UK: A former neonatal nurse was sentenced to life in prison for the murders of 7 babies

LONDON (AP) — A former neonatal nurse convicted of murdering seven babies in her care and trying to kill six others at a hospital in northern England was sentenced Monday to life in prison with no chance of release by a judge who highlighted “the cruelty and calculation” of her actions.

Lucy Letby, who refused to appear in court to face her sentencing or to hear grieving parents share their anger and anguish, was given the most severe punishment possible under British law, which does not allow the death penalty.

Thousands more Mauritanians are making their way to the US, thanks to a route spread on social media

CINCINNATI (AP) — Aissata Sall was scrolling through WhatsApp in May when she first learned about the new route to the United States. For Ibrahima Sow, the discovery came on TikTok a few weeks later.

By the time their paths crossed at the tidy one-story brick house in Cincinnati, they had encountered hundreds of other Mauritanians, nearly all of them following a new path surging in popularity among younger migrants from the West African nation, thanks largely to social media.

USA: Dentist convicted of killing wife on African safari set to be sentenced to life in prison

DENVER (AP) — A wealthy dentist convicted of killing his wife at the end of an African safari in Zambia is expected to be sentenced to life in prison Monday for a murder prosecutors say capped off a lifetime “spent seeking domination and control over others through wealth and power.”

Guatemala’s pick of independent anti-corruption progressive as president may face challenge

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemalans overwhelmingly picked an independent progressive to be the country’s next president but his opponent remained silent Monday morning, leaving open the possibility of a challenge to landslide results that resoundingly rejected the country’s elite.

US Senate Republican says Trump should drop out of presidential race

WASHINGTON, Aug 20 (Reuters) - A prominent U.S. Senate Republican on Sunday said former President Donald Trump should drop out of the 2024 Republican White House race, arguing that Trump cannot win a general election contest against Democratic President Joe Biden.

Senator Bill Cassidy, one of seven Senate Republicans who voted to convict Trump at the former president's second impeachment trial in 2021, described a federal documents case against Trump as "almost a slam dunk" and warned that voters would not elect someone convicted of a crime as president.

Israel: Former officers send ‘alarm’ to Netanyahu over judicial overhaul

19 August 2023; MEMO: Former intelligence officers of the Special Operations Division of the Israeli Military Intelligence on Friday sent what they called a “real alarm” to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in protest against his plan to weaken Israel’s judiciary.

USA: Hot air balloon pilot with cocaine in his system made a mistake that caused fatal crash, NTSB finds

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A mistake made by a hot air balloon pilot who had drugs including cocaine in his system caused a crash in 2021 in New Mexico that killed all five people on board, investigators have determined.

The National Transportation Safety Board said in its final report released this week that pilot Nicholas Meleski did not maintain enough clearance from power lines while trying to land. He hit the power lines and crashed into a busy intersection. The report said investigators found no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures.

USA: 1 dead, 185 structures destroyed in eastern Washington wildfire

MEDICAL LAKE, Wash. (AP) — A wind-driven wildfire in eastern Washington state has destroyed at least 185 structures, closed a major highway and left one person dead, authorities said Saturday.

The blaze began shortly after midday Friday on the west side of Medical Lake, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) west of Spokane, and then expanded, Washington State Department of Natural Resources spokesperson Isabelle Hoygaard said.

USA: Trump’s lies tested limits of the bully pulpit. His right to say them is at core of criminal defense

WASHINGTON (AP) — Barack Obama, mindful of the urgent power of a president’s words, liked to say he was guarded with his language because anything he said could send troops marching or markets tumbling.

His successor, Donald Trump, showed no such restraint.

Now Trump is facing dozens of criminal charges in four separate indictments, two ofthem anchored in the Republican’s lie that he did not lose the 2020 presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden. And Trump’s propensity for falsehoods and his right to utter them are at the core of his legal defense.

Turkiye warns Russia after cargo ship incident in Black Sea

18 August 2023; MEMO: Turkiye warned Russia after an incident involving a cargo ship in the Black Sea which took place within international waters, Reuters reports.

According to the report, the “Sukru Okan” vessel was flying the flag of Palau when it was fired on by the Russian Navy last Sunday.

USA: Trump looms large over Iowa State Fair, but many GOP voters still mulling their caucus choices

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The loop Donald Trump’s private jet made above the Iowa State Fair before his visit last weekend was more than just a gesture to the hundreds of supporters — and a few rival candidates — on the ground. It was a reminder that the four-time indicted former president casts a Boeing 757-sized shadow over the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

Subscribe to