Hamas says its leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran by an Israeli airstrike
BEIRUT (AP) — Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed by an airstrike in the Iranian capital, Iran and the militant group said early Wednesday, blaming Israel for a shock assassination that risks escalating the regional conflict on multiple fronts. There was no immediate comment from Israel, which has vowed to kill Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders over the group’s Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel. The strike came just after Haniyeh had attended the inauguration of Iran’s new president in Tehran, Iran said. The killing could trigger retaliation against Israel from Iran or its powerful Lebanese ally Hezbollah and prompt Hamas to pull out of months of negotiations for a cease-fire in Gaza.
Rescuers search through mud and debris as deaths rise to 151 in landslides in southern India
NEW DELHI (AP) — Hundreds of rescue workers searched through mud and debris Wednesday from multiple landslides that have killed at least 151 people in southern India, police said. The multiple landslides occurred after torrential rains triggered torrents of mud and water that swept through tea estates and villages. Another 186 people were injured by the landslides that hit hilly areas in Kerala state’s Wayanad district early Tuesday, flattening houses, uprooting trees and destroying bridges, said police officer Aijaz, who uses one name. P.M Manoj, a spokesman for the state’s top elected official, said that 187 people were unaccounted for. Seventy-seven bodies have been identified so far and mostly handed to their relatives, he added, More than a dozen bodies were found overnight, Aijaz said, as over 300 rescuers worked to pull out people stuck under mud and debris, but blocked roads and unstable terrain hampered their efforts.
Carter Center unable to verify Venezuela election results, blasts officials for lack of transparency
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The Carter Center said it was unable to verify the results of Venezuela’s presidential election, blaming authorities for a “complete lack of transparency” in declaring Nicolas Maduro the winner without providing any individual polling tallies. The statement Tuesday night by the Atlanta-based group is perhaps the harshest rebuke yet of Venezuela’s chaotic election process because it comes from one of just a handful of outside groups invited by the Maduro government to observe the vote. “The electoral authority’s failure to announce disaggregated results by polling station constitutes a serious breach of electoral principles,” the Carter Center said.
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 especially tepid about President Joe Biden, a new poll shows. About 8 in 10 Democrats say they would be somewhat or very satisfied if Harris became the Democratic nominee for president, according to the survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, which was conducted after Biden withdrew from the race. In a separate AP-NORC poll, taken before Biden dropped out but after his debate against former President Donald Trump, only about 4 in 10 Democrats said they were somewhat or very satisfied that he was the Democratic Party’s likely nominee for president.
Harris is calibrating her policy pitch for going to battle with Trump
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris is facing the delicate task of calibrating her policy pitch to American voters, a standard task for any White House hopeful but one that comes with additional challenges this year. First, Harris is running for president while serving under President Joe Biden, meaning she’s linked to anything that happened — or will happen — on his watch. She inherits accomplishments like limiting the cost of insulin but also the administration’s struggle to prevent illegal border crossings. Second, Harris has baggage from her own failed campaign for president before she became Biden’s running mate four years ago.
First interest rate cut in 4 years likely on the horizon as the Federal Reserve meets
WASHINGTON (AP) — With the end of their two-year fight against inflation in sight, Federal Reserve officials are likely Wednesday to set the stage for the first cut to their key interest rate in four years, a major shift in policy that could eventually lower borrowing costs for U.S. consumers and businesses. Inflation has been falling steadily closer to the Fed’s 2% target for the past several months. And the job market has cooled, with the unemployment rate rising about a half-point this year to 4.1%. Fed officials have said that they are seeking to balance the need to keep rates high enough to control inflation without keeping them too high for too long and causing a recession.
Israel carries out rare strike on Beirut that it says killed Hezbollah commander
BEIRUT (AP) — Israel on Tuesday carried out a rare strike on Beirut, which it said killed a top Hezbollah commander who was allegedly behind a weekend rocket attack that killed 12 young people in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. The strike in the Lebanese capital killed at least one woman and two children and wounded dozens of people. Hezbollah did not immediately confirm the commander’s death. The strike came amid escalating hostilities with the Lebanese militant group. An Israeli official said the target was Fouad Shukur, a top Hezbollah military commander whom the U.S. blames for planning and launching the deadly 1983 Marine bombing in the Lebanese capital.
How Hungary’s Orbán uses control of the media to escape scrutiny and keep the public in the dark
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — In the months leading up to elections for the European Parliament, Hungarians were warned that casting a ballot against Prime Minister Viktor Orbán would be a vote for all-out war. The right-wing Fidesz party cast the June 9 election as an existential struggle, one that could preserve peace in Europe if Orbán won — or fuel widespread instability if he didn’t. To sell that bold claim, Orbán used a sprawling pro-government media empire that’s dominated the country’s political discourse for more than a decade. The tactic worked, as it has since Orbán returned to power in 2010, and his party came first in the elections — though not by the margins it was used to.
Acting Secret Service director says he’s ‘ashamed’ after the Trump assassination attempt
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Secret Service’s acting director told lawmakers Tuesday that he considered it indefensible that the roof used by the gunman in the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump was unsecured and said it was regrettable that local law enforcement had not alerted his agency before the shooting that an armed subject had been spotted on a nearby roof. Ronald Rowe Jr. also testified that he recently visited the shooting site and laid down on the roof of the building where shots were fired in order to evaluate the gunman’s line of sight during the July 13 shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Olympic women triathletes begin swim in Seine River after days of concerns about water quality
PARIS (AP) — On a morning that started with rain, the Olympic triathlons got underway Wednesday as the women dove into the Seine River to start the swim after days of delays and uncertainty over water quality concerns. The athletes began near the Pont Alexandre III, a bridge that spans the famed Paris waterway. The steady drizzle tapered off just as the athletes splashed into the water. Some of the triathletes dunked their swim goggles in the Seine before putting them on. The decision to go ahead with the swim for the triathlon competitions is a big win for the city, Olympics organizers and the athletes.
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