Slovakian prime minister in life-threatening condition after being shot
PRAGUE (AP) — Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico is in life-threatening condition after being wounded in a shooting Wednesday afternoon, according to his Facebook profile. The message posted to his account said that Fico “has been shot multiple times and is currently in life-threatening condition. At this moment he is transported by helicopter to Banská Bystrica, because it would take too long to get to Bratislava due to the necessity of an acute procedure. The next few hours will decide.” Reports on TA3, a Slovakian TV station, said that Fico, 59, was hit in the stomach after four shots were fired outside the House of Culture in the town of Handlova, some 150 kilometers northeast of the capital, where the leader was meeting with supporters. A suspect has been detained, it said.
Biden, Trump agree on debates in June and September; working out details could be challenging
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden says he’s accepted an invitation from CNN to a June 27 debate after announcing he won’t participate in fall presidential debates sponsored by the nonpartisan commission that’s organized them for more than three decades. Ex-President Donald Trump’s campaign hasn’t responded to the June 27 proposal. Biden and Trump have agreed to hold two campaign debates in June and September, but there are no guarantees they’ll happen as their camps appear far apart on key details. Biden proposes media outlets organize debates with the presumptive Democratic and Republican nominees before early voting begins. Trump says he’s ready and willing to debate Biden, whose proposal would exclude third-party candidates like Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Lies, loyalty and a gag order upheld: Tuesday’s Trump trial takeaways
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s defense attorneys have grilled prosecutors’ star witness in his hush money trial, portraying former attorney Michael Cohen as a media-obsessed liar who’s determined to see the former president behind bars. Cohen on Tuesday endured intense questioning by Trump’s legal team after providing pivotal testimony tying the presumptive Republican presidential nominee directly to the hush money scheme at the heart of the case. Cohen will return to the witness stand Thursday for more cross-examination before prosecutors rest their case. Trump denies any wrongdoing in the case, which he has portrayed as an effort to hurt his 2024 presidential campaign.
On the eve of visit to China, Putin says Russia is prepared to talk over Ukraine
BEIJING (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin says the Kremlin is prepared to negotiate over the conflict in Ukraine in an interview with Chinese media. The remarks come on the eve of his visit to partner China that has backed Moscow in its invasion of its neighbor. Putin was quoted by Xinhua on Wednesday as saying that Russia has “never refused to negotiate” and that it seeks a “comprehensive, sustainable and just settlement of this conflict through peaceful means.” His trip comes as Russian forces have pressed their offensive in northeast Ukraine’s Kharkiv region. China claims to take a neutral position in the conflict, but has backed Moscow’s contentions that Russia was provoked into attacking Ukraine by the West.
India’s parliament has fewer Muslims as strength of Modi’s party grows
MALAPPURAM, India (AP) — The political power of Muslims is declining in the world’s largest democracy. Tensions between Hindus and Muslims in India are not new, but they have gotten worse under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His ruling Bharatiya Janata Party touts a Hindu-nationalist ideology and is on the cusp of delivering him a third five-year term. As the BJP becomes more powerful — this year’s vote will be decided in June — the proportion of Muslim lawmakers in parliament and state legislatures is shrinking. One political scientist said India has gone from being a country where Muslims were largely marginalized to one where they are “actively excluded.”
School integration was a dream many believed could actually happen. It hasn’t
WASHINGTON (AP) — Seventy years ago this week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled separating children in schools by race was unconstitutional. On paper, that decision — the fabled Brown v. Board of Education, taught in most every American classroom — still stands. In reality, school integration is all but gone, the victim of a gradual series of court cases that slowly eroded it, leaving little behind. For decades, American schools have been re-segregating. Around 4 out of 10 Black and Hispanic students go to schools where almost every one of their classmates is another student of color.
What is the celebrity ‘blockout’ over the war in Gaza?
NEW YORK (AP) — Some social media users are calling out celebrities for what they say is inaction in the face of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza — and they’ve taken to a “blockout” to pressure the stars to take a stand. For the blockout, users put a block on seeing any and all content from the accounts of certain celebrities on social media platforms including X, TikTok and Instagram. Some have posted about the celebrities they’ve blocked. Others have shared posts from users lambasting attendees of high-glamour events like the Met Gala and contrasting it with the situation in Gaza. Blockout participants say it’s a protest because the celebrities either haven’t spoken up or haven’t said enough against Israel’s actions in Gaza during its war with Hamas.
Fewer US overdose deaths were reported last year, but experts say it’s too soon to celebrate
NEW YORK (AP) — The number of U.S. fatal overdoses fell last year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted the numbers Wednesday. CDC officials noted the data is provisional and could change after more analysis, but that they still expect a drop when the final counts are in. The agency says about 107,500 people died of overdoses in the U.S. last year. That’s down 3% from 2022. It’s too soon to know what spurred the decline, but experts reacted cautiously. They say the decline as relatively small. They also note that the last time a decline occurred — in 2018 — drug deaths shot up afterward.
French president is considering imposing a state of emergency in the territory of New Caledonia
PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron is considering imposing state of emergency in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia to curb spiraling violence. Speaking at parliament, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, who attended a two-hour meeting with top defense officials at the Elysee, said the aim of the state of emergency would be “to restore order in the shortest time possible.” A decree on the methods to impose the state of emergency is to be presented to the French Cabinet on Wednesday afternoon. French authorities in the territory say more than 130 people have been arrested and more than 300 have been injured since Monday in the violence.
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