North America

WASHINGTON, July 25 (Reuters) - The United States on Monday condemned the execution of political activists and elected officials in Myanmar and called the military government to immediately cease the violence.

"The United States condemns in the strongest terms the Burmese military regime’s heinous execution of pro-democracy activists and elected leaders," a spokesperson for the National Security Council said in a statement.

LANGLEY, British Columbia July 25 (Reuters) - There were several victims of a mass shooting early on Monday in the Canadian province of British Columbia and one man was in custody, police said.

Authorities had earlier issued an emergency alert for multiple shootings in the city of Langley and asked residents to stay alert and away from the area of the incident.

A Royal Canadian Mounted Police spokesperson said there were "several victims" in the incident. The statement did not specify the number.

(AP) --- Growing up in mid-sized Virginia Beach, Andrew Waldholtz wanted to live in a big city so he moved to the District of Columbia for college. After four years in the comparatively expensive city, he realized he wanted a place to live that was more affordable.

Waldholtz, 35, eventually found a happy compromise in St. Louis whose Midwestern affordability and opportunities to build his career in corporate compliance had the added bonus that his sister and brother-in-law lived there.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two people were killed and at least five others were injured after gunfire erupted Sunday at a Los Angeles park where a car show was being held.

The LA Police Department said the shooting occurred around 3:50 p.m. at Peck Park in LA’s San Pedro neighborhood. The LAPD tweeted it was not an active shooter situation but provided no more information.

LAPD Capt. Kelly Muniz said during a news conference that the casualties were reported at the baseball diamond. Police have not identified the victims.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — When former President Donald Trump took the stage before a crowd of more than 5,000 young conservative activists in Tampa this weekend, he received the rock star’s welcome he’s grown accustomed to over the seven years in which he’s reshaped the Republican Party.

One night earlier, it was Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis who had the crowd on its feet as he headlined the day’s program at Turning Point USA’s annual Student Action Summit.

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Thousands of Indigenous persons are expected to converge Monday on the small Alberta prairie community of Maskwacis to hear a long-awaited apology from Pope Francis for generations of abuse and cultural suppression at Catholic residential schools across Canada.

Francis is scheduled to arrive in mid-morning at the site of the former Ermineskin Indian Residential School, now largely torn down. He will pause at the sites of the former school and nearby cemetery before speaking in a large open area to school survivors, their relatives and other supporters.

Washington, Jul 23 (AP-PTI) COVID-19 symptoms left President Joe Biden with a raspy voice and cough as he met Friday via videoconference with his top economic team. But the president tried to strike a reassuring tone, declaring, I feel much better than I sound.

Biden took off a mask and sipped water as he opened the meeting to discuss the decline in gas prices in recent weeks. Reporters were allowed into a White House auditorium to view a few minutes of the proceedings, and when they asked how Biden was feeling, he flashed a thumb's up.

WASHINGTON, July 24. /TASS/: The US authorities condemn the attack on the port of Odessa, holding Russia responsible for it and argue that Russia allegedly violated its obligations under the agreements on the export of Ukrainian grain. This is according to a statement by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, released on Saturday.

WASHINGTON, July 24. /TASS/: Two Americans, a Canadian and a Swedish citizen who fought in Donbass on the side of Kiev, were killed this week, the Politico newspaper reported on Saturday.

The newspaper cites Ruslan Miroshnichenko, the foreign fighters’ commander, who said on Saturday that "the Americans killed were Luke "Skywalker" Lucyszyn and Bryan Young. He said they were killed alongside Emile-Antoine Roy-Sirois of Canada and Edvard Selander Patrignani of Sweden on July 18."

WASHINGTON, July 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Authorities in the US seized more than 20,000 pounds of the narcotic plant khat, Customs and Border Protection announced in a statement.

More than ten tons of the dried plant disguised as tea with an estimated street value of $3.6 million were confiscated from a shipment originating in Kenya and destined for the US.

It was intercepted in the Puget Sound area, near Seattle on the country’s west coast, and was reportedly the largest such seizure in the region.