Mexico awaits results in an election likely to choose the country’s first female president
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Polls have closed in an election that will likely give Mexico its first female president, but the heat, violence and polarization continued right through election day. People turned out to vote in the township of Cuitzeo, in the western state of Michoacán despite the fact that a town council candidate was shot to death by two hitmen aboard a motorcycle just hours before the election. Nearly 100 million people were registered to vote in the race to replace outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Voters were also electing governors in nine of the country’s 32 states, and choosing candidates for both houses of Congress, thousands of mayorships and other local posts.
Israel seeks a ‘governing alternative’ to Hamas in Gaza. It’s been tried and failed before
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s defense minister says Israel is looking into an alternative local governing body for Gaza, proposing a future beyond Hamas but giving no idea who those challengers might be. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s comments come at a time of new uncertainty in the eight-month war. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under growing pressure from many Israelis to accept a new cease-fire deal proposed by U.S. President Joe Biden, while far-right allies threaten to collapse his government if he does. One expert says Israel’s idea of building up a local alternative to Hamas in Gaza has been tried before and failed.
President Milei’s surprising devotion to Judaism and Israel provokes tension in Argentina and beyond
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — President Javier Milei of Argentina, who owns four clones of his dead dog Conan, has never been the most conventional occupant of Argentina’s highest office. Even so, his passion for Judaism has stood out. Seeking common ground between his vision of radical libertarianism and the prophecy of the Torah, Milei’s interest in Judaism morphed into a religious practice. Breaking decades of policy precedent, Milei has also gone further in his support of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government than any other world leader as Israel faces growing isolation over its campaign in Gaza. But Milei’s stance has generated fears and exposed fissures within Latin America’s biggest Jewish community and sparked diplomatic rows with Argentina’s left-wing neighbors.
Trump joins TikTok and calls it ‘an honor.’ As president he once tried to ban the video-sharing app
Donald Trump has joined TikTok, the video-sharing app he once tried to ban as president. He posted his first video from a UFC fight in New Jersey on Saturday night. That was two days after he had become the first former president in U.S. history to be found guilty on felony charges. In the video, Trump says “it’s an honor” and there is footage of him waving to fans and posing for selfies at the UFC fight. The video ends with Trump telling the camera: “That was a good walk-on, right?” By Sunday morning, Trump had amassed more than 1.1 million followers on the platform and the post had garnered more than 1 million likes and 24 million views.
Jury selection is beginning in gun case against President Joe Biden’s son
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Jury selection is set to begin this week in the federal gun case against President Joe Biden’s son after a deal with prosecutors fell apart that would have avoided the spectacle of a trial so close to the 2024 election. Hunter Biden has been charged with lying on federal gun-purchase forms when he said he wasn’t a drug addict. He has pleaded not guilty and has argued he’s being unfairly targeted by his father’s Justice Department, after Republicans decried the now-defunct deal as special treatment. Hunter Biden is also facing a separate trial in California in September on charges of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes.
Zelenskyy in Philippines to promote peace summit he says China and Russia are trying to undermine
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in the Philippines on a rare Asian trip to urge regional leaders to attend a Swiss-organized peace summit on the war in Ukraine that he accuses Russia, with China’s help, of trying to undermine. Zelenskyy arrived unannounced and under heavy security in Manila late Sunday after speaking over the weekend at the Shangri-La defense forum in Singapore. Zelenskyy had planned but failed to meet with Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Singapore so he decided to fly to Manila to personally invite Marcos to attend the summit in Switzerland. He was given a red-carpet welcome with military honors Monday at the presidential palace in Manila.
After crackdown on Hong Kong, overseas communities carry the torch to keep Tiananmen memories alive
HONG KONG (AP) — China has quashed large-scale commemorations of Tuesday’s 35th anniversary of Beijing’s Tiananmen Square crackdown within its borders. But outside the country, commemorative events have grown increasingly crucial for preserving memories of the 1989 bloodletting, in which government troops opened fire on pro-democracy protesters resulting in hundreds, if not thousands, dead. Over the past few years, talks, rallies, exhibitions and plays have emerged in the U.S., Britain, Canada, Australia and Taiwan. These activities foster hope and counteract efforts to erase reminders of one of the darkest chapters in modern China’s history. Hong Kong’s decades-old annual vigil that mourned those who died has vanished after enactment of a China-imposed security law.
Sally Buzbee steps down as executive editor of The Washington Post
NEW YORK (AP) — Sally Buzbee has stepped down after three years as executive editor of The Washington Post, one of journalism’s most storied brands. No reason was given for her departure. The paper recently hired a new publisher, Will Lewis, who has said the newspaper must take steps to correct a dramatic drop in digital subscriptions over the past few years. Lewis said Matt Murray, former editor in chief of The Wall Street Journal, will run the Post’s newsroom through the election this fall. After that, Robert Winnett, who is currently deputy editor of the Telegraph Media Group, will take over as the newspaper’s editor.
Border mayors heading to DC for Tuesday’s immigration announcement
McALLEN, TEXAS (AP) — At least two Texas border mayors are headed to Washington on Tuesday when President Joe Biden is expected to announce an executive order that will mark his latest and most aggressive plan to curtail the number of migrants allowed to seek asylum in the U.S. Mayors from Edinburg and Brownsville, Texas said they planned to attend, though the White House has not yet responded to comment on what other mayors were asked to go. The president is finalizing an executive order that could shut off asylum requests and automatically deny entrance to migrants once the number of people encountered by U.S. border officials exceeded a new daily threshold.
California firefighters continue battling wind-driven wildfire east of San Francisco
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California firefighters gained significant ground Sunday on a wind-driven wildfire that has scorched thousands of acres 60 miles (97 kilometers) east of San Francisco. The fire burned down one home and forced residents to flee the area near the central California city of Tracy. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said the fire started Saturday afternoon in the grassy hills managed by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, one of the country’s key centers for nuclear weapons science and technology. The research center was not under immediate threat from the blaze, which had devoured some 22 square miles by Sunday afternoon and was 50% contained.
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