By Holmes Lybrand, Sabrina Souza and Gregory Krieg, CNN (CNN) — Sen. Bob Menendez’s lawyer launched his defense Wednesday in a Manhattan courtroom, insisting that the New Jersey Democrat never engaged in the international bribery scheme described by federal prosecutors and asserting that there were “innocent explanations” for the tangle of alleged crimes that has
Continue ReadingThe Associated Press Slovakian Prime MInister Robert Fico is fighting for his life after he was shot by an assailant following a political event. The shooting sent shockwaves across Europe few weeks before EU parliament elections are scheduled to be held. Leaders from across the political divide are denouncing the apparent assassination attempt against the
Continue ReadingBy Alex Marquardt, CNN (CNN) — Russia has stepped up its disinformation efforts to discredit Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and raise questions about his legitimacy in recent months, US intelligence agencies have observed. A recently downgraded intelligence assessment shared with CNN says that Russia has seized on various recent events to fuel criticism about Zelensky’s abilities and place as Ukraine’s leader, a
Continue ReadingBy STAN CHOE AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are rising toward records Wednesday with hopes that inflation is finally heading back in the right direction after its discouraging start to the year. The S&P 500 was 1% higher in afternoon trading and above its all-time high set at the end of
Continue ReadingBy KEVIN McGILL Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal appeals court is considering the latest arguments on whether Texas must remove a barrier consisting of large floating buoys anchored in the Rio Grande as part of Gov. Greg Abbott’s efforts to deter immigration. The state installed the buoys in July 2023. The barrier
Continue ReadingBy JOSHUA GOODMAN Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — The son-in-law of a prominent Venezuelan opposition leader has pleaded guilty to money laundering charges for his role in a vast bribery conspiracy to siphon over a billion dollars from the state-owned oil company. Fernando Vuteff admitted in federal court in Miami to earning more than $4
Continue ReadingBy HANNAH SCHOENBAUM Associated Press PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — A Utah judge has postponed a hearing to determine if prosecutors have enough evidence to proceed to trial in the case of a woman charged with fatally poisoning her husband before she published a children’s book about coping with grief. Judge Richard Mrazik on Wednesday
Continue ReadingBy MATTHEW LEE AP Diplomatic Writer KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, an amateur musician, may have thought he had the perfect upbeat song to perform with a Kyiv bar band. Fresh from a day of delivering optimistic prognoses about the war with Russia despite gloomy news from the front lines,
Continue ReadingBy SEUNG MIN KIM and COLLEEN LONG The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is preparing more changes to the nation’s asylum system meant to speed up processing and potential removal of migrants who continue to arrive at the southern border. It’s an interim step as President Joe Biden continues to mull a
Continue ReadingBy EILEEN NG Associated Press KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Singapore’s new prime minister has vowed to make “tomorrow better than today” as he took his oath of office in a carefully planned political succession designed to ensure stability in the Asian financial hub. The U.S.-trained economist Lawrence Wong succeeds Lee Hsien Loong, who stepped down
Continue ReadingPANAMA CITY (AP) — A U.N. report says child migration through Panama’s dangerous Darien Gap is up 40% so far this year. UNICEF, the U.N. children’s agency, says that an estimated 30,000 minors have crossed the jungle-clad trail between Colombia and Panama. The report says a total of 139,000 migrants of all ages have made
Continue ReadingWASHINGTON (AP) — The National Security Council says high-level U.S. government envoys raised concerns about “the misuse of AI” by China and others in closed-door talks with Chinese officials in Geneva. NSC spokesperson Adrienne Watson said the countries exchanged perspectives on AI safety and risk management in “candid and constructive” discussions a day earlier. The
Continue ReadingANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — A first-year U.S. Naval Academy student has stood victorious on classmates’ shoulders and placed an upperclassman’s cap atop the Herndon Monument after a grueling, slippery struggle. The Class of 2027 worked together Wednesday to scale the 21-foot obelisk covered in vegetable shortening to replace a white plebe “Dixie cup hat” with
Continue ReadingBy Jeremy Diamond, CNN Jerusalem (CNN) — The Israeli military is calling on the United Nations to investigate the presence of armed militants at a UN facility in southern Gaza after releasing video that shows armed men at the facility. Drone footage published by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Tuesday, and geolocated by CNN,
Continue ReadingBy SAM METZ and MASSINISSA BENLAKEHAL Associated Press TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Two Tunisian journalists are kept in pre-trial detention as authorities continued a wave of arrests targeting perceived critics of President Kais Saied’s government. Borhen Bsaies and Mourad Zeghidi remain behind bars after being apprehended. They were accused of violating a cybercrime law against
Continue ReadingBy Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN (CNN) — Egypt could consider downgrading relations with Israel if it presses on with a military operation in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah on the Egyptian border, an Egyptian official told CNN. “Everything is possible and is on the table, including the downgrade of the relations. But we are not there
Continue ReadingBy ZEKE MILLER, JILL COLVIN and JOSH BOAK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have agreed to hold two campaign debates, on June 27 hosted by CNN and on Sept. 10 hosted by ABC. CNN says its debate will be held in its Atlanta studios and “no audience
Continue ReadingBy MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Something stopped Michael McDonald from telling his story publicly — him. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer with multiple Grammys just didn’t think he had one. McDonald, a member of both Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers who became a singular soul solo artist
Continue ReadingHOUSTON (AP) — Prosecutors say a man has pleaded guilty in the fatal shooting of an off-duty New Orleans police officer and his friend during a holdup at a Houston restaurant in 2021. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said Wednesday that Frederick Jackson pleaded guilty to two murder counts in exchange for a 60-year
Continue ReadingCNN Opinion by Julian Zelizer, CNN (CNN) — President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have both accepted an invitation from CNN to debate on June 27, nearly four years since they last clashed onstage. Biden, who was first to accept the invitation Wednesday morning, posted on X: “I’ve received and accepted an invitation from @CNN for a
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