Renowned NBA journalist Jackie MacMullan credits Celtics’ Bill Russell for being ‘fearless’

Reuters
Kenya braces for fresh protests despite president's tax climbdown
Kenyan police put up roadblocks on streets leading to the presidential palace on Thursday as some protesters vowed to "occupy State House" despite the president's climbdown on proposed tax hikes that sparked a week of demonstrations. It was not clear how far protesters would be mollified by President William Ruto's Wednesday decision to withdraw the finance bill a day after clashes killed at least 23 people and saw parliament being stormed briefly. Ruto is grappling with the most serious crisis of his two-year-old presidency as the youth-led protest movement has grown rapidly from online condemnations of the tax hikes into mass rallies demanding a political overhaul.
Associated Press
Who is Keir Starmer, the Labour leader favored to win Britain’s July 4 election?
Dutiful, managerial, a bit dull — Keir Starmer is no one’s idea of a firebrand politician. The Labour Party hopes that is just what Britain wants and needs after 14 turbulent years of Conservative rule. Starmer, the center-left party’s 61-year-old leader, is the current favorite to win the country’s July 4 election.
Associated Press
Britain's Rishi Sunak struggles with missteps while trying to lift Conservatives ahead of elections
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has portrayed himself as thorough and evidence-led throughout his relatively brief political career, but there's always been a nagging question over the keenness of his political antenna. The general election campaign over the past five weeks has clearly shown that he hasn't got the instinctive touch of some of his predecessors, such as Tony Blair or even Boris Johnson. Sunak's campaign has seen several missteps since he announced the July 4 election date in the pouring rain in late May, including his suspension of candidates mired in a scandal over betting on the date of the election — a week after Labour Party leader Keir Starmer pressed him to do so.
Associated Press
Maui officials highlight steps toward rebuilding as 1-year mark of deadly wildfire approaches
Nearly a year after wind-whipped flames raced through Kim Ball’s Hawaii community, the empty lot where his house once stood is a symbol of some of the progress being made toward rebuilding after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than century destroyed thousands of homes and killed 102 people in Lahaina. “Welcome to the neighborhood,” Ball said Wednesday as he greeted a van full of Hawaii reporters invited by Maui County officials to tour certain fire-ravaged sites. The gravel covering lots on his street in Lahaina indicate which properties have been cleared of debris and toxic ash in the months since the Aug. 8, 2023, blaze.
AFP
Autonomous car rules advancing faster than the vehicles themselves: UN
Fully autonomous cars are still years away from hitting the streets, but internationally-agreed rules on their use could be ready by mid-2026, the United Nations has said.Furthermore, "we are planning to have a globally harmonised regulation on Automated Driving Systems (ADS) ready for mid-2026", he said.
AFP
'Dead city': Russia swoops on Ukraine's once-calm Toretsk
Compared to others in war-scarred east Ukraine, Galyna Poroshyna had been lucky to live in Toretsk, a mining town nestled in a relatively sleepy sector of the front line.Poroshyna's husband Oleskandr described it as a quiet industrial settlment -- mines below ground, roses above and where around 12,000 regular people lived regular lives.
Associated Press
Red Cross envoy: Congo conflict has worsened with sharp increases in sexual violence and wounded
The decades-old conflict in Congo’s mineral-rich east has “drastically deteriorated” since early 2022, and gotten even worse since last October, with sharp increases in sexual violence, the number of wounded, and child recruitment, the top Red Cross official in the country said Wednesday. Francois Moreillon called Congo a “double-edged crisis,” with the last 30 years of conflict weakening the capacity of government, including at local levels, to deliver basic services such as water, education and food. When it came to protecting civilians, Moreillon said the crisis was “extremely acute.”
AFP
Israel says it can send Lebanon 'back to Stone Age' as UN warns against war
Israel said it does not want war in Lebanon but could send its neighbour "back to the Stone Age", as the UN's humanitarian chief warned such a conflict would be "potentially apocalyptic".It's potentially apocalyptic," warned Griffiths, whose term ends this week.
CNN
An unprecedented debate could shake up a White House race like no other
The confrontation in Atlanta between Joe Biden and Donald Trump Thursday night has a good chance of becoming the most fateful presidential debate in US history.
NBC News
California judge awards over $1 million to 2 U.S. citizen children held in CBP custody
A federal judge in California awarded over $1 million to two child siblings who were held by Customs and Border Protection in 2019 even though they are U.S. citizens, court records show.
Associated Press
Analysis: No matter who wins Iran's presidential election, much may hinge on the 'Great Satan' US
In the waning moments of Iran's final televised presidential debate, one of the top candidates to replace the late hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi invoked the name of the one person who perhaps has done more than anyone to change the trajectory of the Islamic Republic's relationship with the wider world in recent years. The next president could be "forced to either sell Iran to Trump or spark a dangerous tension in the country” if economic problems aren't solved, warned Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker and a candidate in Friday’s election. President Donald Trump's decision in 2018 to unilaterally withdraw America from the Iran nuclear deal saw crushing sanctions reimposed and largely cut Tehran out of the world's economy.
Associated Press
Family that lost home to flooded river vows to keep store open as floodwaters devastate Midwest
A family that watched their home collapse into a flooded river near an at risk Minnesota dam is vowing to reopen their nearby store to sell its homemade pie and burgers as soon as its safe to do so. The Rapidan Dam Store remained standing Wednesday, but after the house where its owners, Jenny Barnes and brother David Hruska, grew up toppled into the Blue Earth River near Mankato the day before, they aren't entirely sure what's next. “We don’t know what will happen,” a post on the store's Facebook page said Wednesday night, adding that it's been a hard experience.
Reuters
Haj deaths show challenge of shielding pilgrims from scorching climate
Hundreds of the pilgrims who died in fierce heat at this year's haj were not officially registered with the Saudi authorities, with the result that many had no access to vital services like air-conditioned buses and cool-off tents. The deaths highlight a looming challenge for organisers as climate change takes hold in the region: the practice of requiring official permits for such services is stirring concern that unregistered pilgrims could increasingly be exposed to life-threatening temperatures. The unregistered pilgrims' lack of a permit made it difficult to provide them with services and care, the security spokesman for Saudi's Ministry of Interior, Colonel Talal bin Shalhoub, said in an interview on Saudi TV channel al-Arabiya.
Associated Press
Back to Woodstock, with Wi-Fi: Women return after 55 years to glamp and relive the famous festival
Beverly “Cookie” Grant hitchhiked to the Woodstock music festival in 1969 without a ticket and slept on straw. Ellen Shelburne arrived in a VW microbus and pitched a pup tent. The women, now 76, were recently treated to a two-bedroom glamping tent at the upstate New York site equipped with comfy beds, a shower, a coffee maker and Wi-Fi.
Associated Press
Biden's asylum halt is falling hardest on Mexicans and other nationalities Mexico will take
Ana Ruiz was dismayed seeing migrants from some countries released in the United States with orders to appear in immigration court while she and other Mexicans were deported on a one-hour bus ride to the nearest border crossing. The shelter's director says it is receiving about 100 deportees a day, more than double what it saw before President Joe Biden issued an executive order that suspends asylum processing at the U.S.-Mexico border when arrests for illegal crossings reach 2,500 a day.
NBC News
Tamayo Perry, 'Pirates of the Caribbean' actor and pro surfer, remembered as a 'bright soul' after deadly shark attack
In the days after Tamayo Perry's death in a shark attack, his wife and a longtime friend remembered the famed Hawaii surfer as a "bright soul" who was "larger than life."
Reuters
Toyota's May global output slides with marked decline in China
Toyota's global production slid for a fourth straight month in May from a year earlier on lower output in many overseas markets, with the decline in China, where local brands have become much more competitive, particularly sharp. In China, production fell 22%. The Japanese automaker also had lower production in markets such as Thailand, Mexico, Brazil and France although the U.S. and Japan saw output grow.
AFP
Divers turn conservationists as corals bleach worldwide
A diver glides over an expanse of bone-white coral branches, recording the fish that dart between the ghostly arms extending from the sea floor off the Thai island of Koh Tao.This year's bleaching has left many marine enthusiasts despondent, but for conservation divers on Koh Tao, it is also a call to arms.
CNN
Part of a Minnesota home has plunged into the Blue Earth River as deadly Midwest flooding threatens the nearby Rapidan Dam
Part of a house perched on the edge of the Blue Earth River in Minnesota collapsed into raging waters as deadly flooding that hit the Midwest threatened the nearby Rapidan Dam, which was built in the early 1900s.
AFP
Women 'changing the game' in Mongolia's patriarchal politics
Women candidates are pushing for greater representation in Mongolia's male-dominated politics, raising their voices for change and inspiring girls to follow in their footsteps.But for the first time in almost a decade, parties are required by law to ensure that 30 percent of their candidates are women, in a country where politics is overwhelmingly dominated by men.

