Three days after attempted assassination, Trump shooter remains an elusive enigma
BETHEL PARK, Pa. (AP) — Three days after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, the 20-year-old man who came close to killing the former president remains an enigma. Neighbors describe Thomas Matthew Crooks as an intelligent loner with few friends who left a vanishingly thin social media footprint and no hint of strong political beliefs. Even his cellphone bore few clues after the FBI accessed its contents, frustrating investigators’ efforts to identify a potential motive. Classmates at Bethel Park High School said Crooks was smart but standoffish, often seen wearing headphones and preferring to sit alone at lunch looking at his phone.
Unity at the RNC, knocks on Trump’s prosecutions and Senate politics: Takeaways from day 2
MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Republican National Convention marched into its second day Tuesday, showcasing classic GOP themes like border security and public safety that have become the centerpieces of former President Donald Trump’s campaign. With Trump’s primary rivals speaking, it was also an occasion for the GOP to demonstrate its unity, a sharp contrast to the Democratic party’s mounting concerns over the viability of President Joe Biden.
Biden aims to cut through voter disenchantment as he courts Latino voters at Las Vegas conference
LAS VEGAS (AP) — President Joe Biden is courting disenchanted voters key to his reelection chances. He’ll be meeting with members of a Latino civil rights organization in the battleground state of Nevada on Wednesday. And at the UnidosUS conference in Las Vegas, he will announce that beginning Aug. 19, certain U.S. citizens’ spouses without legal status can begin applying for permanent residency and eventually citizenship without having to first depart the country. The program could affect upwards of half a million immigrants. The president’s visit with Latino activists comes as Republicans are hosting their national convention in Milwaukee.
As Gaza’s doctors struggle to save lives, many lose their own in Israeli airstrikes
BEIRUT (AP) — Israel’s 9-month-old war with Hamas in Gaza has decimated the territory’s medical system. It has not only wreaked physical destruction on hospitals and health facilities, it has devastated Gaza’s medical personnel. The U.N. says more than 500 health care workers have been killed since October. One of those killed was Dr. Hassan Hamdan, a plastic surgeon who specialized in wound reconstruction. An Israeli airstrike killed him earlier this month, along with his wife, son, two daughters, a daughter-in-law, a son-in-law, six grandchildren and one other person, as his family sheltered in their home in an Israeli-declared “safe zone.”
Ukraine faces twin challenges of fighting Russia and shifting political sands in the US
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — After almost 30 months of war with Russia, Ukraine’s difficulties on the battlefield are mounting even as its vital support from the United States is increasingly at the mercy of changing political winds. A six-month delay in military assistance from the U.S., the biggest single contributor to Ukraine, opened the door for a push on the front line by the Kremlin’s forces. Ukrainian troops are now laboring to check the gains by Russia’s bigger and better-equipped army. The next two or three months will likely be the hardest this year for Ukraine, says Michael Kofman of the Carnegie Endowment. Lurking in the background is another nagging worry: How long will the Western political and military support critical for Ukraine’s fight endure?
UK’s new Labour government says it will turn the page on cost-of-living crisis and boost economy
LONDON (AP) — Britain’s new center-left government says it will help the country move on from a cost-of-living crisis by focusing on wealth creation, as it sets out its plans for the coming year. A speech written by the Labour government and delivered in Parliament by King Charles III says Labour will get more houses and infrastructure projects built, strengthen workers’ rights and create a new industrial strategy. The king said the goal is to “see rising living standards in all nations and regions of the United Kingdom.” Labour won Britain’s July 4 election by a landslide, as voters eager for change after years of political and economic pain ousted the Conservative Party after 14 years in office.
Traces of cyanide are found in the blood of Vietnamese and Americans found dead in a Bangkok hotel
BANGKOK (AP) — Initial autopsy results showed traces of cyanide in the blood of six people who were found dead in a room at a central Bangkok luxury hotel. The bodies were found Tuesday in Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel in downtown Bangkok. They had last been seen alive Monday afternoon when food was delivered to the room. Police said cyanide was found in drinking containers. Later Wednesday, medical officials said cyanide was likely the cause of death. The dead were two Vietnamese Americans and four Vietnamese nationals, three men and three women. A husband and wife among the dead had invested about $278,000 with two of the others, suggesting money was a motive.
With Haitian migration growing, a Mexico City family of doctors is helping out
CIUDAD NEZAHUALCOYOTL, Mexico (AP) — At a clinic in the working class neighborhood, Ciudad Nezahualcoyotl on the outskirts of Mexico City, Doctor Hernández Pacheco attends to Haitian migrants. She has turned her family-run clinic into a safe haven for Haitian migrants whether they are planning to stay in Mexico or continue the journey north toward the U.S. She not only gives new arrivals the opportunity to work, but to find community in a new country. Surging violence in Haiti has displaced nearly 580,000 Haitians internally since March, according to the U.N. migration agency. Many Haitian migrants have been stuck in Mexico for months waiting for their asylum appointments through U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s online app.
Paris mayor dips into the Seine River to showcase its improved cleanliness before Olympic events
PARIS (AP) — After months of anticipation, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a dip in the Seine River, fulfilling a promise to show the river was clean enough to host open swimming competitions during the 2024 Olympics. Clad in a wetsuit, Hidalgo plunged Wednesday into the river. Paris 2024 chief Tony Estanguet joined her. It’s part of a broader effort to showcase the river’s improved cleanliness ahead of the Summer Games which will kick off July 26 and host open-water swimming competitions. Daily water quality tests in early June indicated unsafe levels of E. coli bacteria, followed by recent improvements.
‘Shogun’ could rise and ‘The Bear’ may feast as Emmy nominations are announced
LOS ANGELES (AP) — “The Bear” could again dominate the comedy categories but the drama field is wide open as the Emmy Award nominations are announced Wednesday morning. “The Bear,” the FX show about a struggling chef and his ramshackle crew, could easily top the 13 nominations it got last year. Another FX show, “Shogun,” could be the favorite in the drama category, but Emmy veteran “The Crown” could also loom large. The nominations come just six months after the last Emmys, which were delayed by last year’s Hollywood strikes. The schedule gets back to normal now. The Emmys will air on ABC on Sept. 15.
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