How Biden and Trump are taking very different approaches to preparing for next week’s debate
NEW YORK (AP) — President Joe Biden is beginning an intense period of private debate preparations at Camp David. His trip comes as officials in both parties scramble to set expectations for what may be the most consequential presidential debate in decades. Biden’s team notes he cannot afford an underwhelming performance against Donald Trump Thursday night. Trump’s allies are pushing the Republican to stay focused on his governing plans, but they’re expecting him to be tested by pointed questions about his unrelenting focus on election fraud and his legal baggage. Strategists on both sides agree on one thing: Nearly four months before Election Day, the political stakes could not be higher.
Israel’s pledge to guard an aid route into Gaza falls flat as lawlessness blocks distribution
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel has established a corridor for the delivery of aid into southern Gaza but a declared ‘tactical pause’ in its war with Hamas has brought little relief to desperate Palestinians. The United Nations and international aid organizations say a persistent breakdown in law and order has rendered the aid route unusable. Thousands of truckloads of aid are piled up at the Kerem Shalom crossing. Groups of armed Palestinians are regularly blocking convoys, holding drivers at gunpoint and rifling through their cargo. That’s according to a U.N. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.
The Putin-Kim summit produced an unusual — and speedy — flurry of glimpses into North Korea
The imagery from Pyongyang emerged quickly this week and was notable in its variety. It gave glimpses into North Korea in near-real time that showed its leader, Kim Jong Un, grinning and glad-handing with Russian President Vladimir Putin and showing him around the capital of one of the world’s least accessible nations. For those who watch the happenings of the Kim family’s three-generation rule, the coverage of the Kim-Putin meeting this week represented an extraordinary flurry of views into a nation where imagery that feels even remotely off the cuff is rare. The visuals were released only by the respective propaganda arms of each government.
Here’s the landscape 2 years after the Supreme Court overturned a national right to abortion
Two years after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the debate over abortion access is playing out in elections and the courts. The 2022 ruling has opened the door for implementing bans in most GOP-controlled states, and some of those bans are being litigated. One study has found the number of abortions by the end of 2023 was higher per month than it was before the court ruling. But the patterns are different, with many of them involving out-of-state travel or abortion pills shipped into states with bans. Abortion is on the ballot in four states this year and may be on the ballot in several more.
Ten Commandments law is Louisiana governor’s latest effort to move the state farther to the right
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Just months into office, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry has gained national attention for his push for groundbreaking conservative policies. This week the 53-year-old Republican signed the nation’s first law requiring that the Ten Commandments be posted in every public classroom — right on the heels of another new law classifying abortion pills as dangerous controlled substances. The moves and others have firmly embedded Louisiana in the conservative movement on practically every issue animating the Republican base in 2024. Democrats are appalled at the message Landry is sending but conservatives in Louisiana see the moves as a bold and powerful first step as he raises his national profile.
Border Patrol reports arrests are down 25% since Biden announced new asylum restrictions
WASHINGTON (AP) — Preliminary federal government figures show the number of people arrested by Border Patrol agents fell by 25% since President Joe Biden announced new rules restricting asylum access two weeks ago. The figures released Thursday by Customs and Border Protection are likely welcome news for a White House struggling to show to voters it has control of the southern border. Arrests also fell in May by 9%, making it the third-lowest month of Biden’s presidency. Troy Miller, the acting head of CBP, says the agency’s “enforcement efforts are continuing to reduce southwest border encounters.” The U.S. has also benefitted from aggressive enforcement on the Mexican side of the border.
As millions sweat out the heat wave, blocks of lake ice keep these campers cool
SQUAM LAKE, N.H. (AP) — A heat wave is moving closer to the breaking point from the Midwest to New England, but there’s no immediate relief in sight for much of the rest of the country. The National Weather Service says the heat and humidity could send heat index readings above 100 degrees in many locations, possibly breaking all-time records. At one campground in New Hampshire, guests were keeping cool using blocks of ice harvested months earlier from a frozen lake. They were packed in sawdust until now, a tradition workers have kept for more than a century. The Weather Service predicts another scorching weekend elsewhere, with triple-digit highs in California and Arizona.
Rain helps 1,000 firefighters slow big New Mexico blazes as Biden approves disaster relief
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — More than 1,000 firefighters are taking advantage of the weather to get the upper hand on a pair of fires in New Mexico that killed two people, destroyed hundreds of homes and forced thousands to flee. President Joe Biden issued a disaster declaration Thursday, freeing up funding and more resources as crews kept the flames from spreading. Their efforts got a boost Wednesday after a storm unleashed a curtain of rain and hail, and humidity levels and cooler temperatures persisted Thursday. An estimated 1,400 structures have been destroyed or damaged, and authorities say it’s too early to let residents back into the commuity to check on their homes.
Donald Sutherland, the towering actor whose career spanned ‘M.A.S.H.’ to ‘Hunger Games,’ dies at 88
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Sutherland has died at 88. Sutherland’s agents say he died in Miami on Thursday after a long illness. The Canadian actor’s career stretched from “M.A.S.H” to “JFK” to “The Hunger Games.” He was known for offbeat characters and epitomized the unpredictable, antiestablishment cinema of the 1970s. But over the decades, Sutherland shifted into a career as a respected character actor. He said he found more challenge in those roles. He never stopped working, ultimately appearing in nearly 200 films and series. He received an honorary Oscar in 2017.
Celebrations honor Willie Mays and Negro League players ahead of MLB game at Rickwood Field
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Fans came out to celebrate Willie Mays and other Negro Leaguers in several events and festivities around the historic Rickwood Field. Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, hosted its first Major League Baseball game between the Giants and St. Louis Cardinals. The game, which MLB called “A Tribute to the Negro Leagues,” was meant to honor the legacy of Mays and other Black baseball greats who left an enduring mark on the sport. The celebration started hours before the game and continued into the pregame ceremony.
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