Jurors in Trump’s hush money trial zero in on testimony of key witnesses as deliberations resume
NEW YORK (AP) — The jury in former President Donald Trump’s New York hush money trial is to resume 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 will return Thursday. The jury asked to rehear testimony from a tabloid publisher and Trump’s former lawyer and personal fixer. The jurors also requested to revisit at least 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 | 2 soldiers are killed in a West Bank car-ramming attack, Israeli military says
The Israeli military says two soldiers have been killed in a car-ramming attack in the occupied West Bank. Violence in the West Bank has surged throughout the war in Gaza as Israel raids Palestinian towns in the territory to crack down on militancy, with incursions resulting in the deaths of more than 500 Palestinians. In the Gaza Strip, Palestinians in the border city of Rafah reported heavy fighting Wednesday. Israel’s military said it seized control of the entire length of Gaza’s border with Egypt. Fighting in Rafah has already spurred more than 1 million Palestinians to flee. They now seek refuge in other war-ravaged areas. The United Nations says they lack shelter, food, water and other essentials for survival.
The US-built pier in Gaza broke apart. Here’s how we got here and what might be next
WASHINGTON (AP) — A string of security, logistical and weather problems has battered the plan to deliver desperately needed humanitarian aid to Gaza through a U.S. military-built pier. Broken apart by strong winds and heavy seas just over a week after it became operational, the project faces criticism it hasn’t lived up to its initial billing or its $320 million price tag. U.S. officials say, however, that the pier is being repaired, then will be reinstalled and working again soon. Aid groups have mixed reactions, welcoming the aid yet calling the pier a distraction that takes pressure off Israel to open more land routes. The Biden administration has said from the start that the pier wasn’t meant to be a total solution.
14 pro-democracy activists convicted, 2 acquitted in Hong Kong’s biggest national security case
HONG KONG (AP) — Fourteen pro-democracy activists have been convicted in Hong Kong’s biggest national security case by a court that said their plan to effect change through an unofficial primary election would have undermined the government’s authority and created a constitutional crisis. After a 2019 protest movement that filled the city’s streets with demonstrators, authorities have all but silenced dissent in Hong Kong through reduced public choice in elections, crackdowns on media and the Beijing-imposed security law under which the activists were convicted.
Early results in South Africa’s election put ruling ANC below 50% and short of a majority
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Very early counts in South Africa’s national election have put the long-ruling African National Congress at just over 42% of the vote. It raises the possibility that it might lose its majority for the first time since it swept to power under Nelson Mandela at the end of apartheid in 1994. With only just over 16% of votes counted and declared, it was only a partial picture after Wednesday’s election. The final results of a vote that could bring the biggest political shift in South Africa’s young democracy were expected to take days. The independent electoral commission says they will be delivered by Sunday.
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.”
Papua New Guinea landslide survivors slow to move to safer ground after hundreds buried
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Traumatized survivors of Papua New Guinea’s massive landslide are hesitating to move to safer ground as the South Pacific island nation’s authorities prepare to use heavy machinery to clear debris and risk triggering another landslide. As many as 8,000 may need to be evacuated as the area where the collapse occurred last week gets further unstable. But officials say only 700 people have agreed to leave. A provincial official said people are reluctant to leave their homes. There are also cultural sensitivities about moving onto someone else’s land in an area where tribal warfare has been common.
A nurse honored for compassion is fired after referring to Gaza ‘genocide’ in speech
NEW YORK (AP) — A nurse was fired by a New York City hospital after she referred to Israel’s war in Gaza as “genocide” during a speech accepting an award. Hesen Jabr was being honored by NYU Langone Health for her compassion in caring for mothers who had lost babies when she drew a link between her work and the suffering of mothers in Gaza. Jabr said that Palestinian women are going through unimaginable losses “during the current genocide in Gaza,” She was fired the next time she reported for work. A spokesperson for NYU Langone said some of Jabr’s colleagues were upset by her comments.
At 100, this vet says the ‘greatest generation’ moniker fits ‘because we saved the world.’
HELEN, Ga. (AP) — Andy Negra Jr. proudly lays claim to being among the last of what is known as “The Greatest Generation.” The World War II veteran, who lives in Helen, Georgia, just turned 100. He was part of the 128th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, 6th Armored Division. His unit landed on Utah Beach in Normandy on July 18, 1944. He later fought in the battle to retake the important French Port city of Brest. And he served during the Occupation of Germany. His plans for the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion include a visit where he survived a strafing by German planes.
‘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.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
