AP-Newswatch

Israel says its strike on Beirut killed a top Hezbollah military official as Lebanon reports 14 died

BEIRUT (AP) — Israel says it has carried out an airstrike that killed a senior Hezbollah military official in a densely populated southern neighborhood of the Lebanese capital. It was the deadliest such attack on Beirut in years. Lebanese health officials say at least 14 people were killed. The Israeli military’s chief spokesman says Friday’s strike on Dahiya targeted and killed Ibrahim Akil, a commander of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, as well as 10 other Hezbollah operatives. There was no immediate confirmation of Akil’s death from Hezbollah. The Israeli military did not elaborate on the identities of the other commanders allegedly killed in the strike on the crowded urban neighborhood. Lebanese health officials also said that at least 66 people were wounded.

Secret Service report details communication failures preceding July assassination attempt on Trump

WASHINGTON (AP) — Communication breakdowns with local law enforcement hampered the Secret Service’s performance ahead of a July assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. That’s according to a new report that lays out a litany of missed opportunities to stop a gunman who opened fire from an unsecured roof. A five-page document summarizing the Secret Service report’s key conclusions finds fault with both local and federal law enforcement, underscoring the cascading and wide-ranging failings that preceded the July 13 shooting at a Butler, Pennsylvania., campaign rally where Trump was wounded by gunfire.

In-person voting begins for the US presidential contest, kicking off the sprint to Election Day

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — In-person voting for the 2024 U.S. presidential election has begun in three states — Virginia, South Dakota and Minnesota, the home state of Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz. The first ballots being cast Friday in person come with just over six weeks left before Election Day on Nov. 5. About a dozen more states will follow with early in-person voting by mid-October. Across the country, local election directors are beefing up their security to keep their workers and polling places safe while also ensuring that ballots and voting procedures won’t be tampered with. Most election officials are expecting high turnout through the final day of voting in November.

Georgia State Election Board approves rule requiring hand count of ballots

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia election officials are requiring poll workers to tally the number of ballots by hand. The State Election Board voted 3-2 on Friday to approve the new rule, going against the advice of the state attorney general’s office, the secretary of state’s office and an association of county election officials. Three board members who were praised by former President Donald Trump during a rally last month in Atlanta voted to approve the measure. The new rule requires that paper ballots be counted at each polling place by three separate poll workers until all three counts are the same. Opponents say the rule could delay election results.

Western nations were desperate for Korean babies. Now many adoptees believe they were stolen

Western governments ignored widespread fraud in South Korean adoptions and sometimes pressured the country to keep the kids coming, an investigation led by The Associated Press has found. Many Korean children adopted overseas have realized their adoption paperwork was untrue, and their quest for accountability has spread to Western countries. Documents show that diplomats processed papers like an assembly line, despite evidence that agencies were bribing mothers and paying hospitals. The consequences are upending the global adoption industry. Some European countries have shut down adoptions, and the U.S. State Department said questions from AP prompted it try to piece together its history from archives. AP talked to more than 80 adoptees, in collaboration with Frontline (PBS).

Federal authorities subpoena NYC mayor’s director of asylum seeker operations

NEW YORK (AP) — As New York City Mayor Eric Adams faces a swarm of investigations into his top ranks, federal prosecutors are now seeking information from the director of New York City’s asylum seeker office. Molly Schaeffer, who leads the office, received a subpoena Friday from federal authorities. That’s according to a person familiar with the matter. The person requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the subpoena. The request comes weeks after federal agents seized phones from Adams’ top deputies, including his police commissioner, schools chancellor and two deputy mayors. Federal prosecutors have not yet said what they are investigating. Schaeffer referred comment to City Hall, which did not respond to an inquiry.

Passenger on a previous Titan sub dive says his mission was aborted due to apparent malfunction

A paid passenger on an expedition to the Titanic with the company that owned the Titan submersible testified before a U.S. Coast Guard investigatory panel Friday that the mission he took part in was aborted due to an apparent mechanical failure. The Titan submersible imploded last year while on another trip to the Titanic wreckage site. A Coast Guard investigatory panel has listened to four days of testimony. Fred Hagen was first to testify Friday and was identified as a “mission specialist,” which he and other witnesses have characterized as people who paid a fee to play a role in OceanGate’s underwater exploration. He said his 2021 mission to the Titanic was aborted underwater when the Titan began malfunctioning.

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs joins list of Hollywood stars charged with sex crimes

With his arrest this week, Sean “Diddy” Combs joins a short list of celebrities prosecuted for sex crimes in the wake of the #MeToo movement. The music mogul, who is accused of inducing female victims and male sex workers into drugged-up, sometimes dayslong sexual performances dubbed “Freak Offs,” is charged with racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. The indictment against him lists allegations that go back to 2008. A judge Wednesday rejected the hip-hop mogul’s proposal that he await his sex trafficking trial in the luxury of his Florida mansion instead of a grim Brooklyn federal jail.

Brazil drought punishes coffee farms and threatens to push prices even higher

CACONDE, Brazil (AP) — Brazilian coffee farmers are grappling with above-average temperatures as the country, the world’s largest coffee producer, faces its worst drought in more than seven decades. Vietnam, the second-largest coffee producer, is also experiencing heat and drought, affecting its coffee crops. As a result, potential supply shortages in both countries have driven up global coffee prices. Prices prices haven’t reached the record highs the world saw in the late 1970s, after a severe frost wiped out 70% of Brazil’s coffee plants. But they have been soaring in recent years.