AP-National

By NICOLE WINFIELD and KELVIN CHAN Associated Press BARI, Italy (AP) — Pope Francis challenged leaders of the world’s wealthy democracies Friday to keep human dignity foremost in developing and using artificial intelligence, warning that such powerful technology risks turning human relations themselves into mere algorithms. Francis brought his moral authority to bear on the

By TERRY SPENCER Associated Press PARKLAND, Fla. (AP) — A large excavator stretched up and punched out a window on the top floor of a three-story classroom building where 17 people died in the 2018 mass shooting at Parkland, Florida’s, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School as a long-awaited demolition got underway. About 100 yards away,

By FREIDA FRISARO, TERRY SPENCER and DANIEL KOZIN Associated Press FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Although more rain could trigger additional isolated Florida flooding on Friday, forecasters say the strong, persistent storms that dumped up to 20 inches (50 centimeters) in southern parts of the state appear to have passed. Some neighborhood streets in the

By SAMY MAGDY Associated Press MINA, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Muslim pilgrims have converged on a vast tent camp in the desert near Mecca, Saudi Arabia, officially beginning the annual Hajj pilgrimage. Saudi officials say more than 1.5 million foreign pilgrims have arrived in the city of Mecca so far on Friday. They expect the

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER and EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S.-built pier to carry food to Gaza is facing one of its most serious challenges yet. The United Nations is deciding if it can keep safely and ethically deliver supplies from the U.S. sea route to starving Palestinians. The U.N. has paused

By STEPHANY MATAT and WILL WEISSERT Associated Press WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Donald Trump has marked his 78th birthday by addressing a fawning crowd in Florida, promising to crack down hard on the U.S.-Mexico border and repeatedly dismissing his opponent in November’s election, President Joe Biden, as too frail to handle a second

By JONATHAN J. COOPER Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — President Joe Biden’s campaign is using social events like bingo and pickleball to get older Americans engaged in his quest for a second term. The campaign held its first Biden Bingo event Thursday in Arizona. The state is a crucial battleground and a popular destination for

By JUAN A. LOZANO Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — Alex Jones has pushed many theories over the last three decades, including that the U.S. government was behind or failed to stop the Oklahoma City bombing and the 9/11 attacks. As the outlandish nature of his false claims grew, so did his media empire, with annual

By DAVE COLLINS and JUAN A. LOZANO Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — A federal judge on Friday ordered the liquidation of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones′ personal assets but dismissed his company’s separate bankruptcy case, leaving the immediate future of his Infowars media platform uncertain as he owes $1.5 billion for his false claims that the

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — Switzerland will host scores of world leaders this weekend to try to map out the first steps toward peace in Ukraine even though Russia, which launched the war, isn’t attending. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government didn’t want Russia involved. But the Swiss insist that Russia must be

By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Hockey Writer EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Following their leaders who got them this far in the playoffs and a winning recipe that has worked all season, the Florida Panthers are on the verge of lifting the Stanley Cup. Captain Aleksander Barkov set up a goal and scored another, Sergei Bobrovsky made

By GONZALO SOLANO Associated Press QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Officials in one of Ecuador’s most dangerous cities are acknowledging a building of unidentified and unclaimed bodies beyond the capacity of Guayaquil’s main morgue. The statement Thursday came after media reports that about 200 bodies in excess of the morgue’s capacity had accumulated and a refrigeration

By COLLIN BINKLEY AP Education Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration’s new Title IX rule expanding protections for LGBTQ+ students has been temporarily blocked in four states after a federal judge in Louisiana found that it overstepped the Education Department’s authority. In a preliminary injunction granted Thursday, U.S. District Judge Terry A. Doughty called

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York Police Department inspector has been indicted on charges that he lied to investigators and tried to get incriminating video footage erased after his girlfriend drunkenly crashed his police car into a cab. Manhattan prosecutors say Deputy Inspector Paul Zangrilli tried to cover up the 2022 wreck by switching

NEW YORK (AP) — Tony Bennett’s two daughters are suing their brother, alleging he mishandled and failed to disclose some of their father’s assets in his role as trustee of the late singer’s estate. The lawsuit filed Wednesday in New York by Antonia and Johanna Bennett accuses D’Andrea “Danny” Bennett of not accounting for all

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (AP) — Two people have been killed in a single-engine plane crash in Northern California. The Alpine County Sheriff’s Office says the crash occurred Thursday, about 10 miles south of South Lake Tahoe. Deputies were notified of an overdue aircraft around 1 a.m. Thursday and the Luscombe 8A aircraft’s GPS transponder

By MARIANA MARTÍNEZ BARBA Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar has warned that migrants who do not opt for a legal pathway into the United States will face consequences. The message Thursday comes at a time when the Biden administration needs Mexico’s cooperation in easing the flow of migrants

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The heads of six U.N. agencies and three international humanitarian organizations issued a joint appeal to Yemen’s Houthi rebels for the immediate release of 17 members of their staff who were recently detained along with many others also being held by the Iranian-backed group. Their

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — A Texas man has been charged with allegedly threatening an FBI special agent who had been involved in an investigation into the dissemination of personal data from Hunter Biden’s laptop. Timothy Muller was arrested Thursday. Federal prosecutors say he allegedly called the FBI agent on Tuesday shortly after a federal

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer PINEHURST, N.C. (AP) — Rory McIlroy sent his 20-foot birdie putt on its way at the 18th hole Thursday and started walking toward the cup when the ball was still some 6 feet away from falling. It looked like the walk of a four-time major champion in control of