America’s annual Independence Day is celebrated a bit differently in Washington, D.C., this year, with a display of military might and a speech about patriotism by U.S. President Donald Trump. The event draws Trump supporters, as well as protesters who accuse the president of politicizing a nonpartisan holiday and wasting taxpayer money. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has the story. …

A single cigarette may have started the April fire that destroyed much of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.  Flames tore through the global tourist destination as firefighters struggled to find and extinguish their source.  German authorities want to make sure what happened in France, doesn’t happen there.  Arash Arabasadi has more. …

The amount of sea ice around Antarctica has plunged from a record high to a record low in just three years, according to a new report released this week by the U.S. space agency NASA. Faith Lapidus reports scientists are not sure why. …

A magnitude 6.4 earthquake rocked southern California Thursday morning, centered near the desert community of Ridgecrest, 180 kilometers northeast of Los Angeles. As Mike O’Sullivan reports, some people suffered minor injuries, and aftershocks continue to shake the region. …

Sudan’s ruling military council and a coalition of opposition and protest groups reached an agreement to share power during a transition period leading to elections, setting off street celebrations by thousands of people. The two sides, which have held talks in Khartoum for the past two days, agreed to “establish a sovereign council by rotation between the military and civilians for a period of three years or slightly more,” African Union mediator Mohamed Hassan Lebatt said at a news conference. They also agreed to form an independent technocratic government and to launch a transparent, independent investigation into violent events in recent weeks. The two sides agreed to postpone the establishment of a legislative council. They had previously agreed that the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) coalition would take two-thirds of a legislative council’s seats before security forces crushed a sit-in protest June 3, killing dozens, and talks collapsed. Joy in the streets The streets of Omdurman, Khartoum’s twin city across the Nile River, erupted in celebration when the news broke, a Reuters witness said. Thousands of people of all ages took to the streets, chanting “Civilian! Civilian! Civilian!” Young men banged drums, people honked their car horns, and women …

Australia’s government warned a student on Friday not to return to North Korea a day after he was released from detention by Pyongyang under mysterious circumstances. Alek Sigley, who flew to Tokyo on Thursday to join his Japanese wife, had been studying in the North Korean capital and had been missing since June 25. “My advice would be pretty clear, I would stay in Japan. I would go back to South Korea … I would come back to Australia,” Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton told the Nine network. “All of those would have to be better options before he returns to North Korea,” Dutton said. “I don’t think he will put himself back in that situation … it could have ended up very differently.” Sigley left North Korea on Thursday and flew to Beijing, where he was met by Australian officials for the flight to Tokyo. He declined to comment to a throng of reporters at Haneda Airport, only making a peace sign before being taken away. It is still not clear why he was detained by the secretive North. The details of his release were also not known. Swedish authorities helped secure Sigley’s release because Australia has no diplomatic …

More than two dozen countries Thursday formally called for a United Nations investigation into thousands of killings in Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, activists said. Iceland submitted the draft resolution backed by mainly European states, they said. The text urges the government to prevent extrajudicial executions and marks the first time that the Human Rights Council is being asked to address the crisis. The Duterte government has insisted the more than 5,000 suspected drug dealers killed by police in anti-narcotics operations all put up a fight. At least 27,000 killed But activists say that at least 27,000 have been killed since Duterte was elected in 2016 on a platform of crushing crime and that Myka, a 3-year-old shot during a police raid last weekend, is among the latest victims. “Here we are three years later with 27,000 killed, among the most impoverished, in a massive crackdown. That is a conservative estimate,” Ellecer “Budit” Carlos of the Manila-based group iDefend told Reuters. “In a non-armed conflict context, this is the worst case of extrajudicial killings globally,” he said after urging the council to act. The Geneva forum is to vote on the resolution before ending its three-week session July …

Government ministers from some European Union nations sought Thursday to reassure their partners in the Western Balkans during a meeting in Poland that their aspirations to join the EU have full backing in the club, despite symptoms of a loss of momentum. German Minister of State for Europe, Michael Roth, said Berlin stands firmly by the accession process of all Western Balkans nations “because for us the Western Balkans is not the backyard of the European Union, but the inner courtyard. We are all responsible for ensuring that the prospect of EU accession remains concrete.” Speaking in the Polish city of Poznan, which is hosting the meeting, Roth urged much more effort in that direction and the opening of accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania.  FILE – German Minister of State for European Affairs Michael Roth, right, speaks with the media as he arrives at the Europa building in Brussels, Dec. 11, 2018. Foreign, interior and economy ministers from membership candidates Montenegro, Serbia, North Macedonia and Albania, as well as potential candidates Bosnia and Kosovo, are seeking such reassurance after some European leaders raised doubts about the EU’s openness to expanding. French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated Monday that he …

