Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama have endorsedKamala Harrisin her White House bid, giving the vice president the expected but still crucial backing of the nation’s two most popular Democrats. The endorsement, announced Friday morningin a videoshowing Harris accepting a joint phone call from the former first couple, comes as Harris continues to build momentum as the party’s likely nominee after President Joe Biden’s decision toend his reelection bid and endorse his second-in-commandagainst Republican nominee and former PresidentDonald Trump. It also highl

President Joe Biden has signed into law a bill strengthening oversight of the crisis-plagued federal Bureau of Prisons after reporting by The Associated Press exposed systemic corruption, failures and abuse in the federal prison system. Biden signed the Federal Prison Oversight Act on Thursday. It establishes an independent ombudsman to field and investigate complaints in the wake of sexual assaults and other criminal misconduct by staff, chronic understaffing, escapes and high-profile deaths. It also requires that the Justice Department’s inspector general conduct risk-based inspections of

Bob Rae, Canada’s ambassador to the United Nations, will head the UN’s Economic and Social Council. Global Affairs Canada says Rae has been elected president of the council for a one-year term. The Economic and Social Council is one of the UN’s main six bodies and co-ordinates its work on international development. Global Affairs says Rae’s presidency will focus on ethical use of artificial intelligence for sustainable development, global migration and financing solutions for international development. It says the term coincides with Canada taking over the presidency of the G7 group of

The director of the Secret Service is stepping down from her job, according to an email she sent to staff, following the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump that unleashed intensifying outcry about how theagency tasked with protecting current and former presidentscould fail in its core mission. Kimberly Cheatle, who had served as Secret Service director since August 2022, had been facing growing calls to resign and several investigations intohow the shooter was able to get so closeto the Republican presidential nominee at an outdoor campaign rally in Pennsylvania. “I

The director of the Secret Service says the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump was the agency's “most significant operational failure” in decades. Director Kimberly Cheatle told lawmakers Monday during a congressional hearing: “On July 13, we failed." Cheatle says she takes full responsibility for the agency's missteps related to the attack at Trump’s Pennsylvana rally earlier this month. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below. WASHINGTON (AP) —The Secret Service directoris set to testify Monday before a congressional committee as calls

Assailant kills 5 people at care home for the elderly in central Croatia, media reports say An assailant entered an elderly care home on Monday in central Croatia and shot five people dead, Croatian media reports said. The Index news portal said five people died immediately, while others were still receiving medical assistance. The suspect fled the scene, but the police soon caught him in a cafe near the facility in the town of Daruvar, the report said. Authorities are investigating the motive behind the attack.

President Joe Biden is dropping out of the 2024 race following a disastrous debate with Republican Donald Trump, throwing the Democratic Party into chaos just months before the election. The Democrats are left with no clear candidate, a shocking development for an election many in the party argue is among the most consequential in a lifetime because of Trump's plans for a dramatic government overhaul formed around his grievances. Biden won the vast majority of delegates and every nominating contest but one, which would've made his nomination mostly a formality. Now that he's dropped out, those

Nguyen Phu Trong, general secretary of Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party and the country’s most powerful politician, has died following months of ill health, official media said Friday. He was 80. “General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party Nguyen Phu Trong passed away at 13:38 on July 19, 2024, at the 108 Central Military Hospital due to old age and serious illness,” the Nhan Dan newspaper said. Trong had dominated Vietnamese politics since 2011, when he was elected party chief. During his tenure, he worked to consolidate the Communist Party’s power in Vietnam’s single

A large explosion rumbled through the streets of central Tel Aviv early Friday morning, raining down shards of shrapnel and injuring at least 10 people, first responders said. Israel's military said that they were reviewing the explosion and increasing air patrols after the incident, which its initial inquiries determined was caused by “an aerial target." It was not immediately clear how the strike evaded Israel’s air defenses or how Israel might respond. Yemen's Houthis have repeatedly launched drones and missiles toward Israel throughout the nine-month-long war in sympathy with Hamas. Bu