Here are key developments in Russia’s case against Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was convicted on Friday of espionage charges in an unusually rapid trial in the country’s highly politicized legal system. He was sentenced to 16 years in a maximum-security prison. Gershkovich, his employer and the U.S. government have vehemently denied the
Continue ReadingAssociated Press MILAN (AP) — Venice city officials say the day-tripper tax netted 2.4 million euros during a test phase this summer, and that decisions on how to proceed would be made in the fall after a full analysis of the data. According to the city, the 5-euro tax was paid 485,062 times over the
Continue ReadingAssociated Press CHILLICOTHE, Mo. (AP) — A woman whose murder conviction was overturned after she served 43 years of a life sentence was released Friday, despite attempts in the last month by Missouri’s attorney general to keep her behind bars. Sandra Hemme, 64, left a prison in Chillicothe, hours after a judge threatened to hold
Continue ReadingAP Aerospace Writer CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The cosmos is providing a full moon for the 55th anniversary of the first lunar landing this weekend, and plenty of other events honor Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s giant leap. Aldrin, 94, the last surviving member of the Apollo 11 crew, headlines a gala at the
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Taste of Summer Rancho Mirage is back! The annual event invites the community to support local non-profits and Rancho Mirage restaurants. There are over 30 non-profits participating in the week and a half long event. Each nonprofit is responsible for fundraising wristbands. Those wristbands give customers access to special deals. For more information about this
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Non-profit, Academy of Musical Performance is a three week program for Coachella Valley students interested in music. This year marks their 10 year anniversary and their first year partnering with College of the Desert. Students received a surprise visit from American Idol Winner and Indio’s very own, Abi Carter to help mark the milestone. Young
Continue ReadingTALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A United Nations panel of human rights experts has called on Belarus to release the Nobel Peace Prize-winning founder of the country’s most respected rights group, who has been behind bars for three years. Ales Bialiatski’s imprisonment came amid a widespread crackdown on opponents of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko after mass
Continue ReadingAssociated Press Months beforehand, some Pennsylvania lawmakers had proposed to outlaw the type of rifle that was used in the assassination attempt against Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. The legislation stalled, but that was no surprise. For years, the state’s political divisions between Democrats and Republicans have made it difficult to either strengthen or relax
Continue ReadingBy Sean Lyngaas, CNN (CNN) — The US Treasury Department on Friday sanctioned two alleged members of a Russian cybercriminal gang that has claimed responsibility for a slew of hacks against US critical infrastructure providers, including a cyberattack in January that caused a tank at a Texas water facility to overflow. Treasury posted photos of
Continue ReadingAssociated Press There’s a home movie theater with orange walls and plush recliners at the top of a steep hill on Matthew Rantanen’s ranch in Southern California. But on a recent afternoon, people weren’t flocking to the room to watch a movie or to escape the scorching heat, they were shining a beam of light
Continue ReadingBy Rosa Flores, Emma Tucker and Sara Weisfeldt, CNN (CNN) — Arielle Mitton’s world turned upside down when she learned the $50,000 she borrowed to pay for surrogacy had disappeared from her escrow account. “That was the hardest day for me,” she told CNN in a video chat. “I couldn’t eat. I couldn’t sleep.” Her
Continue ReadingAssociated Press TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — A Tunisian court has sentenced a presidential candidate Lotfi Mraihi to eight months in prison and banned him from contesting elections for life, in the latest move to stifle opponents of President Kais Saied in the upcoming October election which critics call a sham. The court found Mraihi guilty
Continue ReadingBERLIN (AP) — Adidas said Friday that it is “revising” its campaign for running shoes inspired by a design dating back to the time of the 1972 Munich Olympics, which has drawn criticism from Israel over the involvement of supermodel Bella Hadid. The German-based sportswear company has been advertising the SL72 sneakers, which it describes
Continue ReadingAssociated Press CABOT, Pa. (AP) — The keen of bagpipes, a three-volley gun salute and a bugle sounding taps pierced the air of a small Pennsylvania town on Friday as hundreds gathered to honor an ex-fire chief who was shot and killed at a rally for former President Donald Trump. Following funeral services for Corey
Continue ReadingBy Ibrahim Dahman, Caitlin Danaher and Christian Edwards, CNN (CNN) — The highly infectious polio virus has been found in sewage samples in Gaza, putting thousands of Palestinians at risk of contracting a disease that can cause paralysis. Gaza’s Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO) both said they had carried out tests
Continue ReadingAssociated Press BARNET, Vt. (AP) — Exactly one year to the date of last year’s severe flooding in Vermont, Joe’s Brook Farm in Barnet was flooded again by the remnants of Hurricane Beryl. This time it was worse. Workers were able to harvest some of the produce before last week’s flooding but the family-owned vegetable
Continue ReadingBy Jennifer Hansler, CNN (CNN) — When Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva was blocked from leaving Russia last June, her family never expected that she would still be in Russian detention more than a year later. “We were so confident that she would get back to us that I bought Taylor Swift tickets … in June
Continue ReadingAP Golf Writer TROON, Scotland (AP) — Tiger Woods tied a personal record in the British Open on Friday, one he could have done without but perhaps should come to expect. Woods matched his highest 36-hole score as a professional — 156 — to miss the cut for the third straight time in a major.
Continue ReadingBy Nadeen Ebrahim and Mitchell McCluskey, CNN (CNN) — The United Nations’ top court said Friday that Israel’s presence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem is illegal, in an unprecedented opinion that called on Israel to end its decades-long occupation of territories claimed by Palestinians for a future state. The advisory opinion, while non-binding,
Continue ReadingPIERRE, S.D. (AP) — An anti-abortion group in South Dakota is appealing a judge’s dismissal of its lawsuit to remove an abortion rights initiative from the November ballot. Life Defense Fund filed an appeal Wednesday, asking for an expedited order from the court as the November election nears. In May, Dakotans for Health submitted tens
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