Renowned NBA journalist Jackie MacMullan credits Celtics’ Bill Russell for being ‘fearless’

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Latest Stories

Kenya braces for fresh protests despite president's tax climbdown

Who is Keir Starmer, the Labour leader favored to win Britain’s July 4 election?

Britain's Rishi Sunak struggles with missteps while trying to lift Conservatives ahead of elections

Maui officials highlight steps toward rebuilding as 1-year mark of deadly wildfire approaches

Autonomous car rules advancing faster than the vehicles themselves: UN

'Dead city': Russia swoops on Ukraine's once-calm Toretsk

Red Cross envoy: Congo conflict has worsened with sharp increases in sexual violence and wounded

Israel says it can send Lebanon 'back to Stone Age' as UN warns against war

An unprecedented debate could shake up a White House race like no other

California judge awards over $1 million to 2 U.S. citizen children held in CBP custody

Analysis: No matter who wins Iran's presidential election, much may hinge on the 'Great Satan' US

Family that lost home to flooded river vows to keep store open as floodwaters devastate Midwest

Haj deaths show challenge of shielding pilgrims from scorching climate

Back to Woodstock, with Wi-Fi: Women return after 55 years to glamp and relive the famous festival

Biden's asylum halt is falling hardest on Mexicans and other nationalities Mexico will take

Tamayo Perry, 'Pirates of the Caribbean' actor and pro surfer, remembered as a 'bright soul' after deadly shark attack

Toyota's May global output slides with marked decline in China

Divers turn conservationists as corals bleach worldwide

Part of a Minnesota home has plunged into the Blue Earth River as deadly Midwest flooding threatens the nearby Rapidan Dam

Women 'changing the game' in Mongolia's patriarchal politics