AP-Newswatch

Israeli strikes kill 25 in Lebanon, including in a town with a dark history of civilian deaths

QANA, Lebanon (AP) — Officials say Israeli airstrikes have pounded areas across Lebanon, killing at least 25 people, including more than a dozen in a southern town where Israeli bombardments in previous conflicts are seared into local memory. Elsewhere in the south, a city’s mayor was among the dead in a strike Wednesday that Lebanese officials said targeted a meeting coordinating relief efforts. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the strikes late Tuesday on the southern town of Qana, where 15 people were killed. In 1996, Israeli artillery shelling on a United Nations compound housing hundreds of displaced people in Qana killed at least 100 civilians and wounded scores more people, including four U.N. peacekeepers.

Zelenskyy outlines his ‘victory plan’ to Ukraine’s lawmakers, including a call to join NATO

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told lawmakers that Ukraine’s Western partners are increasing pressure to negotiate with Russia, but he hinted such talks would be unfavorable to Kyiv as he unveiled what he called his “victory plan” for the war. Its major points include an invitation for Ukraine to join NATO and permission to use Western-supplied longer-range missiles to strike military targets inside Russia — steps that have been met with reluctance by Kyiv’s allies so far. In his remarks, Zelenskyy also said that in private communications with Ukraine, its partners are increasingly mentioning “negotiations” and much less frequently using the word “justice.” He reiterated Ukraine is not prepared for a “frozen conflict” or any “trade-offs involving territory or sovereignty.”

People with felony records can now vote in Nebraska — and it could help tip the balance in November

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s high court says people with felony records can register to vote in a decision with implications for the upcoming election. The state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the secretary of state had no authority to declare unconstitutional a state law that restored the voting rights of those who have been convicted of a felony. The official’s order could have kept thousands of Nebraskans from voting in the Nov. 5 election. Many reside in the Omaha-area district that will offer the presidential candidates one electoral vote in a dead-heat race. The district voted for the Democratic presidential candidate in 2008 and 2020.

More than 140 people are killed and dozens injured when a gas tanker explodes in Nigeria

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — More than 140 people, including children, are dead in Nigeria after an overturned gasoline tanker truck exploded in flames while they tried to scoop up fuel. Dozens more were injured. Deadly tanker accidents are common in Africa’s most populous country, which lacks an efficient railway system to transport cargo. People often salvage fuel with cups and buckets — especially because of soaring fuel prices, which have tripled since the government ended costly gas subsidies last year. Emergency services say most of the bodies in this latest accident were unrecognizable. One resident says the fire spread so quickly that many people couldn’t escape.

A brown dwarf discovered 30 years ago is actually twins circling each other

NEW YORK (AP) — Scientists say a celestial object discovered decades ago is actually twins orbiting each other. The discovery was published Wednesday in the journal Nature. Astronomers have puzzled over a brown dwarf spotted 30 years ago. Brown dwarfs are sometimes called failed stars because they’re lighter than stars, but heavier than gas giant planets. This object appeared too dim for its mass. Using a telescope in Chile, astronomers observed it was actually a duo circling close to each other. Brown dwarf pairs have been spied before, but this pair orbit at much closer range.

Menendez brothers’ family to push for their release as prosecutors review 1989 case

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The extended family of Erik and Lyle Menendez will advocate for the brothers’ release from prison following the 1989 killings of their parents in Beverly Hills. Wednesday’s news conference in downtown Los Angeles comes after the LA County district attorney announced that prosecutors are reviewing new evidence to determine whether they should be serving life sentences. The brothers admitted to the crime but at the time said they feared their parents were about to kill them to prevent the disclosure of the father’s long-term sexual molestation of Erik. Erik Menendez, now 53, and his 56-year-old brother, Lyle Menendez, are currently incarcerated in state prison without the possibility of parole.

Ravens’ dynamic duo of Henry and Jackson help lead a rushing renaissance in the NFL

The NFL’s running game has had a bit of a renaissance early this season thanks in part to a dynamic duo in Baltimore off to a historic start. NFL teams are rushing at the highest rate through six weeks since 2008, with teams averaging a record-high 4.5 yards per carry and the most yards rushing per game at this point in a season in 40 years. The Ravens are playing a big part in that thanks to the predictable success of pairing perhaps the NFL’s best rushing quarterback, Lamar Jackson, with the most prolific running back of his generation, Derrick Henry.