Trump mixes patriotism with partisanship as he celebrates America’s ‘joyous’ 250th anniversary<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump mixed partisan politics with patriotic appeals on Saturday as he commemorated the 250th anniversary of American independence, a moment he declared \u201cone of the most joyous and glorious milestones of all time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking in Washington after storms prompted a roughly two-hour evacuation of the National Mall, Trump honored veterans, including several from World War II and one of the first Black officers to lead a Special Forces team in combat in Vietnam. They appeared before flags that symbolized some of the most significant and challenging moments in American history, from the one that was draped over Abraham Lincoln’s casket to the one that flew on the plane piloted by the Wright Brothers. <\/p>\n
Yet Trump also leaned into partisan territory unusual for an Independence Day address, which presidents typically use as a moment to unify the country. Instead, he stumped again for the SAVE America Act, an elections bill that’s encountering challenges even from Trump’s fellow Republicans in Congress. He highlighted his support for the Second Amendment and revived denunciations of communism, which are becoming an increasingly central part of Trump’s message ahead of the November midterms.<\/p>\n
The speech capped a holiday that Trump has gone to great lengths to shape to his own tastes. He was introduced by two musical performers who often appear at his trademark rallies, including Lee Greenwood, who performed \u201cGod Bless the USA.\u201d The event organizers were largely aligned with the White House, supplanting a bipartisan organization that was launched by Congress a decade ago. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe will always be on top,\u201d Trump said. “We will never let our country fall. We will always be the best.\u201d<\/p>\n
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3 dead and others rescued after boat capsizes on Wisconsin lake amid storms<\/p>\n
LAKE GENEVA, Wis. (AP) \u2014 Three people died and seven others were rescued Friday after a boat capsized in Geneva Lake as a strong storm passed through southern Wisconsin, an official said.<\/p>\n
Many injuries were reported in Wisconsin\u2019s Walworth County after the storm toppled trees, knocked down power lines and damaged buildings, said Tom Hausner, undersheriff for the Walworth County Sheriff\u2019s department.<\/p>\n
Hausner said he did not know any other information about the people who died and those rescued.<\/p>\n
Police in the city of Lake Geneva are investigating, Hausner said. Officials there didn\u2019t immediately respond to an email and voice message from The Associated Press seeking more information. <\/p>\n
Lake Geneva Mayor Todd Krause declared an emergency and said that one person had minor injuries after being struck by a falling tree. Several areas of the city were experiencing power outages, he said in a statement. <\/p>\n
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Khamenei’s other sons appear at his funeral in Iran as new supreme leader remains in hiding<\/p>\n
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) \u2014 Iran’s top officials and brothers of the new supreme leader emerged into public view Sunday to attend funeral prayers for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Their appearance projected unity, defiance and confidence in their safety as Iran pushes back on U.S. demands in negotiations to permanently end the war. <\/p>\n
Crowds of hundreds of thousands chanted \u201cDeath to America\u201d and \u201cDeath to Israel,\u201d as they called for revenge over the Feb. 28 attack that killed the 86-year-old supreme leader and other top officials, triggering the war. Some hard-liners called for the assassination of U.S. President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, has yet to make an appearance in the funeral ceremonies, which are unfolding over several days. He is believed to be in hiding after reportedly being wounded in the airstrike that killed his father.<\/p>\n
At the height of the war, before an April ceasefire, Israel had targeted top leaders, in at least one case likely using their public appearance to fix their position. It has also threatened to kill the younger Khamenei.<\/p>\n
The U.S. is meanwhile pressing ahead with negotiations with Iran aimed at fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz, rolling back its disputed nuclear program and reaching a permanent end to the war. Talks appear to be on hold until after the burial.<\/p>\n
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Trump pardons former Abramoff partner, 9 people convicted of violating vehicle emissions controls<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump on Friday pardoned 11 people, including a former business partner of Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff and nine people identified by the White House as having helped people bypass emissions control systems on vehicles.<\/p>\n
The acts of clemency come as Trump has issued a slew of pardons in his second term, particularly for allies, public figures and those seen as politically aligned.<\/p>\n
