US military says first aid shipment has been driven into Gaza Strip
WASHINGTON — Trucks carrying badly needed aid for the Gaza Strip have rolled across a newly built U.S. pier and into the besieged enclave for the first time. Friday’s shipment is the first in an operation that American military officials anticipate could scale up to 150 truckloads a day. It comes as Israeli restrictions on border crossings and heavy fighting hindered the delivery of food and other supplies seven months into the Israel-Hamas war. But the U.S. and aid groups warn that the floating pier project is not a substitute for land deliveries that could bring in all the food, water and fuel needed in Gaza. Before the war, more than 500 truckloads entered the territory on an average day.
Severe storms kill at least 4 in Houston
HOUSTON — Severe thunderstorms have hit southeastern Texas for the second time this month, and Houston’s mayor says at least four people are dead. There also have been windows blown out of high-rise buildings, downed trees and power outages for more than 900,000 customers in the Houston area. The storms also moved into neighboring Louisiana and left more than 215,000 customers there without power. The storm system moved through swiftly Thursday, but flood watches and warnings remained Friday for Houston and areas to the east, including eastern Louisiana into central Alabama. Heavy storms slammed the Houston region during the first week of May, leading to numerous high-water rescues.
Trump will campaign in Minnesota after attending his son Barron’s graduation
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Former President Donald Trump’s break from his hush money trial in New York includes a trip to Minnesota for a Republican fundraiser in a traditionally Democratic state that he boasts he can carry in November. Trump will headline the state GOP’s annual Lincoln Reagan dinner Friday night.
It’s being co-hosted by Republican Party of Minnesota Chairman David Hann and Trump’s state campaign chair, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer. Trump came close to carrying Minnesota in 2016, when he fell 1.5 percentage points short of Hillary Clinton, but Democrat Joe Biden beat him by more than 7 points in Minnesota in 2020.
Putin focuses on trade and cultural exchanges in Harbin, China, after reaffirming ties with Xi
BEIJING (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin is focusing on trade and cultural exchanges during his state visit to China that started with bonhomie in Beijing and a meeting with China’s leader Xi Jinping that deepened their “no limits” partnership as both countries face rising tensions with the West. Putin is attending a China-Russia Expo in the northeastern city of Harbin on Friday and meeting with students at Harbin Institute of Technology. Harbin was once home to many Russian expatriates and retains some of those historical ties in its architecture, such as the central Saint Sophia Cathedral, a former Russian Orthodox church. While Putin’s trip has been short on concrete proposals, he and Xi have made clear their ties are strong.
French police fatally shoot a man suspected of setting fire to a synagogue
ROUEN, France (AP) — French police have shot and killed a man armed with a knife and a metal bar who is suspected of having set fire to a synagogue in the Normandy city of Rouen. Police officers who deployed discovered the man on the roof of the building, clutching the metal bar in one hand and the kitchen knife in the other, and smoke rising from the synagogue’s windows, the Rouen prosecutor said. He said the man threw the bar at the police before jumping off the roof and then running at an officer with his knife raised. The officer fired five shots, fatally wounding him. Tensions and anger have grown in France over the Israel-Hamas war, and antisemitic acts have surged.
Funeral set for Roger Fortson, the Black US Air Force member killed in his home by Florida deputy
STONECREST, Ga. (AP) — A funeral will be held for a Black U.S. Air Force senior airman who was shot and killed in his Florida home by a sheriff’s deputy. Friday’s funeral for Airman Roger Fortson, who died at age 23, comes a day after his mother vowed during an emotional news conference to get justice for her son. The service will be held at the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in the Atlanta suburb of Stonecrest. Fortson grew up in the area before joining the Air Force. Two weeks after the shooting, the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office has yet to release an incident report, any 911 records or the officer’s identity, despite requests for the information under Florida’s open records act.
70 years after Brown v. Board, America is both more diverse — and more segregated
Seventy years after the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education ruling, the impact of the decision is still up for debate. Have Americans truly ended segregation in fact, not just in law? The answer is complicated. U.S. schools in recent decades have grown far more diverse and, by some measures, more segregated, according to an Associated Press analysis. On one hand, the number of Black and white students who go to school almost exclusively with students of the same race is at an all-time low. On the other hand, huge shares of students of color still go to schools with almost no white students.
Brazil picked by FIFA to get soccer’s 2027 Women’s World Cup, a first for South America
BANGKOK (AP) — Brazil will host the 2027 Women’s World Cup after a vote of FIFA’s full membership chose the South American bid over a joint proposal from Belgium, Netherlands and Germany. The FIFA Congress on Friday selected from a reduced field of two candidates to host the 2027 tournament after a joint bid by the United States and Mexico was pulled late last month and South Africa withdrew its candidacy in November. It was the first time that all 211 of FIFA’s members associations had the opportunity to weigh in on the host of the women’s tournament. Previously, it was decided by the FIFA Council. Brazil will be the first South American country to host the event.
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