Florida, school shooting. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote Thursday “the First Amendment prohibits government officials from wielding their power selectively to punish or suppress speech.” The NRA says ex-New York Department of Financial Services Superintendent Maria Vullo violated its free-speech rights while investigating NRA-endorsed insurance policies. The Supreme Court ruling reverses a lower-court decision tossing out the NRA’s suit against Vullo. The Fairfax, Virginia-based NRA says it’s “a landmark victory.” Vullo argues she rightly investigated NRA-endorsed insurance policies.
A violent, polarized Mexico goes to the polls to choose between 2 women presidential candidates
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico goes into Sunday’s election deeply divided: friends and relatives no longer talk politics for fear of worsening unbridgeable divides. Drug cartels have divided the country into a patchwork quilt of warring fiefdoms. The atmosphere is literally heating up, amid a wave of unusual heat, drought, pollution and political violence. It’s unclear whether Mexico’s next president — both major-party candidates are female — will be able to rein in the underlying violence and polarization. Soledad Echagoyen, a Mexico City doctor who supports President AndrĂ©s Manuel LĂłpez Obrador’s Morena party, says she can no longer talk about politics with her colleagues, noting “there have been personal attacks already.”
‘Star Trek’ actor George Takei is determined to keep telling his Japanese American story
TOKYO (AP) — The incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans, including children, who were labeled enemies during World War II, has traumatized and galvanized the Japanese American community over the decades. For George Takei, who portrayed Hikaru Sulu aboard the USS Enterprise in the “Star Trek” franchise, it’s a story he is determined to keep telling at every opportunity. Takei has a new picture book out about his family’s wartime experience, called “My Lost Freedom.” He says he fears the lessons about the failure of American democracy still haven’t been fully learned, even among Japanese Americans, and especially in younger generations.
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