AP News Summary at 8:43 p.m. EDT (2024)

WikiLeaks’ Assange pleads guilty in deal with US that secures his freedom, ends legal fight

SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands (AP) — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has pleaded guilty to a single felony charge for publishing U.S. military secrets in a deal with Justice Department prosecutors that secures his freedom and concludes a drawn-out legal saga that raised divisive questions about press freedom and national security. The plea was entered Wednesday morning in federal court in Saipan, the capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. commonwealth in the Pacific. He arrived at court shortly before the hearing was to begin, wearing a dark suit with a tie loosened at the collar, and entered the building without taking questions.

Who is Julian Assange, the polarizing founder of the secret-spilling website WikiLeaks?

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Before he emerged as an eccentric internet publisher of state secrets, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was born in Townsville, Australia. He experienced an itinerant childhood and attended dozens of schools, becoming a computer hacker as a teenager. He was arrested in the 1990s for hacking a server in Melbourne and studied mathematics and physics at Australian universities. Assange went on to transform his radically anti-secrecy views into a document-leaking website that revealed U.S. and other countries' military secrets. He spent seven years in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and five in a British prison while he fought his extradition to the U.S.

Israelis' lawsuit says UN agency helps Hamas by paying Gaza staff in dollars

NEW YORK (AP) — Israelis who were taken hostage or lost loved ones during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack are suing the United Nations agency that aids Palestinians. A suit filed in a U.S. court this week alleges that the agency, known as UNRWA, has helped finance the militants by paying agency staffers in U.S. dollars and thereby funneling them to money-changers in Gaza. But UNWRA spokesperson Juliette Touma tells The Associated Press on Tuesday that the staffers were paid in dollars by their own choice. Gaza and the Palestinian territories don’t have their own national currency. The lawsuit marks the latest challenge to the beleaguered agency. It has been the main supplier of food, water and shelter to civilians during the Israel-Hamas war.

Israel's military must enlist the ultra-Orthodox. What will that mean for Netanyahu and the war?

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's Supreme Court unanimously ordered the government to begin drafted ultra-Orthodox Jewish men into the army. The landmark ruling on Tuesday seeks to end a system that has allowed them to avoid enlistment into compulsory military service. Ultra-Orthodox Jews, which make up about 13% of Israel’s population, are an essential part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s fragile governing coalition. They oppose enlistment because they believe that studying full time in religious seminaries is their most important duty, but the exemptions have reopened a deep divide in the country and infuriated much of the general public during the war in Gaza.

Iowa floodwaters breach levees as even more rain dumps onto parts of the Midwest

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Severe storms with tornado warnings brought hail and heavy rain to parts of the Midwest as floodwaters breached levees in Iowa, creating dangerous conditions that prompted evacuations. The sheriff’s office in Monona County says the Little Sioux River breached levees in several areas Tuesday. Evacuation orders were issued and roads were closed in the area. No injuries were immediately reported. Iowa officials say they expect to close parts of two highways near Council Bluffs because of floodwaters. At least two deaths are being blamed on the storms. President Joe Biden has declared a major disaster for several counties in Iowa to free up federal aid.

Judge alters Trump’s gag order, letting him talk about witnesses, jury after hush money conviction

NEW YORK (AP) — A judge has modified Donald Trump’s gag order, freeing the former president to comment about witnesses and jurors in his New York hush money criminal trial but keeping court and prosecution staff off limits. Judge Juan M. Merchan issued his decision on Tuesday. Trump’s lawyers had wanted the gag order fully lifted. They argued there was nothing to justify continued restrictions on Trump’s First Amendment rights after the trial ended May 30 in his conviction for falsifying records to cover up a potential sex scandal. Prosecutors had urged Merchan to keep most of the gag order in place at least until Trump is sentenced on July 11, but said they’d be OK with modifying it.

FDA warns maker of Sara Lee and Entenmann's not to claim foods contain allergens when they don't

Federal food safety regulators are warning Bimbo Bakeries USA to stop using misleading labels that say products contain potentially dangerous allergens when they don't. Bimbo is the company behind major baked goods brands such as Sara Lee, Thomas', Oroweat and Entenmann’s. U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspectors found that the company listed ingredients such as sesame or tree nuts on labels when they weren't in the foods. FDA officials said Tuesday that food labels must be truthful. They also say labeling is not a substitute for preventing cross-contamination. Bimbo says it's working with FDA to resolve the issue.

Suspect is dead after shootings near Las Vegas leave 5 people dead, teen injured, police say

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Authorities say a man fatally shot five people and wounded a 13-year-old girl before shooting himself as he was confronted by police near Las Vegas. The North Las Vegas Police Department said Tuesday the suspected shooter killed himself Tuesday as officers closed in. Police say they found 47-year-old Eric Adams armed with a gun in a residential neighborhood after receiving a tip that he was seen in the area. The department hasn't disclosed a possible motive for the shootings Monday night at separate apartments in North Las Vegas.

NTSB chair says Norfolk Southern interfered with derailment probe after botching vent-and-burn call

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (AP) — National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy says Norfolk Southern repeatedly tried to interfere with the investigation into the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment and shape its conclusions about what the agency called a flawed decision to blow open five tank cars and burn the vinyl chloride inside. The NTSB also confirmed at Tuesday's hearing that a flaming wheel bearing caused the February 2023 derailment in East Palestine. The agency approved more than two dozen recommendations to prevent similar disasters. Investigators say the railroad and its contractors ignored data about the tank cars and failed to accurately present information to decision-makers from the chemical manufacturer.

Anti-tax protesters storm Kenya's parliament, drawing police fire as president vows to quash unrest

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Thousands of protesters stormed Kenya’s parliament Tuesday to protest tax proposals, burning part of the building, sending lawmakers fleeing and drawing fire from police. President William Ruto called the events treasonous and vowed to quash the unrest. t was the most direct assault on the government in decades. Journalists saw at least three bodies outside the complex where police had opened fire, and medical workers reported five people killed. Clashes spread to other cities. There was no immediate word on arrests. Kenya’s defense minister said the military had been deployed to support police during the “security emergency."

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