G7 summit opens with deal to use Russian assets for Ukraine as EU’s traditional powers recalibrate
BORGO EGNAZIA, Italy (AP) — A summit of the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations has opened in Italy. Premier Giorgia Meloni has welcomed the G7 leaders and formally begun their closed-door talks on Thursday. Meloni in her opening remarks likened the bloc to the Puglia region’s famed olive trees, with strong roots and branches pointing toward the future. Negotiators reached agreement hours before the official opening of the summit on a U.S. proposal to back a $50 billion loan to Ukraine using frozen Russian assets as collateral.
The Latest: Italy hosts the Group of Seven summit with global conflicts on the agenda
BORGO EGNAZIA, Italy (AP) — Italy is hosting the summit of the Group of Seven industrialized nations in the wake of the European Parliament election that saw a surge in support for the far right in places like G7 members France and Germany. The G7 summit through Saturday is focusing on global conflicts, the spread of artificial intelligence, and on Africa. Leaders will discuss Italy’s longstanding concern about uncontrolled migration and human traffickers. Perennial issues such as climate change and China also will be discussed. The member countries are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
What are the main sticking points in the cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas?
The latest proposal for a cease-fire in Gaza has the support of the United States and most of the international community, but Hamas has not fully embraced it, and neither, it seems, has Israel. Hamas this week accepted the broad outline but requested “amendments.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly disputed certain aspects of the plan, raising questions about Israel’s commitment to what the U.S. says is an Israeli proposal. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday the negotiations will continue. But he said Hamas had requested “numerous” changes, adding that “some of the changes are workable; some are not.”
Yemen’s Houthi rebels launch boat-borne bomb attack against Greek-owned ship in Red Sea
ABOARD THE USS LABOON IN THE RED SEA (AP) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels have launched a boat-borne bomb attack against a commercial ship in the Red Sea, further escalating their campaign despite a U.S.-led campaign trying to protect the vital waterway. In a warning to shippers, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center described the vessel on Wednesday as being hit in its stern by a small white craft southwest of the Houthi-controlled port city of Hodeida. A Houthi military spokesman later claimed the attack. He described the attack as using a “drone boat,” drones, and ballistic missiles. The use of a boat loaded with explosives raises the specter of 2000’s USS Cole attack, a suicide assault by al-Qaida that killed 17 sailors on board.
Trump is returning to Capitol Hill to meet with Republican lawmakers, a first since Jan. 6 attack
WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump is making a triumphant return to Capitol Hill to meet with House and Senate Republicans for the first time since the Jan. 6, 2021 attack. GOP lawmakers find themselves newly energized and reinvigorated by Trump’s bid to retake the White House. This is despite the federal charges against Trump for conspiring to overturn the 2020 election and his recent guilty verdict in an unrelated hush money trial. He is expected to visit House and then Senate Republican campaign headquarters near the Capitol to discuss party priorities. It’s his first as the party’s presumptive nominee. He’s also speaking at the Business Roundtable.
Milei’s radical overhaul passes Argentina’s Senate as protesters clash with police
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina’s Senate has narrowly approved President Javier Milei’s sweeping proposals to slash state spending and boost his own powers. It hands the libertarian leader a much-needed first legislative victory even as opposition senators scrapped an income tax package and tweaked some contentious parts of the plan. Senators provisionally approved the two bills after a daylong heated debate while thousands of protesters poured into the streets, clashing with police officers, burning cars, and throwing Molotov cocktails. Hundreds of federal security forces pushed back. Milei’s radical efforts to overhaul the government and economy have run into tough resistance in Argentina’s opposition-dominated Congress.
One year later, migrants who survived wreck off Greece seek justice and struggle to cope with life
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A year after one of the worst migrant boat tragedies in the Mediterranean Sea, there are only hazy answers as to why hundreds of lives were lost and who can be held answerable. Survivors say they are still waiting for justice, while bearing the trauma of the shipwreck and the horrible five-day journey that preceded it. Just 104 people survived the wreck of the dilapidated fishing boat smuggling up to 750 migrants from North Africa to Europe. Bodies of most of the dead weren’t recovered, so hundreds of families lack even the grim certitude that their relatives are dead.
After rare flash flood emergency, Florida prepares for more heavy rainfall in coming days
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A tropical disturbance has brought a rare flash flood emergency to much of southern Florida. Floridians prepared to weather more heavy rainfall on Thursday and Friday. Wednesday’s downpours and subsequent flooding blocked roads, floated vehicles, and delayed the Florida Panthers on their way to Stanley Cup games in Canada against the Edmonton Oilers. The disorganized storm system was pushing across Florida from the Gulf of Mexico at roughly the same time as the early June start of hurricane season, which this year is forecast to be among the most active in recent memory amid concerns that climate change is increasing storm intensity.
Future of Elon Musk and Tesla are on the line as shareholders vote on massive pay package
DETROIT (AP) — If Tesla shareholders approve an all-stock compensation package for CEO Elon Musk that was thrown out by a Delaware judge, it would almost guarantee he would remain at the company he grew to be the world leader in electric vehicles. If they vote against restoring Elon Musk’s $44.9 billion pay package Thursday, the CEO could deliver on threats to take artificial intelligence research to one of his other companies. Or he could even walk away. Late Wednesday, Musk said on his social media platform X that early voting results indicated that they back his pay package and other company initiatives like re-incorporating Tesla in Texas, by “wide margins.”
The Stanley Cup Final in American Sign Language is a welcome addition for Deaf community
GENOA TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Over the past week, the NHL became the first major sports league to offer play by play and analysis in American Sign Language during the Stanley Cup Final. The Florida Panthers are up 2-0 with the series shifting to Edmonton for the next two games. Fans and broadcasters say calling hockey games in ASL is a welcome challenge given the speed of the games. Bob Madden, a 68-year-old Michigan man who is deaf, watched Game 2 and says it is fast but better than closed captioning. The interim CEO of the National Association of the Deaf called it a groundbreaking moment.
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