AP-Newswatch

Israeli strike in northern Lebanon kills at least 21 people

AITO, Lebanon (AP) — The Lebanese Red Cross says an Israeli airstrike hit an apartment building in northern Lebanon, killing at least 21 people. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military and it was not clear what the target was. The strike on Monday hit a small apartment building in the majority-Christian village of Aito, far from the Hezbollah militant group’s main areas of influence in the south and east of Lebanon. Hours earlier, Palestinian medics said an Israeli airstrike on a hospital courtyard in the Gaza Strip killed at least four people and left more than two dozen with severe burns. The Israeli military says it was targeting militants hiding among civilians, without providing evidence.

Netanyahu mulls plan to empty northern Gaza of civilians and cut off aid to those left inside

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is examining a plan to seal off humanitarian aid to northern Gaza in an attempt to starve out Hamas militants. If implemented, the plan could trap without food or water hundreds of thousands of Palestinians unwilling or unable to leave their homes. Israel has issued many evacuation orders for the north throughout the yearlong war. The plan proposed to Netanyahu by a group of retired generals would escalate the pressure, giving Palestinians a week to leave the northern third of the Gaza Strip. Those who remain would be denied food, water, medicine and fuel. The chief architect of the plan says it is the only way to break Hamas in the north and pressure it to release Israeli hostages.

NASA spacecraft rockets toward Jupiter’s moon Europa in search of the right conditions for life

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A NASA spacecraft has blasted off on a quest to explore Jupiter’s moon Europa and reveal whether its hidden ocean might hold the keys to life. SpaceX launched the Europa Clipper on Monday from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. It will take 5 1/2 years for Clipper to reach Jupiter. Once there, the spacecraft will orbit the giant gas planet, sneaking close to Europa during dozens of flybys. The $5.2 billion mission won’t search for life but rather the conditions necessary for it. Scientists are almost certain a vast, deep ocean exists beneath Europa’s icy crust.

Canada and India expel each other’s diplomats in escalating dispute over a 2023 assassination

TORONTO (AP) — Canada and India have each expelled six diplomats in tit-for-tat moves as part of an escalating dispute over the June 2023 assassination of a Sikh activist in Canada. Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said Monday that Canada was expelling six Indian diplomats including the high commissioner after police uncovered evidence of a targeted campaign against Canadian citizens by agents of the Indian government. The Indian foreign ministry said that it was expelling six Canadian diplomats. It had said earlier that India was withdrawing its diplomats after rejecting Canada’s notification that the Indian ambassador was a “person of interest” in the assassination.

Most AAPI adults think legal immigrants give the US a major economic boost: AP-NORC/AAPI Data poll

WASHINGTON (AP) — According to a new poll, Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander adults are more likely than the overall U.S. population to view legal immigration as an asset to the country’s economy and workforce. However, their concerns about risks posed by illegal immigration are nearly on par with those of Americans overall. The survey released Monday by AAPI Data and AP-NORC finds that about 8 in 10 AAPI adults say immigrants coming to the U.S. legally are a “major benefit” who contribute to economic growth. The polling results come as former President Donald Trump continues to focus on the threat of immigration in his presidential campaign against Vice President Kamala Harris.

6 people accuse Diddy of sexual assault in new lawsuits, including man who was 16 at the time

NEW YORK (AP) — A new wave of lawsuits filed Monday accuses Sean “Diddy” Combs of raping men and women and molesting a 16-year-old boy. At least six lawsuits were filed against the hip-hop mogul in federal court in Manhattan. They were filed anonymously, two by women identified as Jane Does and four by men identified as John Does. The accusers are part of what their lawyers say is a group of more than 100 alleged victims who are in the process of taking legal action against Combs in the wake of his sex trafficking arrest last month.

Nobel economics prize goes to 3 economists who found that freer societies are more likely to prosper

STOCKHOLM (AP) — The Nobel memorial prize in economics has been awarded to three U.S.-based academics who studied why some countries are rich and others poor and have documented that freer, open societies are more likely to prosper. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said their work demonstrates the importance of societal institutions for boosting a country’s prosperity. The research has provided “a much deeper understanding of the root causes of why countries fail or succeed,” said Jakob Svensson, chair of the Committee for the Prize in Economic Sciences. The announcement was made Monday in Stockholm. Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, while James A. Robinson conducts his research at the University of Chicago.