A strike from Lebanon killed 12 youths. Could that spark war between Israel and Hezbollah?
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The Middle East is bracing for a potential flare-up in violence after Israeli authorities said a rocket from Lebanon struck a soccer field in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. It killed 12 children and teens in what the Israeli military said was the deadliest attack on civilians since Oct. 7. The strike raised fears of a broader regional war between Israel and Hezbollah, which has denied a role in the attack. Saturday’s attack comes at a sensitive time, as Israel and Hamas are negotiating a cease-fire proposal to end the nearly 10-month war in Gaza and free the roughly 110 hostages who remain captive there.
An Israeli airstrike hits a school sheltering people in Gaza, killing at least 30 including children
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli airstrikes have hit a school being used by displaced Palestinians in central Gaza and killed at least 30 people including seven children. Saturday’s attack occurred as negotiators prepare to meet international mediators on Sunday to discuss a proposed cease-fire. Thousands of people had been sheltering at the girls’ school in Deir al-Balah. Israel’s military said it targeted a Hamas command and control center used to store weapons and plan attacks. Hamas denied it. Meanwhile, Israel’s military has ordered another evacuation of part of a designated humanitarian zone in Gaza ahead of a planned strike on Khan Younis.
Harris raised $200M in first week of White House campaign and signed up 170,000 volunteers
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign has raised $200 million since she emerged as the likely Democratic presidential nominee last week. The campaign announced the eyepopping fundraising total on Sunday for Harris, saying about 66% of the donations come from first-time contributors in the 2024 election cycle. Over 170,000 volunteers also have signed up to help the Harris campaign with phone banking, canvassing and other get-out-the-vote efforts. Election Day is 100 days away. Campaign communications director Michael Tyler says Harris has momentum, but ultimately the election will be decided by “a small number of voters in just a few states.”
Trump and Vance team up to campaign in Minnesota, a state that hasn’t backed the GOP in 52 years
ST. CLOUD, Minn. (AP) — Donald Trump has wrapped up his rally in Minnesota as the presidential campaign enters a critical final 100-day stretch. The rally in St. Cloud on Saturday also featured his running mate, JD Vance. The rally was a gamble for Trump that could potentially force Democrats to devote resources to a state they might otherwise ignore. But it could also be a risk for the Republican nominee if he focuses on reach states instead of more traditional battlegrounds. Trump continued a pattern of escalating attacks against his likely opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, on crime and immigration. Harris spent Saturday fundraising in Massachusetts.
Firefighters helped by cooler weather battle blaze that has scorched area larger than Los Angeles
FOREST RANCH, Calif. (AP) — Thousands of firefighters battling a wildfire in northern California are getting some help from the weather just hours after the blaze exploded in size, scorching an area larger than Los Angeles. Officials said Saturday that cooler temperatures and an increase in humidity could help slow the Park Fire, the largest this year in California. Its intensity and dramatic spread led officials to make unwelcome comparisons to the monstrous Paradise fire in 2018, which killed 85 people and torched 11,000 homes. Paradise again is near the danger zone. The entire town was under an evacuation warning, one of several communities in Butte County.
Lawmakers from 6 countries say Beijing is pressuring them not to attend summit in Taiwan
BEIJING (AP) — Lawmakers from at least six countries say Chinese diplomats are pressuring them not to attend a China-focused summit in Taiwan. Politicians in Bolivia, Colombia, Slovakia, North Macedonia, Bosnia and one other Asian country that declined to be named, told The Associated Press they are getting texts, calls and urgent requests for meetings that would conflict with their plans to attend the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance conference, in what they describe as efforts to isolate the self-governed island. The IPAC, a group of hundreds of lawmakers from 35 countries concerned about how democracies approach Beijing, is set to start the summit on Monday in Taiwan and has long faced pressure from the Chinese government.
At least 12 killed by mudslide in China as heavy rains from tropical storm Gaemi drench region
BEIJING (AP) — Chinese state media say 12 people were killed after a mudslide hit a homestay house in a mountainous tourist area as heavy rains drenched southeastern China. Six injured people were rescued after the Sunday morning mudslide. Elsewhere in China, a digital news outlet said a delivery person on a scooter was killed Saturday after being hit by a falling tree in Shanghai. The deaths were the first in China that appear linked to Typhoon Gaemi, which weakened to a tropical storm after making landfall on Thursday. Authorities in Taiwan say the death toll there has risen to 10.
Venezuelan election could lead to seismic shift in politics or give President Maduro six more years
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Polls have opened in Venezuela, where people are voting in a presidential election whose outcome will either lead to a seismic shift in politics or extend by six more years the policies that caused the world’s worst peacetime economic collapse. Whether it is President Nicolás Maduro who is chosen or his main opponent, former diplomat Edmundo González, Sunday’s election will have ripple effects throughout the Americas. That’s because government opponents and supporters alike have signaled their interest in emigrating if Maduro wins the election. More than 7.7 million people have already left the country. An estimated 17 million Venezuelans are eligible to vote.
Simone Biles shakes off leg injury to dominate during Olympic gymnastics qualifying
PARIS (AP) — Simone Biles didn’t let some leg discomfort slow her down. The American gymnastics superstar posted an all-around total of 59.566 during Olympic qualifying inside a packed and star-studded Bercy Arena despite complaining of a left leg injury that had her limping. Biles appeared to tweak the leg while warming up on floor exercise during the second rotation. She had the ankle taped and then returned to put on the kind of show-stopping performance that has long been her signature.
Olympics pre-race triathlon event in Seine River canceled over water quality concerns
PARIS (AP) — A 2024 Olympics pre-race triathlon event planned for Paris’ Seine River was canceled as concerns persist over water quality. Organizers say they nixed the swimming leg of the triathlon familiarization scheduled for Sunday after a meeting about water quality among authorities tasked with carrying out tests. That included representatives of World Triathlon, as well as city and regional authorities. Organizers have invested $1.5 billion to prepare the Seine for these Games, and the government has said the river would be clean enough to hold events. Heavy rain during the opening ceremony revived concerns over whether the Seine will be clean enough to host swimmers.
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