His use of the presidency\u2019s sweeping ability to unilaterally grant pardons and commute sentences is among the ways the Republican\u2019s return to office has featured an expansive use of executive power.<\/p>\n
Trump earlier on Friday announced some of the pardons on social media, without identifying any of the recipients by name.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is my Great Honor to have just signed Pardons for six people who were persecuted by the Biden Administration, and were in, or being sent to, prison, for \u2018fixing their car,\u2019\u201d Trump wrote on his Truth Social media network.<\/p>\n
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Ukrainian drones hit St Petersburg oil terminal in latest long-range attack on Russia<\/p>\n
A Ukrainian drone attack struck an oil terminal in St. Petersburg on Saturday, Russian officials said, as Kyiv presses on with bombardment of Russia\u2019s oil infrastructure.<\/p>\n
Almost daily long-range attacks on Russian oil facilities have created a fuel crisis and heaped political pressure on the Kremlin as its all-out invasion of Ukraine stretches into its fifth year.<\/p>\n
Gov. Alexander Beglov said the city\u2019s Kirovsky district on the Baltic Sea was hit. He also said that air defenses shot down 72 Ukrainian drones across Russia’s second-largest city and the surrounding region.<\/p>\n
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack as part of Ukraine\u2019s \u201clong-range sanctions\u201d against Russia. He said that Ukrainian forces also hit a military target on the island of Kronstadt, just off the coast of St. Petersburg.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Ukrainian defense forces hit the port oil infrastructure, which earns money for the Russian war, and there were also hits on Kronstadt \u2014 an important military target,\u201d he said in a post on Telegram.<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
Fallout from Venezuela’s earthquakes turns political as opposition leader Machado seeks return<\/p>\n
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) \u2014 The fallout from Venezuela’s powerful twin quakes has evolved into a major test for acting President Delcy Rodr\u00edguez, sending her scrambling to prevent the humanitarian disaster from becoming a political one as her mandate as interim leader expires Friday. <\/p>\n
A day after Rodr\u00edguez angrily defended the competence of her government’s relief effort at her first news conference since the June 24 disaster, her main rival, exiled Venezuelan Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mar\u00eda Corina Machado, issued her own appeal. <\/p>\n
Machado on Friday argued that the government’s quake response exposed its critical weaknesses and that she should return to Venezuela to help “the transition process, especially after the tragedy.\u201d<\/p>\n
“My presence stabilizes the situation; it is part of the organizing forces that the country needs at a time when the total absence of the state has become evident,” Machado said, referring to widespread criticism of the government\u2019s earthquake response as slow and disorganized. \u201cThe country needs figures it can trust.\u201d She spoke to reporters from Panama.<\/p>\n
The quakes have killed 2,645 people and injured over 12,500 others, according tallies released Friday by the government. Machado’s opposition movement has set up an online database to locate the missing \u2014 a list of 36,000 people as of Friday. The party has mobilized volunteers to collect donations in Venezuela and solicited aid from the country’s vast diaspora.<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
Far-right Alternative for Germany party reelects leaders as protesters and police clash<\/p>\n
ERFURT, Germany (AP) \u2014 Delegates at the national convention of the far-right Alternative for Germany party on Saturday overwhelmingly reelected its leaders, including Alice Weidel, as tens of thousands of protesters aimed to disrupt the meeting and some clashed with police.<\/p>\n
Alternative for Germany, or AfD, sought to show unity as it voted to extend the terms of Weidel and Tino Chrupalla, who have headed it for four years as co-leaders and ran unopposed Saturday. Weidel was reelected with 81% of the vote, while Chrupalla earned 70%. German parties elect their leaders every two years. <\/p>\n
The demonstrations outside the convention in the eastern city of Erfurt reflected how AfD has divided Germany even while becoming the biggest opposition party nationally and the strongest political force in Germany\u2019s formerly communist east. <\/p>\n
Saturday’s event was able to start on time despite the protests, which party officials hailed their \u201cfundamental, legally guaranteed right to hold party conventions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are no peaceful seated blockades. There are no democratic roadblocks. Nor are there any gangs of thugs who deserve the harmless label \u2018civil society.\u2019 These troublemakers are the last resort of our political rivals,\u201d Chrupalla said.<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
Venezuelans are rushing to identify the bodies of their loved ones as earthquake deaths multiply<\/p>\n
