AP News Summary at 11:51 p.m. EDT (2024)

Tornado devastates Iowa town, killing multiple people as powerful storms rip through Midwest

GREENFIELD, Iowa (AP) — Multiple people have died and at least a dozen were injured since a powerful tornado tore through a small Iowa town, carving a bleak landscape of destroyed homes and businesses, shredded trees, smashed cars, and widely strewn debris. The tornado destroyed much of the small Iowa town of Greenfield. Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Alex Dinkla says at least a dozen people were injured amid widespread devastation in Greenfield. Tuesday saw multiple tornadoes, giant hail and heavy rain in several states. The storms and tornado warnings have moved into Wisconsin, including a warning for the state’s capital city of Madison.

Trump's lawyers rested their case after calling just 2 witnesses. Experts say that's not unusual

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s legal team has rested its case in his hush money trial after calling just two witnesses and opting not to have the former president take the stand in his own defense. But criminal defense lawyers say that isn’t all that unusual, despite what Hollywood courtroom dramas might suggest. They say the burden of proof is on prosecutors to prove their case. The defense only has to show there’s reasonable doubt their client committed a crime. And their best opportunity to do that is during the cross-examination of the prosecution's witnesses.

UN halts all food distribution in Rafah after running out of supplies in the southern Gaza city

CAIRO (AP) — The United Nations says it has suspended food distribution in the southern Gaza city of Rafah due to lack of supplies and insecurity. It also said no aid trucks entered via a pier set up by the U.S. for sea deliveries for the past two days. The U.N. has not specified how many people remain in Rafah after the Israeli military launched an intensified assault there on May 6, but they appear to number several hundred thousand. Abeer Etefa, a spokesperson for the U.N’s World Food Program, warned that “humanitarian operations in Gaza are near collapse.” She said that if food and other supplies don’t resume entering Gaza in “in massive quantities, famine-like conditions will spread.”

Ex-NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani pleads not guilty to felony charges in Arizona election interference case

PHOENIX (AP) — Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani pleaded not guilty Tuesday to nine felony charges stemming from his role in an effort to overturn Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss in Arizona to Joe Biden. Giuliani appeared remotely for the arraignment that was held in a Phoenix courtroom. His trial is scheduled for Oct. 17, about three weeks before the U.S. election. His plea follows a not guilty plea by former Arizona Republican Party chair Kelli Ward for the same charges. Ward and nine other people were arraigned in a Phoenix courtroom on conspiracy, forgery and fraudcharges. The Tuesday arraignments were the second held in the case.

California lawmaker Vince Fong wins special election to finish ousted House Speaker McCarthy’s term

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Republican California legislator backed by former President Donald Trump has won a special election to complete the remainder of the term of deposed former U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, which runs through January. State Assembly member Vince Fong is a McCarthy protege who also had the former speaker’s endorsem*nt. He defeated Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux on Tuesday in the 20th Congressional District, in the state’s Central Valley farm belt. The two Republicans will meet again in November in the race for a full two-year term representing the district, which includes parts of Bakersfield and Fresno.

What is in-flight turbulence, and when does it become dangerous for passengers and crews?

NEW YORK (AP) — The death of a British man and injuries impacting dozens of other people aboard a Singapore Airlines flight have highlighted the potential dangers of flying through extreme turbulence. The exact cause of the man’s death is under investigation. Based on witness accounts and the number of injuries, experts pointed Tuesday to the significant safety hazards that in-flight turbulence poses to airline passengers and crews. While fatalities are rare, injuries have piled up over the years. Some meteorologists and aviation analysts note that reports of turbulence encounters also have increased and point to the effects of climate change on flying conditions as a possible reason. They advise passengers to keep seat belts fastened in the air.

Israel's block of AP transmission shows how ambiguity in law could restrict war coverage

NEW YORK (AP) — The shutdown and seizure by Israel of an Associated Press video camera that provided a live glimpse into Gaza raised concerns about how a new media law could be used to restrict war coverage. Israel returned the AP's equipment as international pressure mounted, but it didn't ease concerns about its media policies. The Israeli government said the AP was violating a law that bans the satellite network Al Jazeera. It's the latest move by Israel during its war with Hamas that has alarmed media experts. After widespread condemnation, including a call by the Biden administration for Israel to back off, authorities would later return the AP’s equipment.

Defrocked in 2004 for same-sex relationship, a faithful Methodist is reinstated as pastor

Twenty years ago, Beth Stroud was defrocked as a United Methodist Church pastor after telling her Philadelphia congregation that she was in a committed same-sex relationship. Now, less than three weeks after the UMC repealed its anti-LGBTQ bans, she has been reinstated. In a closed meeting of clergy from the UMC’s Eastern Pennsylvania region, Stroud exceeded the two-thirds vote requirement to be readmitted as a full member and pastor in the denomination. She was handed the red stole that designates a fully ordained clergy, and joined her colleagues in a procession into a worship service.

Resigned to a fate of constant displacement, India's river islanders return home in between floods

MORIGAON, India (AP) — Yaad Ali, a 56-year-old farmer in northeastern India’s Assam state, lives with his wife Monuwara Begum, and son Musikur Alam on the island of Sandahkhaiti on India’s Brahmaputra river. The island, like two thousand others on the river, floods with increasing ferocity and unpredictability as human-caused climate change makes rain heavier and more erratic in the region. The family move away with every flood, and move back to their house every dry season. Ali said politicians in the region have made promises to provide relief for them, including during the current election, but little has changed for his family. For now, the family are forced to live with being displaced for large parts of the year.

Proposed $2.8 billion settlement clears second step of NCAA approval with no change to finance plan

A potential multibillion-dollar settlement of an antitrust lawsuit cleared the second of a three-step NCAA approval process Tuesday, with no change to a payment structure that would have the 27 college conferences not named in the suit cover the majority of a $1.6 billion portion of the damages. The Division I Board of Directors voted to move forward on a proposed $2.77 billion settlement of House vs. NCAA, according to two people who had been briefed on the vote. The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the NCAA was not making public internal discussions related to the settlement. The Big 12 and Atlantic Coast Conference presidential boards also voted to approve the proposal, which would create a revenue-sharing system with college athletes.

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