Hamas’ top political leader is killed in Iran in strike that risks triggering all-out regional war
BEIRUT (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that Israel “will exact a heavy price from any aggression against us on any front.” It was his first public statement since the killing of Hamas’ top political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in an airstrike in Tehran. His comments didn’t mention the killing. Both Hamas and Iran quickly blamed Israel for the shock assassination that risked escalating into an all-out regional war. The strike came hours after Israel targeted a top commander in Iran’s ally Hezbollah in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
UN report says Palestinians detained by Israeli authorities since Oct. 7 faced torture, mistreatment
GENEVA (AP) — The U.N. human rights office has issued a report saying Palestinians detained by Israeli authorities since the Oct. 7 attacks have faced waterboarding, sleep deprivation, electric shocks and other forms of torture and mistreatment. The report released Wednesday says that Israel’s prison service held more than 9,400 “security detainees” as of the end of June, and some have been held in secret without access to lawyers or respect for their legal rights. Findings in the report, one of the most extensive of its kind, could be used by International Criminal Court prosecutors who are looking into crimes committed in connection with the Oct. 7 attacks.
The war in Gaza might complicate Haniyeh’s replacement. Here are the possible contenders
BEIRUT (AP) — The militant Palestinian group Hamas has a history of swift and smooth replacement of fallen leaders killed in Israeli airstrikes. Ismail Haniyeh’s assassination in the Iranian capital early Wednesday comes at a time when Hamas is under extreme pressure since the war in Gaza started nearly 10 months ago. Haniyeh headed the group’s political bureau until his death. His deputy was Saleh Arouri, who was killed in an Israeli strike in Beirut in January and would have been the automatic replacement. Several top Hamas officials could replace Haniyeh once the group’s Shura council meets, including Zaher Jabarin, Khaled Mashaal and Khalil al-Hayya.
Delta CEO says airline is facing $500 million in costs from global tech outage
Delta CEO Ed Bastian says the airline is facing $500 million in costs for the global technology breakdown this month. Speaking on CNBC, Bastian said Wednesday that the monetary amount represents lost revenue as well as “the tens of millions of dollars per day in compensation and hotels” for the five-day period.
Olympic triathletes swim in Seine River after days of concerns about water quality
PARIS (AP) — The Olympic triathlons were held Wednesday after days of delays and uncertainty over water quality concerns in the Seine River. Organizers said the latest tests of the famed Paris waterway showed compliance with quality standards. Elevated levels of bacteria delayed the men’s race from Tuesday. The decision to go ahead with the Seine swim for the triathlon competitions is a big win for the city and Olympics organizers. They undertook a more than billion-dollar plan to clean up the long-polluted Seine and have been steadfast in their insistence that swimming events could safely be held in the river.
Gymnast-turned-shooter Adriana Ruano wins Guatemala’s first Olympic gold
CHATEAUROUX, France (AP) — A spinal injury ended Adriana Ruano’s Olympic dream as a gymnast. She came back as a shooter and won Guatemala’s first Olympic gold medal. Ruano was training for the 2011 world championships in gymnastics when she was diagnosed with six damaged vertebrae. Ruano’s doctor recommended she take up shooting if she wanted to stay in sports without aggravating her injured back. That advice paid off Wednesday as Ruano won gold in the women’s trap with an Olympic-record score of 45 out of 50. Italy’s Silvana Stanco won the silver on 40 and Australia’s Penny Smith took the bronze.
Carter Center says Venezuela’s top court won’t provide an independent audit of presidential election
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The Carter Center has criticized Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro request to the country’s Supreme Court to conduct an audit of the results of the presidential election, saying the court won’t provide an independent review. Jennie K. Lincoln led the delegation that the Carter Center sent to monitor the election in Venezuela on Sunday. Lincoln says the government-appointed court cannot provide an independent assessment. Maduro says he has asked the Supreme Court to audit the presidential election, after opposition leaders disputed his claim of victory and amid international calls to release detailed vote counts.
About 8 in 10 Democrats are satisfied with Harris in stark shift after Biden drops out: AP-NORC poll
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris appears to have energized Democrats in the early days of her candidacy, with the surge in warm feelings extending across multiple groups, including some key Democratic constituencies that had been tepid about President Joe Biden. That’s according to a new poll. About 8 in 10 Democrats say they would be very or somewhat satisfied if Harris became the Democratic nominee for president. The survey from the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research was conducted after Biden withdrew from the race. The rapidly changing views among Democrats in such a short time span underscore how swiftly the party has coalesced behind Harris as its standard-bearer.
A speaking invitation to Donald Trump splits the most prominent American group for Black journalists
WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump’s invitation to address the National Association of Black Journalists has sparked an intense debate within the organization and a flurry of arguments online. Journalism organizations for people of color traditionally invite presidential candidates to address their summer gatherings during election years. But Trump’s acceptance of NABJ’s invitation has led at least one high-profile group member to step down as a convention co-chair and others to argue their convention may become a platform for Trump to make false claims or be seen as winning NABJ’s endorsement. The debate over NABJ’s invite reflects how many journalists are still grappling with how to approach Trump nearly a decade after his first presidential run.
Governor calls on flood-weary Vermonters to ‘stick together’ with more thunderstorms on the horizon
LYNDON, Vt. (AP) — Vermont’s governor says the latest storms to hit the state have undone much of the cleanup and recovery work done since its last major bout of flooding only weeks ago, and he is calling on residents to “stick together” amid fears that more bad weather was on its way. Thunderstorms on Tuesday brought another round of heavy flooding that washed away roads, crushed vehicles, pushed homes off their foundations and required at least two dozen boat rescues in northeastern Vermont. Some areas got more than 8 inches of rain. Jennifer Morrison, the commissioner of the Vermont Department of Public Safety, said at a news conference that more downpours are expected Wednesday, with flash-flooding possible in some already inundated areas.
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