A man who admitting to killing and dismembering a Nebraska hardware store clerk in 2017 has been sentenced to death. Aubrey Trail was convicted in 2019 of first-degree murder and criminal conspiracy to commit murder in the killing of Sydney Loofe. A three-judge panel sentenced Trail on Wednesday. Loofe's family left the Saline County Courthouse after sentencing without taking questions. Prosecutors say Trail and his girlfriend, Bailey Boswell, planned to kill someone before Boswell met the 24 year old Loofe on the dating app Tinder and lured her to them. Loofe's body parts were found in garba

French President Emmanuel Macron has been slapped in the face by a man during a visit to a small town in southeast France. The incident on Tuesday prompted a wide show of support from politicians across the ideological spectrum. A video shows a man slapping Macron in the face and the president's bodyguards pushing the aggressor away as the head of state was quickly rushed from the scene in the town of Tain-l'Hermitage. The man appears to have cried out ``Montjoie! Saint Denis!'' a centuries-old royalist war cry, before finishing with ``A bas la Macronie,'' or ``Down with Macron.'' French broa

A dozen female water polo players who accused their former coach of sexual misconduct will split nearly $14 million to settle a lawsuit against USA Water Polo and a California club. The settlement agreement was filed Friday in Orange County Superior Court. The athletes sued the sport's governing board and the International Water Polo Club over alleged abuse by Bahram Hojreh. The coach has been banned from the sport and faces criminal sexual abuse charges. The settlement follows a California State Supreme court ruling in April that found sports governing organizations have a duty to protect at

Authorities in Sri Lanka are trying to head off a potential environmental disaster as a fire-damaged container ship that had been carrying chemicals was sinking off of the country's main port. The Singapore-flagged ship started sinking Wednesday, a day after authorities extinguished a fire that raged on the vessel for 12 days. Efforts to tow the ship into deeper waters failed after the ship's stern became submerged and rested on the seabed. The ship's operators say the fire destroyed most of the ship's cargo, which included 25 tons of nitric acid and other chemicals. But there are fears that

Greece, Germany and five other European Union nations have introduced a vaccination certificate system for travelers weeks ahead of the July 1 rollout of the program across the 27-nation bloc. The other countries starting early were Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Croatia and Poland. Greece, which depends heavily on tourism, has been pressing for the commonly-recognized certificate that uses a QR code with advanced security features. The certificates are being issued to people who are fully vaccinated as well as those have already contracted the virus and developed antibodies and other

Naomi Osaka's agent has confirmed to The Associated Press that the four-time Grand Slam champion has withdrawn from the French Open. A spokeswoman for the tournament said the French Open was not aware of Osaka's withdrawal. Osaka wrote on Twitter that ``the best thing for the tournament'' would be if she pulled out and took a break from competition. She had declared last week that she would not speak to the media at Roland Garros and was fined $15,000 after she skipped the post match news conference following her first-round victory Sunday. Osaka also said Monday she has ``suffered long bouts

Eight people are dead after an employee opened fire at a San Francisco Bay Area transit agency. The San Jose shootings Wednesday occurred at the Valley Transportation Authority. San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo says ``this is a horrific day for our city.'' He spoke after a shooting took place at the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority rail yard in San Jose this morning. Officials say the dead include transit employees and the suspect. There's no motive given yet. The mass shootings this year follow a lull in mass killings during the pandemic in 2020, according to a database compiled by Th

Amazon is going Hollywood. The online shopping giant is buying MGM, the movie and TV studio behind James Bond, ``Legally Blonde'' and ``Shark Tank,'' with the hopes of filling its video streaming service with more stuff to watch.Amazon is paying $8.45 billion for MGM, making it the company's second-largest acquisition after buying grocer Whole Foods for nearly $14 billion in 2017. The deal is the latest in the media industry that's aimed at boosting streaming services to compete against Netflix and Disney+.AT&T and Discovery announced last week that they would combine media companies, cre

Israeli media say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Security Cabinet has approved a unilateral cease-fire to halt an 11 day military operation in the Gaza Strip. The decision came after heavy U.S. pressure to halt the offensive. It was not immediately clear when the truce was to take effect. The public broadcaster Kan said the fighting was to halt immediately. Other TV channels said it would go into effect at 2 a.m. An official from the Palestinian militant Hamas group says Israel's declaration of a cease-fire represents a defeat for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and ``a victory to the