Eva Mozes Kor, a Romanian Holocaust survivor who spent four decades advocating forgiveness, has died at age 85 — during an annual trip to the site of the Nazi regime’s most notorious death camp. Kor was sent to Auschwitz, in German-occupied Poland, in 1944 with her twin sister. Both girls survived the camp, but Kor’s sister died in 1993 of health problems blamed on the medical experiments they were forced to undergo while imprisoned. Kor began lecturing about her experiences in the camp in 1978. Her advocacy of forgiveness — in her words, “forgiveness is the best revenge” — made her an enemy to some, who labeled her a traitor to her people. But her supporters praised her as a visionary.  Kor’s advocacy group, known as CANDLES, announced Thursday that she had died “peacefully” during her annual pilgrimage to Auschwitz. CANDLES — a group for people who had suffered medical experiments in the death camps — said in a statement, “We hope Eva’s story continues to change the lives of those who hear it for many years to come.” …

Hundreds of millions of people coming together as one nation will be the theme of President Donald Trump’s Independence Day speech as the country celebrates its 243rd birthday.    While U.S. presidents have traditionally sat back to watch Americans celebrate independence in their own way, Trump turned this year’s July 4th holiday into what he called a “Salute to America.” The event was being held at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, complete with a display of Army tanks, a military jet flyover, a concert and, of course, fireworks, despite steamy weather and storms.    “As we gather this evening in the joy of freedom, we remember that we all share a truly extraordinary heritage. Together, we are one of the greatest stories ever told,” Trump planned to say, according to excerpts of his speech released Thursday afternoon.     There were concerns the president would turn the nation’s birthday party into a political event and a speech outlining what he feels are his accomplishments as president.    Many who live in Washington were angry that the Pentagon and security officials commandeered areas of the National Mall where the public usually gathers for celebrations.     Others were upset that the White House …

Returning African artifacts taken by explorers and colonizers remains a hot-button issue in Europe-Africa relations — one that gained traction last November when French President Emmanuel Macron announced the return of 26 historic artifacts to Benin.  On Thursday, French Culture Minister Franck Riester said Paris will go ahead with the restitution without waiting for a new law to enshrine it. He said France will consider similar demands from other countries. Europe is believed to house about 90 percent of Africa’s cultural heritage. Benin was the first country to formally ask France to give back the artifacts.  Jose Pliya, who heads Benin’s National Heritage and Tourism Development Agency, NAPT, welcomes their pending return — though he says Benin now has to find a place to put them. FILE – A visitor looks at two heads of a royal ancestor from the former Benin Kingdom displayed at the Quai Branly Museum in Paris, France, Nov. 23, 2018. “From our side, we are aware the condition to receive these pieces is not really there,” he said. “Why? Because we have museums … but they are suffering. A lot of waste and mismanagement [in] the past.” The artifacts include thrones and statues taken in …

Eighty-three African migrants drowned and three survived when their boat sank two days ago off the Tunisian coast, the Coast Guard says. The vessel went down in the Mediterranean two days ago, just hours after launching from the Libyan town of Zuwara. Fishermen saw four people clinging to pieces of wood and alerted Tunisian authorities. One of the four survivors later died at a hospital. The Red Cross says the boat was carrying too many people. One of the survivors says the boat started filling with water while the migrants could still see lights on the shore. An urgent telephone call for help went unheeded because the caller was unable to tell Libyan rescuers the exact location of the boat.  The survivor says he and the three others were in the water for two days before the fishermen found them. The sinking came on the same day an airstrike hit a migrant detention center outside Tripoli, killing 44.  The United Nations and human rights groups have decried treatment of mainly African migrants who try to escape poverty and violence by fleeing to Europe from Libyan shores. Many picked up at sea are taken back to Libya and held in poor …

When it comes to saving Iran’s nuclear deal, Europe finds itself in the impossible situation of trying to salvage an accord unraveling because of the maximalist U.S. sanctions campaign. Since President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the accord over a year ago, a slow fuse has burned through Iran. At first, it appeared Iranian officials thought they might be able to wait out Trump. They spoke about “strategic patience” as the U.S. 2020 presidential election loomed. That talk faded as U.S. sanctions choked off Iran’s vital crude oil sales abroad and then began targeting its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and officials including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Soon, the talk changed to “strategic action” and making threats to the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial global oil supply point.   FILE – In this picture released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks at a meeting with a group of Revolutionary Guards and their families, in Tehran, Iran, April 9, 2019. That action has seen Iran break the limit put on its stockpile of low-enriched uranium under its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. President Hassan Rouhani says that starting Sunday, Iran …

