North America

EL PASO, Texas (AP) — A white Texas gunman who killed 23 people at a Walmart in 2019 returns to court Wednesday for sentencing in a mass shooting that targeted Hispanic shoppers in the border city of El Paso.

Patrick Crusius, 24, is set to receive multiple life sentences after pleading guilty to federal hate crime and weapons charges in one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history. Although the federal government did not seek the death penalty, Texas prosecutors have not taken lethal injection off the table under a separate case in state court.

(AP) --- The confidential documents stolen from schools and dumped online by ransomware gangs are raw, intimate and graphic. They describe student sexual assaults, psychiatric hospitalizations, abusive parents, truancy — even suicide attempts.

“Please do something,” begged a student in one leaked file, recalling the trauma of continually bumping into an ex-abuser at a school in Minneapolis. Other victims talked about wetting the bed or crying themselves to sleep.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The U.S. citizenship test is being updated, and some immigrants and advocates worry the changes will hurt test-takers with lower levels of English proficiency.

The naturalization test is one of the final steps toward citizenship — a monthslong process that requires legal permanent residency for years before applying.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House was briefly evacuated Sunday evening while President Joe Biden was at Camp David after the Secret Service discovered suspicious powder in a common area of the West Wing, and a preliminary test showed the substance was cocaine, two law enforcement officials said Tuesday.

(AP) --- A judge on Tuesday prohibited several federal agencies and officials of the Biden administration from working with social media companies about “protected speech,” a decision called “a blow to censorship” by one of the Republican officials whose lawsuit prompted the ruling.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) — Nine people were shot and wounded, including two juveniles, early Wednesday in Washington, D.C., police said.

Shortly before 1 a.m. police responded to a report of a shooting on Meade Street in the northeastern quadrant of the U.S. capital, Assistant Chief Leslie Parsons of the Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement on Twitter.

Upon their arrival officers discovered multiple shooting victims, including a 9-year-old and a 17-year-old, Parsons said.

HAVANA, July 4 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) — Miguel Díaz-Canel, Cuban President, welcomed the participants of the 14th International Convention on Environment and Development, which gathers authorities of the G-77 and China from Monday until July 7.    

On Tweeter, he welcomed the high authorities of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation of the member countries of the integration block, who will discuss the crucial issue in favor of climate, environment and the promotion of sustainable development.

Philadelphia. July 3 (Reuters) - Four people were killed and two were injured in a shooting on Monday night in Philadelphia, and a suspect was taken into custody, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said at a late night news conference.

The suspect, a man believed to be 40-years-old, did not appear to have any connection to the victims, Outlaw said, adding that he had a bullet-proof vest and a police scanner.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council will hold a first-ever meeting on the potential threats of artificial intelligence to international peace and security, organized by the United Kingdom which sees tremendous potential but also major risks about AI’s possible use for example in autonomous weapons or in control of nuclear weapons.

SEATTLE (AP) — A former sheriff and congressman known for his work that led to the capture of the “Green River Killer” has entered the race to become Washington’s next governor.

Former King County Sheriff and U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert, 72, filed campaign paperwork with the state Public Disclosure Commission on June 30 to run as a Republican candidate to replace Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee, who is not seeking a fourth term.