Gunman attempts attack on US Embassy in Lebanon
BEIRUT (AP) — The Lebanese army said Wednesday a gunman attempted to attack on the U.S. Embassy near Beirut. The Lebanese military in a statement said that soldiers shot an assailant, who they only described as a Syrian national. The gunman was wounded and taken to a hospital. Local media reported that there was a gunfight for almost half an hour by the U.S. diplomatic mission in a suburb north of Beirut. The U.S. Embassy said the morning attack by the embassy’s entrance did not cause any casualties among their staff, and that Lebanese troops and embassy security mobilized quickly.
In a West Bank refugee camp, Israel’s raids fuel the militancy it tries to stamp out
NUR SHAMS REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank (AP) — An Israeli army raid in April set off a near three-day gunbattle with Palestinian militants. By the time it was over, homes had been blasted to rubble and many residents had fled. The raid wasn’t in Gaza, where Israel is at war with Hamas, but more than 60 miles away in the Nur Shams refugee camp in the West Bank — a territory that has been under Israeli military rule for over a half-century. The persistence of Palestinian militancy in the West Bank and its surge since the war in Gaza began show the limits of Israel’s military might as the decades-old conflict grinds on with little prospect of a political settlement.
Will Biden’s new border measures be enough to change voters’ minds?
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is trying to address a major liability for his reelection campaign by taking executive action to significantly restrict asylum. But it’s unclear whether his efforts will be enough to change the minds of voters who have increasingly voiced alarm over his handling of the border. Former President Donald Trump and his campaign have seized on the issue. Biden has shifted far to the right on immigration issues since his winning campaign four years ago. Many Democrats acknowledge Biden now faces a wholly different political reality. But some in his party have accused him of betraying Democratic priorities.
Hunter Biden’s ex-wife, other family members expected to take the stand in his federal gun trial
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Witness testimony is expected to continue Wednesday in Hunter Biden’s gun trial. Federal prosecutors have spent hours showing jurors evidence of his drug problem. They are seeking to reveal the depth of his addiction through his own words and writing in order to show it was still going on when he bought a firearm and, they say, lied on a form to purchase it. Hunter Biden’s ex-wife Kathleen Buhle is expected to be among the witnesses to take the stand. She was married to President Joe Biden’s son for 20 years. Hunter Biden has pleaded not guilty.
A year of elections in democracies around the world is revealing deep dissatisfaction among voters
In a transformative year of elections around the world, voters in democratic countries share a common sentiment: They’re unhappy with their governments and leaders. From South Korea to Poland to Argentina, incumbents have been ousted in election after election. In Latin America, leaders and their parties had lost 20 elections in a row until this past weekend’s presidential election in Mexico. The dynamic is likely to repeat itself as the European Union launches its legislative elections this week, where conservative populist parties are expected to register gains across the continent. The reasons for dissatisfaction range from the painful recovery from the coronavirus pandemic to the backlash to economic and cultural changes sparked by globalization and mass immigration.
India’s popular but polarizing leader Narendra Modi is extending his decade in power. Who is he?
NEW DELHI (AP) — Popular but polarizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has advanced Hindu nationalism in India is returning for a third consecutive term in office after claiming victory in a general election that was seen as a referendum on his decade in power. The win has made Modi, 73, only the second leader in India to return as prime minister for a third-straight term. Supporters see him as a cult figure who has improved India’s standing in the world, and credit his pro-business policies with making the economy the world’s fifth-largest. To his critics, though, Modi is an authoritarian responsible for eroding India’s democratic and advancing divisive politics that have harmed Muslims who make up 14% of the country’s population.
Hard right is set to surge in this week’s European Union elections. Center set to tilt to right, too
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union elections start Thursday and results will be known late Sunday. All eyes are on how well the populist and hard-right parties will do in polling across the 27 nations. Since the last elections five years ago, such parties are already leading three governments, are part of governing coalitions in several others and are surging in polls across the bloc like never before. There is even talk that bound together, the hard-right and populist parties could become the second biggest group in Parliament. The legislature will be voting on whether European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen should get a second term. Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni could hold the cards in how big the breakthrough by the hard right will be.
In France, D-Day evokes both the joys of liberation and the pain of Normandy’s 20,000 civilian dead
CARENTAN-LES-MARAIS, France (AP) — The 80th anniversary this week of D-Day brings mixed emotions for French survivors of the Battle of Normandy. They remain eternally grateful for their liberation from Nazi occupation in World War II but cannot forget its steep cost in French lives. Some 20,000 Normandy civilians were killed in the June 6, 1944, Allied invasion and as the landing forces fought inland. Young soldiers from the United States and other Allied nations are remembered for their exploits, kindness and sacrifices. One Normandy survivor who was 6 years old in 1944 says, “They will always be gods to me.” But also seared into survivors’ memories are massive Allied bombing raids that pulverized Normandy towns and villages, burying victims and turning skies fire-red.
New study finds Earth warming at record rate, but no evidence of climate change accelerating
Top scientists calculate that the rate Earth is warming hit an all-time high in 2023 with 92% of last year’s surprising record-shattering heat caused by humans. A group of 57 international scientists examining what’s behind last year’s deadly burst of heat say that even with a faster warming rate they don’t see evidence of significant acceleration in human-caused climate change beyond increased fossil fuel burning. Last year’s record temperatures were so unusual that scientists have been debating what’s behind the big jump and whether climate change is accelerating. The study’s lead author says temperatures are alarmingly increasing exactly as predicted.
Life as a teen without social media isn’t easy. These families are navigating adolescence offline
WESTPORT, Conn. (AP) — The damaging consequences of social media are increasingly well documented, so some parents are trying to raise their children with restrictions or blanket bans on social media use. Teenagers themselves are aware that too much social media is bad for them, and some are initiating their own social media “cleanses” because of the toll it takes on mental health and grades. But it is hard to be a teenager today without social media. Teens who don’t use social media say they miss out on a lot of drama, but they also miss information they need for clubs and classes.
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