MAD, the long-running satirical magazine that influenced everyone from “Weird Al” Yankovic to the writers of The Simpsons, will be leaving newsstands after its August issue. Really.    The illustrated humor magazine — instantly recognizable by the gap-toothed smiling face of mascot Alfred E. Neuman — will still be available in comic shops and through mail to subscribers. But after its fall issue it will just reprint previously published material.    The only new material will come in special editions at the end of the year.    DC, the division of Warner Brothers that publishes the magazine, said MAD will pull from nostalgic cartoons and parodies published over the magazine’s 67-year run.    As Neuman would say, “What, me worry?” Worry not, for MAD has more than 550 issues packed full of political parodies and edgy humor to pull from.  FILE – Copies of MAD are displayed at an exhibit celebrating its artistic legacy, May 3, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio. No target was safe   The magazine set itself apart as a cultural beacon for decades with its unabashed tendency to make fun of anything and push conventional boundaries. One of MAD’s best-known comic series, Spy vs. Spy, featured two spies with beak-like …

The U.N. human rights chief says in a new report that Venezuela’s government registered nearly 5,300 killings during security operations last year, saying the deaths stemmed from “resistance to authority.” Another 1,569 such killings were recorded in the first four to five months of 2019. The office of Michelle Bachelet decried a “shockingly high” number of extrajudicial killings during the operations.   Bachelet’s report focusing on the last 18 months follows her trip to the South American country in June, and draws on accounts from rights defenders, victims, witnesses of violations and other sources.   Bachelet also called for the disarming and disbanding of pro-government armed groups known as “collectivos.”     …

An earthquake rattled a large swath of Southern California and parts of Nevada on Thursday morning, making hanging lamps sway and photo frames on wall shake. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The 6.4 magnitude quake measured struck near in the Mojave Desert, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) northeast of Los Angeles, near the town of Ridgecrest, California. The United State Geological Survey initially said it measured at a 6.6 magnitude. People from Las Vegas to the Pacific Coast reported feeling a rolling motion and took to social media to report it. Local emergency agencies also took to social media to ask people to only call 911 for emergencies. “We are very much aware of the significant earthquake that just occurred in Southern California. Please DO NOT call 9-1-1 unless there are injuries or other dangerous conditions. Don’t call for questions please,” the LAPD said in a statement published on Twitter. Ashleigh Chandler, a helicopter rescue EMT at Fort Irwin, California, said the quake happened as she was getting ready for a July 4th party. “I was just in the living room getting everything ready, we start to feel the shaking, so then I look up and …

Firefighters had to dodge exploding rockets to douse a spectacular fire that destroyed containers of fireworks stored for sale on the Fourth of July.   The blaze provided for an impressive, though sparsely attended show early Thursday as shells and rockets burst through the metal containers, sending colorful showers into the air above the Davey Jones Fireworks and the House of Fireworks stores in Fort Mill.   The York County Sheriff’s Office tweeted the fire appeared to spark in a storage unit in the parking lot between the stores, which are on Highway 21 near Interstate 77 and Carowinds.   A crew with the NBC affiliate WCNC happened to be at the scene for a holiday feature and was able to record video of the fire and response. …

In a sweltering capital threatened by storms, the traditional Fourth of July parade Thursday served as a warm-up act to a distinctly nontraditional evening event at the Lincoln Memorial, where President Donald Trump made plans to command the stage against the backdrop of a show of military muscle.   Protesters unimpressed by his “Salute to America” program inflated a roly-poly balloon depicting Trump as an angry, diaper-clad baby. With his decision to add his own production to the usual festivities, Trump set himself up to be the first president in nearly seven decades to address a crowd at the National Mall on Independence Day. “I will speak on behalf of our great Country!” he said in a morning tweet. “Perhaps even Air Force One will do a low & loud sprint over the crowd.” But thunderstorms threatened, with periods of “torrential rain” forecast by the National Weather Service and a flash-flood watch in effect. Not since 1951, when President Harry Truman spoke before a large gathering on the Washington Monument grounds to mark the 175th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, has a commander in chief made an Independence Day speech to a sizable crowd on the …

The dog days of summer are upon us.   Competitive eaters will scarf down dozens of hot dogs and buns Thursday at the annual Nathan’s Famous July Fourth hot dog eating contest on New York’s Coney Island boardwalk.   California native and 11-time champion Joey “Jaws” Chestnut will face off against 17 opponents to defend last year’s record of 74 wieners and buns in 10 minutes.   Miki Sudo of Las Vegas, hopes to win her sixth consecutive women’s title. She ate 37 franks last year.   Thousands gather to watch the spectacle every year, with millions more tuning in on television.   ESPN released a documentary Tuesday featuring the rivalry between Chestnut and his longtime foe, Japan’s Takeru Kobayashi, who no longer takes part in the contest. …

