Palestinian officials say Israeli raids across occupied West Bank have killed 9
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel launched raids across the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, where its forces killed at least nine Palestinians and sealed off the volatile city of Jenin, according to Palestinian officials. Israel has carried out near-daily raids across the West Bank since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack out of Gaza triggered the ongoing war there. Palestinian militant groups said they were exchanging fire with the Israeli military. The governor of Jenin, Kamal Abu al-Rub, said on Palestinian radio that Israeli forces had surrounded the city, blocking exit and entry points and access to hospitals, and ripping up infrastructure in the camp.
Two sworn enemies hold the key to ending the war in Gaza. Does either man want a deal?
The latest flurry of Gaza cease-fire talks — the back-and-forth over now-familiar sticking points and appeals from around the world — obscures a grim truth about the monthslong efforts to end the Israel-Hamas war and free scores of hostages. Any deal requires the signatures of two men: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. They are sworn enemies, notoriously tough negotiators and know that the outcome of the talks will profoundly shape their legacies. In Sinwar’s case, it could mean life or death. Both have strong incentives to end the war. But they may also think they stand to gain by holding out a bit longer, and that war is preferable to a deal that falls short of their demands.
A 10-month-old Palestinian baby suddenly stopped crawling. Polio had struck Gaza
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Born into the devastating Israel-Hamas war, 10-month-old Abdel-Rahman Abu El-Jedian started crawling early. Then one day, he froze — his left leg appeared to be paralyzed. The baby boy is the first confirmed case of polio inside Gaza in 25 years, according to the World Health Organization. Abdel-Rahman was an energetic baby, said the child’s mother, Nevine Abu El-Jedian, fighting back tears. “Suddenly, that was reversed. Suddenly, he stopped crawling, stopped moving, stopped standing up, and stopped sitting.” Health care workers in Gaza have been warning of the potential for a polio outbreak for months, as the humanitarian crisis unleashed by Israel’s offensive on the strip only grows.
Feds file new indictment in Trump Jan. 6 case, keeping charges intact but narrowing allegations
WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Jack Smith filed a new indictment Tuesday against Donald Trump over his efforts to undo the 2020 presidential election that keeps the same criminal charges but narrows the allegations against him following a Supreme Court opinion that conferred broad immunity on former presidents. The new indictment removes a section of the indictment that had accused Trump of trying to use the law enforcement powers of the Justice Department to overturn his election loss, an area of conduct for which the Supreme Court, in a 6-3 opinion last month, said that Trump was absolutely immune from prosecution.
Kamala Harris’ election would defy history. Just 1 sitting VP has been elected president since 1836
NEW YORK (AP) — As Vice President Kamala Harris begins her fall campaign for the White House, she can look to history and hope for better luck than others in her position who have tried the same. Since 1836, only one sitting vice president, George H.W. Bush in 1988, has been elected to the White House. Among those who tried and failed were Richard Nixon in 1960, Hubert Humphrey in 1968 and Al Gore in 2000. All three lost in narrow elections shaped by issues ranging from war and scandal to crime and the subtleties of televised debates. But two other factors proved crucial for each vice president: whether the incumbent president was well-liked and whether the president and vice president enjoyed a productive relationship.
Ukraine’s Russia offensive is risky. To get a boost, it wants less US caution on weapons
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukraine’s daring ground offensive has taken the fight to Russia, but not nearly as much as its leaders would like because, they say, the United States won’t let them. The U.S. restricts the use of long-range ballistic missiles it provides to Ukraine, which wants to aim them at military targets inside Russia. Ukraine’s offensive, along with a barrage of drones and missiles that Moscow launched this week, has intensified pressure on the Biden administration to ease its cautious approach to the use of Western weapons in escalating Ukrainian attacks. The Biden administration says its careful deliberations, including which advanced weapons it supplies to Ukraine and when, are necessary to avoid provoking retaliation from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
From cold towels to early dismissal, people are finding ways to cope with a 2nd day of heat wave
CHICAGO (AP) — As a second straight day of hot soupy temperatures approaching triple digits hung over much of the Midwest on Tuesday, residents looked for ways to stay cool and indoors. Darrell Taylor, 61, has no air-conditioning in his apartment in Chicago, where it reached a record-breaking 98 degrees Fahrenheit. He described it as feeling like an oven. Running two fans did not improve things. “I put a cold towel on my face. It’s only working a little bit,” he said before retreating to the home of a relative who has air conditioning. The National Weather Service issued excessive heat warnings and advisories Tuesday in large swaths of Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and into Mid-Atlantic states including Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
As the far right rises in eastern Germany, companies struggle to attract skilled foreign workers
JENA, Germany (AP) — When electrical engineer Preetam Gaikwad first moved to Jena in 2013, she was smitten by what the eastern German city had to offer: a prestigious university, top research institutions, and cutting-edge technology companies, global leaders in their field. Eleven years later, the Indian native takes a more sober view. “I’m really worried about the development of the political situation here,” Gaikwad, 43 said. Jena is in the eastern German state of Thuringia, which has elections on Sept. 1. The far-right Alternative for Germany party, or AfD, is currently leading the polls with about 30% support, far ahead of the center-right Christian Democrats (21%) and the center-left Social Democrats of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (7%).
Pope Francis is visiting East Timor after a clergy abuse scandal, but will he address it?
DILI, East Timor (AP) — When the Vatican acknowledged in 2022 that the Nobel Peace Prize-winning, East Timorese independence hero Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo had sexually abused young boys, it appeared that the global clergy sexual abuse scandal that has compromised the Catholic Church’s credibility around the world had finally arrived in Asia’s newest country. And yet, the church in East Timor today is stronger than ever, with most downplaying, doubting or dismissing the claims against Belo and those against a popular American missionary who confessed to molesting young girls. Many instead focus on their roles saving lives during the country’s bloody struggle against Indonesia for independence.
US Open: Naomi Osaka gets her first top-10 win in more than four years by defeating Ostapenko
NEW YORK (AP) — A year ago, still on maternity leave and still unsure when she would play elite tennis again, Naomi Osaka visited the U.S. Open to appear with Michael Phelps for a discussion about mental health. While at the site, she sat in the stands to watch one of Coco Gauff’s matches. Osaka also already was thinking about being back on a court at Flushing Meadows, so much so that she was pondering what she might want to wear to compete. And there she was Tuesday at Louis Armstrong Stadium, overpowering No. 10 seed Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-2 while decked out, from her visor to her dress to the bows on her back and attached to her shoes, in lime green — the color of this “ Brat ” summer, as it happens (IYKYK) — and playing very much like a two-time champion at the place and a former No.
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