North America

LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden stood for a moment of silence and placed a bouquet of white flowers at a makeshift memorial outside Schemengees Bar and Grille, one of the scenes of the state’s deadliest mass shooting.

Biden then bent to hug Kathy Lebel, owner of the bar where eight people died in the Oct. 25 massacre. Seven more died at the nearby Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley, three others at hospitals.

Burlington, New Jersey (AP) —Law enforcement officials came across a staggering find after being tipped off about possible drug-dealing: dozens of dog-food-size bags of psychedelic mushrooms worth an estimated $8.5 million at a home in rural Connecticut.

A drug task force including federal, state and local authorities raided the property Thursday in Burlington, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) west of Hartford, and charged a 21-year-old man with operating a drug factory and possession with intent to sell/distribute narcotics.

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The Army reservist who opened fire inside at a bowling alley and a bar in Lewiston, Maine, before disappearing was alive and possibly on the run during a good portion of the massive search that followed, according to a conclusion from the state medical examiner’s office released Friday.

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — For Sat PMs Former President Donald Trump is expanding his support in Florida as he seeks to bury the presidential ambitions of Gov. Ron DeSantis in their shared home state.

Trump in recent days was endorsed by U.S. Sen. Rick Scott and state lawmaker Randy Fine, a longtime DeSantis ally who has advised him on Israel. He’d already secured the support of the majority of the state’s Republicans in Congress. And more Florida Republicans may soon follow.

NEW YORK, November 3. /TASS/: The radical Palestinian group Hamas is ready for a "complete compromise" deal on the issue of swapping hostages with Israel, Ghazi Hamad, a senior member of Hamas’ political bureau, said in an interview with NBC News.

UNITED NATIONS, Nov 3 (NNN-ACN) — For the 31st year in a row, the United States remained isolated as the international community backed the Cuban resolution demanding the end of the US economic, commercial and financial blockade with 187 votes in favor at the 78 Session of the UN General Assembly.

Only the United States and Israel voted against the resolution and Ukraine abstained.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is gathering leaders from countries across the Americas on Friday in the U.S. capital to discuss the tightening of supply chains and addressing migration issues.

In a preview of the first Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity Leaders’ Summit, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Thursday that the two-day event would be a “once in a generation opportunity” to shift more of the global supply chains to the Western Hemisphere.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Chinese middlemen launder the proceeds of North Korean hackers’ cyber heists while Chinese ships deliver sanctioned North Korean goods to Chinese ports.

Chinese companies help North Koreans workers — from cheap laborers to well-paid IT specialists — find work abroad. A Beijing art gallery even boasts of North Korean artists working 12-hour days in its heavily surveilled compound, churning out paintings of idyllic visions of life under communism that each sell for thousands of dollars.

NEW YORK (AP) — The warnings have grown louder and more urgent as 2024 approaches: The rapid advance of artificial intelligence tools threatens to amplify misinformation in next year’s presidential election at a scale never seen before.

Most adults in the U.S. feel the same way, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A former Memphis police officer pleaded guilty Thursday in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols in exchange for prosecutors recommending a 15-year sentence, becoming the first of five officers charged in the case to admit guilt.