LA GUAIRA, Venezuela (AP) \u2014 Speaking in a hushed voice, Rosa L\u00f3pez recalled how she had to sidestep the rows of bodies lying under a harsh sun as she helped her daughter search for her missing husband. Even her years working as a nurse did not prepare her for the sight of the dozens of dead wrapped in sheets or blankets.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe saw a lot of bodies that had not yet been identified,\u201d L\u00f3pez said.<\/p>\n
The rush is on across La Guaira, the state on Venezuela\u2019s northern coast hardest hit by the powerful back-to-back June 24 earthquakes, to identify loved ones before it\u2019s too late. With at least 2,295 people killed, Venezuela is overwhelmed with bodies that officials are struggling to collect, identify and preserve for loved ones to claim. Thousands are still missing.<\/p>\n
Jos\u00e9 Antonio Toledo, L\u00f3pez’s 25-year-old son-in-law, was found under the building where he was working as a security guard when the quakes struck. Crews took his body to a local hospital, where staff turned them away because there was no space. The body was sent to another facility and eventually transferred to an open parking lot.<\/p>\n
A forensic doctor helped the family find him days later, on Saturday. But once they identified his body, they didn\u2019t know what to do with it because they couldn\u2019t afford the $450 that a funeral home was charging.<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
Paul Pelosi in hit-and-run in California, car left with major damage, authorities say<\/p>\n
LOS ANGELES (AP) \u2014 The husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was involved in a hit-and-run in California that left a parked car with \u201cmajor\u201d damage authorities said Saturday, and he could face misdemeanor charges.<\/p>\n
Paul Pelosi was driving his brown convertible Friday in Yountville, a town in the heart of wine country, when he struck a legally parked car on the side of the road, briefly stopped and then drove away, the Napa County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. No injuries were reported. <\/p>\n
A witness saw the collision and called 911. Shortly afterward sheriff’s deputies found Pelosi with damage to the front of his car on a road roughly a quarter of a mile away. He reportedly told officers he knew he hit something but was not sure when or what caused the damage. <\/p>\n
Pelosi, 86, did not have any alcohol in his system, according to the statement. The sheriff’s office referred him to the Department of Motor Vehicles for a process to determine whether he may continue to drive \u2014 something that officials say is common for older drivers. <\/p>\n
Pelosi was not arrested, and because no one was injured, the sheriff’s office recommended a misdemeanor charge for fleeing the scene of an accident. <\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
Egypt’s coach waved Palestinian flag after winning World Cup game<\/p>\n
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) \u2014 Egypt coach Hossam Hassan waved a Palestinian flag on the pitch after his team’s victory over Australia in the World Cup, saying he was dedicating it to both Egyptians and Palestinians. <\/p>\n
\u201cMy heart and soul are with them,\u201d he said in an emotional postgame interview. <\/p>\n
Egypt won its debut in the elimination round of the World Cup by beating Australia 4-2 on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw in the round of 32 Friday.<\/p>\n
The victory comes in Egypt\u2019s fourth World Cup. <\/p>\n
A video of Hassan on social media shows him walking around the pitch holding the flag as people chanted \u201cFree, free Palestine!” The video went viral. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Trump mixes patriotism with partisanship as he celebrates America’s ‘joyous’ 250th anniversary WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump mixed partisan politics with patriotic appeals on Saturday as he commemorated the 250th anniversary of American independence, a moment he declared \u201cone of the most joyous and glorious milestones of all time.\u201d Speaking in Washington after storms […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":521,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"guid":"3a49c252-96de-469e-af6a-f64cec96367c","source":"The Associated Press","byline":"","published":"2026-07-04 21:05:13","updated":"2026-07-05 20:04:35","_infotelid":"","_prepressid":"","_multisite_post_sync":"","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1303,1304],"tags":[],"region":[1301],"class_list":["post-6404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-international","category-world","region-world"],"blocksy_meta":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/6404\/ap-news-in-brief-at-1104-pm-edt-369\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"AP News in Brief at 11:04 p.m. EDT","url":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/6404\/ap-news-in-brief-at-1104-pm-edt-369\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/6404\/ap-news-in-brief-at-1104-pm-edt-369\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":""},"articleSection":"International","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"The Associated Press"}],"creator":["The Associated Press"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"iNwheels","logo":""},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2026-07-05T04:05:13Z","datePublished":"2026-07-05T04:05:13Z","dateModified":"2026-07-06T03:15:08Z"},"rendered":"