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    AP Top News at 2:56 a.m. EDT

    4 hours ago

    Majority of Americans say democracy is on the ballot this fall but differ on threat, AP poll finds

    NEW YORK (AP) — Roughly 3 in 4 American adults believe the upcoming presidential election is vital to the future of U.S. democracy, although which candidate they think poses the greater threat depends on their political leanings, according to a new poll. The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that most Democrats, Republicans and independents see the election as “very important” or “extremely important” to democracy, while Democrats have a higher level of intensity about the issue. More than half of Democrats say the November election is “extremely important” to the future of U.S. democracy, compared to about 4 in 10 independents and Republicans.

    The Walz record: Abortion rights, free lunches for schoolkids, and disputes over a riot response

    MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz and his fellow Democrats have enacted big changes in the two years that they’ve had full control of the Minnesota Legislature, from expansions of abortion and LGBTQ+ rights to tax credits and other initiatives aimed at making life easier for families. His record has delighted liberals and progressives and is a major reason why Vice President Kamala Harris chose him to be her running mate. He doesn’t try to claim all the credit — strong Democratic legislative leaders also played major roles. But his record continues to draw condemnation from Republicans, who say he squandered a huge budget surplus that should have been used for tax cuts, failed to prevent hundreds of millions of dollars in fraud, and acted too slowly to quell the violence that followed the murder of George Floyd.

    Trump praised Minnesota Gov. Walz in 2020 for response to unrest over Floyd’s murder, audio shows

    MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — While former President Donald Trump and running mate JD Vance have been hammering Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz over his response to the violence that erupted after George Floyd’s murder, Trump told the governor at the time that he fully agreed with how Walz handled it. “What they did in Minneapolis was incredible. They went in and dominated, and it happened immediately,” Trump told Walz and other governors and officials in a phone call on June 1, 2020. The Associated Press on Wednesday obtained an audio recording of the call, which has taken on new significance now that Walz has been tapped as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate against Trump and Vance.

    Organizers cancel Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna over fears of an attack

    VIENNA (AP) — Organizers of three Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna this week called them off on Wednesday after officials announced arrests over an apparent plot to launch an attack on an event in the Vienna area such as the concerts. Swift was scheduled to play at the Austrian capital’s Ernst Happel Stadium on Thursday, Friday and Saturday as part of her Eras Tour. Event organizer Barracuda Music said in a post on its Instagram channel late Wednesday that “we have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety.” It cited government officials’ “confirmation” of a planned attack at the stadium.

    Israel court hears bid to close prison where soldiers are accused of sexually assaulting Palestinian

    JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli Supreme Court considered a petition Wednesday to shutter a desert military prison where soldiers have been accused of abusing Palestinians, as a new video emerged purporting to show the sexual assault of a Palestinian detainee. Rights groups have been engaged in a legal battle since June to shut down the detention facility, known as Sde Teiman, where Israel has held many Palestinians detained in Gaza during the 10-month war with Hamas. The groups claim that conditions at the facility are grave and that abuse by Israeli soldiers is common, basing their claims on testimony from released detainees and Israeli whistleblowers.

    July ends 13-month streak of global heat records as El Nino ebbs, but experts warn against relief

    Earth’s string of 13 straight months with a new average heat record came to an end this past July as the natural El Nino climate pattern ebbed, the European climate agency Copernicus announced Wednesday. But July 2024 ’s average heat just missed surpassing the July of a year ago, and scientists said the end of the record-breaking streak changes nothing about the threat posed by climate change. “The overall context hasn’t changed,” Copernicus deputy director Samantha Burgess said in a statement. “Our climate continues to warm.” Human-caused climate change drives extreme weather events that are wreaking havoc around the globe, with several examples just in recent weeks.

    Tropical Storm Debby makes 2nd landfall in South Carolina, heavy rain expected up the East Coast

    HUGER, S.C. (AP) — Tropical Storm Debby has made a second landfall in South Carolina on its way up the East Coast, where residents as far north as Vermont could get several inches of rain this weekend. The National Hurricane Center says Debby came ashore early Thursday near Bulls Bay, South Carolina. The storm is expected to keep moving inland, spreading heavy rain and possible flooding all the way up through the mid-Atlantic and the Northeast by the weekend. Debby first made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane early Monday on the Gulf Coast of Florida. It is now a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds at 50 mph (80 kph).

    Muhammad Yunus is heading to Bangladesh to take office as its interim leader Thursday

    DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Bangladesh’s next leader Muhammad Yunus was heading home from an overseas trip to take office later Thursday after imploring people to stay calm and be ready to rebuild the country after an uprising that ended the 15-year, increasingly autocratic rule of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Before leaving Paris, where he was attending the Olympics, Yunus appealed for peace in Bangladesh amid tensions over the country’s future. Bangladesh’s military chief will welcome Yunus when he lands at Dhaka’s main international airport on Thursday afternoon. Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, who acts as an adviser to his mother, vowed Wednesday that his family and the Awami League party would continue to be engaged in Bangladesh’s politics — a reversal from what he’d said earlier in the week after Hasina stepped down Monday and fled to India.

    An aid worker’s airport disappearance stirs fear of repression following disputed Venezuela election

    CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The last time anyone heard from Edni López was Sunday. The 33-year-old political science professor and award-winning poet was preparing to board a flight to Argentina to visit a friend when she texted from the airport that something was wrong with her passport. “Migration took my passport because it’s showing up as expired,” she wrote her boyfriend in the message shared with The Associated Press. “I pray to God I don’t get screwed because of a system error.” What happened next remains a mystery — one contributing to the climate of fear and repression that has engulfed Venezuela following its disputed presidential election, the most serious wave of human rights abuses since Latin America’s military dictatorships in the 1970s.

    Lin Yu-ting advances to gold-medal Olympic bout, excelling amid misconceptions about her gender

    PARIS (AP) — Boxer Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan has advanced to the gold-medal bout in the women’s featherweight division, winning her third consecutive bout while dealing with widespread scrutiny regarding misconceptions about her gender at the Paris Olympics. One day after welterweight Imane Khelif of Algeria reached the women’s welterweight final with a third straight victory in Paris, Lin defeated Esra Yildiz Kahraman of Turkey 5:0 on Wednesday night for her third win. Lin will fight for gold on Saturday, taking on Julia Szeremeta of Poland. “I will use everything I’ve learned in my life to do my best in the next match,” Lin said through an interpreter.

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