Criticism of FIFA President Gianni Infantino over the handling of sexual abuse investigations was “ill-informed and unjustified,” the governing body said Thursday after the coach of the Afghanistan women’s national team said she was “disgusted” with him. Coach Kelly Lindsey had demanded Infantino’s departure from FIFA for claiming the organization was not being rigorous enough in pursuing officials in the Afghanistan soccer federation. FIFA has so far only sanctioned Keramuudin Karim, who was banned for life from soccer last month for repeated sexual abuse of female players while president of the Afghanistan Football Federation. But FIFA has now disclosed to The Associated Press that it is “carefully looking into allegations levelled against additional persons, and will not hesitate to take appropriate measures and impose sanctions if justified.” FIFA also said how it played a “leading role” in helping players forced to leave Afghanistan “to gain asylum in safe environments and out of immediate danger.” “We continue to stay in close contact with them and support them in rebuilding their lives and recovering from the abhorrent ordeal they have suffered,” FIFA said. “The former coach of the national team Kelly Lindsey is well aware of these efforts and the support that …

Cruising around Caracas in a convoy with five cellphones full of valuable contacts, Gen. Manuel Cristopher Figuera displayed trappings that befitted his reputation as a loyal soldier who rose from an upbringing in a dirt-floored hut to become Venezuela’s spy chief. But as President Nicolas Maduro began to lean on the brawny 55-year-old to do his dirty work — in Cristopher Figuera’s telling, ordering him to jail opponents and victims of torture — the Cuban and Belarusian-trained intelligence officer gradually lost faith. In a show of nerve, he betrayed the leader he met with almost daily and secretly plotted to launch a military uprising that he said came close to ousting Maduro. Now one of the most prominent defectors in two decades of socialist rule in Venezuela has come to Washington seeking revenge against his former boss. He is looking to help the same U.S. “empire” he was taught to hate investigate human-rights violations and corruption. On Tuesday, he met with the U.S. special envoy to Venezuela, Elliott Abrams. It’s unclear whether Cristopher Figuera still has influence inside the government and can collect evidence against his former comrades. But he’s talking a big game. “I’m like a soldier who raises …

A spokesman for one of Libya’s two rival armies has denied targeting civilians after an airstrike blamed on the armed group killed as many as 55 people in Tripoli on Tuesday night.  The victims of Tuesday night’s bombing fled war, violence or extreme poverty, risking their lives to find a safe place. When they got to Libya, they found Europe had tightened its borders, and many of their boats were returned to shore by the Libyan Coast Guard. A migrant carries his belongings at a detention center for mainly African migrants, that was hit by an airstrike in the Tajoura suburb of Tripoli, Libya, July 3, 2019. Then, detained and hoping for another chance to travel to Europe, they were caught up in a war that had nothing to do with them. The bomb, dropped by a drone, hit a building inside an Interior Ministry compound Tuesday night. On the morning after, investigators searched the rubble for bodies while dozens of survivors looked on.  They had spent the night outside, without food or water, as emergency services rescued whoever they could. “As you see there are a lot of people that died because we are looking for a better life,” …

Migrants who survived the deadly airstrike on a Libyan detention center said Thursday they had been conscripted by a local militia to work in an adjacent weapons workshop. The decision to store weapons at the facility in Tajoura, to the east of Tripoli, may have made it a target for the self-styled Libyan National Army, which is at war with an array of militias allied with a weak, U.N.-recognized government in the capital.   The Tripoli government has blamed Wednesday’s pre-dawn strike, which killed at least 44 migrants and wounded more than 130, on the LNA and its foreign backers. The LNA, led by Field Marshal Khalifa Hifter, says it targeted a nearby militia position but denies striking the hangar where the migrants were being held. Hifter, whose forces control much of eastern and southern Libya, has received aid from Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Russia. The U.N. and aid groups have meanwhile blamed the tragedy in part on the European Union’s policy of partnering with Libyan militias to prevent migrants from crossing the Mediterranean Sea to seek a better life in Europe. Critics of the policy say it leaves migrants at the mercy of brutal traffickers …

California is a leader in renewable energy, and the state has pledged to use only clean sources for electricity, including wind and solar power, by 2045.  One hurdle is energy storage, but as we hear from Mike O’Sullivan, an old solution involving water, and improving battery technology, may help the state reach its goal of zero emissions. …