Trump says the US will 'guide' stranded ships from the Strait of Hormuz, starting on Monday
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump has announced “Project Freedom” to help ships leave the Strait of Hormuz, starting on Monday. He says the project aims to assist “neutral and innocent” countries affected by the Iran war. Iran has rejected it. Trump also says ongoing discussions with Iran could lead to positive outcomes. Two ships around the strait were attacked on Sunday, according to the British military. Meanwhile, Tehran is reviewing a U.S. response to its proposal to end the war and says nuclear issues are not included.
2 US service members missing after military exercises in Morocco
CASABLANCA, Morocco (AP) — Two U.S. service members are missing in southwestern Morocco after participating in military exercises, according to the United States Africa Command. The soldiers went missing during a recreational hike, not during training. The incident happened Saturday near the Cap Draa Training Area. A search and rescue operation involving the U.S., Morocco, and other countries is underway. The search team includes helicopters, ships, and mountain rescue units. The ongoing African Lion exercise, which began in April, involves over 7,000 personnel from more than 30 nations. This annual event is the largest U.S. joint military exercise in Africa.
Agent hit by buckshot from the gun of man charged in correspondents' dinner attack, prosecutor says
WASHINGTON (AP) — Authorities have determined that buckshot from the gun of the man charged with trying to storm the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in an attempt to kill President Donald Trump struck a Secret Service agent. That word comes from the federal prosecutor overseeing the investigation. Jeanine Pirro said last week there was no evidence the agent was hit by friendly fire during the incident at a Washington hotel on April 25. But the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia went beyond that Sunday in saying a shot from one of Cole Tomas Allen's weapons hit the officer’s bullet-resistant vest. Allen was injured during the attack but wasn't shot. The officer survived.
A suspected outbreak of the rare hantavirus on a cruise ship in the Atlantic kills 3 people
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — The World Health Organization says that a suspected hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean has killed three people and sickened at least three others. The U.N. health agency, in a statement to The Associated Press on Sunday, said an investigation was ongoing but that at least one case of hantavirus had been confirmed. One of the patients was in intensive care in a South African hospital, the U.N.’s health agency said. The company that runs the cruise said it was trying to evacuate two crew members who were sick and still onboard. The outbreak happened on the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius cruise ship.
Shooting at lake near Oklahoma City injures at least 10
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Police in an Oklahoma City suburb say that at least 10 people have been taken to hospitals following a shooting at a party at a lake. Edmond, Oklahoma police spokesperson Emily Ward said authorities received multiple reports of shots being fired at a gathering of young people near Arcadia Lake at about 9 p.m. She said that in addition to the 10 people taken to hospitals, more may have driven themselves. She said victims were in “various conditions.” Arcadia Lake is located in around 13 miles north of Oklahoma City in Edmond, a city of about 100,000. The lake is a manmade reservoir used for flood control that is also popular for picnicking, camping, fishing and water sports.
Rudy Giuliani hospitalized in critical condition, his spokesman says
NEW YORK (AP) — A spokesman for Rudolph Giuliani says the ex-mayor of New York City and former Trump adviser is in critical but stable condition at a hospital. Spokesman Ted Goodman didn’t say what sent the 81-year-old to the hospital or how long he’s been there. Goodman on Sunday asked for prayers for the former mayor. Giuliani earned the “America’s Mayor” nickname for helping unite the nation following the Sept. 11 attacks. In recent years he became a divisive figure after serving as an adviser and personal lawyer for President Donald Trump.
1,500 beagles will get new lives, warm laps after release from research facility
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The first of 1,500 beagles being removed from a Wisconsin dog breeding and research business are adjusting to their new lives as animal welfare groups move them to shelters to prepare them for adoption. Ridglan Farms in rural Blue Mounds was the site of a violent clash last month between activists trying to break in and police who repelled them with tear gas and pepper spray. But the Big Dog Ranch Rescue and the Center for a Humane Economy had already been working for months to purchase the animals and find them better homes.
Trump keeps us up in the air with his hints of what’s coming in a new batch of UFO files
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is promising to release new UFO records that he says will be “very interesting.” He says the files will be coming “very soon” after he directed the Pentagon to share documents related to UFOs and extraterrestrial life. That directive came even with the Pentagon already years into a process to declassify materials related to UFOs. Congress ordered the effort in 2022. The president's interest has been embraced by a small group of Republicans in Congress who say the Pentagon has failed to provide transparency around mysterious aircraft reported near U.S. military installations.
Did the founders create a Christian nation? No, but religion did shape their thinking
There’s long been debate over the intentions of America’s founders about the role of religion. That’s been turbocharged with the approaching 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July Fourth. Some Christian activists are redoubling claims that the United States had a Christian founding. But scholars note that there’s no established religion in the Constitution and some of the most influential founders weren't Christian. But most of them also weren’t deists or anti-religious skeptics. The founders believed in prayer and that God was helping the revolutionary cause. Scholars say they created a sort of free market in which American religion has thrived to this day.
Landlords want to be paid for pandemic losses and hope to reach a deal with the Trump administration
BOSTON (AP) — A group of landlords are hoping to settle with the federal government over what they say are billions of dollars in losses due to the federal eviction moratorium in place for nearly a year during the pandemic. More than 1,500 landlords across the country are part of a federal lawsuit that argues the eviction policy enacted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention violated the Fifth Amendment by unlawfully using their property without compensation. Lawyers for the plaintiffs are hoping to recoup as much as $1.5 billion — a fraction of the estimated tens of billions of dollars that the industry lost.
