Tragic Loss: Young Siblings Pass After Creek Mishap California's San Bernardino Mountains, authorities said. The tragedy occurred Tuesday when a mother took her 4-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son to spend the afternoon at Thurman Flat picnic area on Highway 38 near Mill Creek, the San Bernardino Count Sheriff's Department said in a news release. They were playing along the creek when at one point the mother was attending to her son and her daughter was taken downstream, the department said.

Nicaragua walks back cross-country canal concession to Chinese investor Nicaragua's congress, controlled by President Daniel Ortega, on Wednesday repealed a law which had given a little-known Chinese investor a concession of up to 100 years to build and operate a canal between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. The law, passed in 2012 with the Ortega government's backing, was touted at the time as a project which would lift the Central American nation out of poverty. The canal was initially planne

Biden says US will withhold weapons from Israel if it invades Rafah President Joe Biden on Wednesday publicly warned Israel for the first time that the U.S. would stop supplying it weapons if Israeli forces make a major invasion of Rafah, a city in southern Gaza. I made it clear that if they go into Rafah..., Im not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities that deal with that problem, Biden said in an interview with CNN. Biden acknowledg

Britain and NATO allies must spend more, be tougher, UK's Cameron to say Britain's foreign minister, David Cameron, will urge its fellow NATO members to meet their pledge to spend 2% of GDP on defence, and to be tougher and more assertive with adversaries, in a speech to be delivered on Thursday. In what is billed as his first major pronouncement as foreign secretary, Cameron will say NATO must out-compete, out-cooperate and out-innovate, and that Britain must not only bolster existing alliances

Israel in spotlight at Eurovision semi-final as pro-Palestinian protests loom The second semi-final of this year's Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Sweden on Thursday, with Israel's performance expected to draw attention due to large pro-Palestinian protests planned in host city Malmo. Some 100,000 visitors have gathered in Malmo in southern Sweden for the annual kitsch-fest, which is watched by some 200 million people worldwide. Thursday's semi-final will feature two of the favourites

Advancing in Ukraine, Russia to mark victory in World War Two Russia on Thursday marks the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two as relations with the West spiral deeper into crisis over the advance of Russian troops against Ukraine's Western-backed forces. Vladimir Putin, who rose to power just eight years after the Soviet Union broke up, will speak at the Victory Day parade on Red Square though there will be less military hardware on display than in parades before Russia's

Disney, Warner Bros to offer streaming bundle of Disney+, Hulu and Max Walt Disney and Warner Bros Discovery will offer a bundle of the Disney+, Hulu and Max streaming services in the United States starting this summer, the companies said in a statement on Wednesday. Customers will be able to sign up on any of the three individual websites and chose from an ad-free or ad-supported plan. No prices were disclosed. Both Disney and Warner Bros are trying to build their streaming businesses as custom

Australia backs long-term gas exploration despite 2050 climate goals Australia's resources minister said on Thursday she backs the long-term exploration of potential natural gas projects, setting up a potential clash with opposition lawmakers and some in the incumbent Labor Party that oppose its use. Australia, one of the world's largest producers of liquefied natural gas (LNG), is committed to reducing its emissions to net zero by 2050. But Resources Minister Madeline King said in a column in t

WRAPUP 8-Hamas says it will not compromise further with Israel to win Gaza ceasefire * LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: * Hamas says it will not compromise further to win ceasefire * Ceasefire talks in Cairo continue into the night -Egypt TV By Nidal al-Mughrabi, Steve Holland and Mohammad Salem CAIRO/WASHINGTON/RAFAH, Gaza Strip, May 8 (Reuters) - P alestinian militant group Hamas said on Wednesday it was unwilling to make more concessions to Israel in negotiations over a ceasefire for Gaza, although talks

Robinhood's crypto business drives massive earnings beat Online brokerage Robinhood Markets beat estimates for first-quarter profit on Wednesday, thanks to robust crypto trading volumes and rate hikes that boosted its net interest revenue. The approval of the first spot bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. in January boosted sentiment towards the crypto industry, which had been bruised by several high-profile collapses over the past two years. The company however disclosed earlier this week that its U.S. cr

US House quickly defeats Greene's effort to oust Speaker Mike Johnson The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday swiftly defeated an effort by firebrand Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene to remove fellow Republican Speaker Mike Johnson from his leadership role. Democrats joined Republicans in a 359-43 vote to protect Johnson's speakership, in a bid to avoid a replay of the chaos that occurred in October when Republicans ousted his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy. Greene's move represented a rare

House soundly rejects Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's resolution to oust Speaker Johnson Hardline Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene tried and failed in sudden action Wednesday to oust Speaker Mike Johnson, her long-shot effort swiftly and resoundingly rejected by Democrats and Republicans tired of the political chaos. One of Donald Trump's biggest supporters in Congress, Greene stood on the House floor and read a long list of transgressions she said Johnson had committed as speaker. Colleagues booed in

US could ban Chinese connected vehicles or impose restrictions The U.S. could take extreme action and ban Chinese connected vehicles or impose restrictions on them, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on Wednesday, in the first indication a ban could be on the table after a national security investigation. The Commerce Department is reviewing public comments that were due by April 30, Raimondo told Reuters, on a probe the Biden administration launched in February into whether Chinese vehicle i

Pete McCloskey, GOP Congressman and Vietnam War Critic, Dies at 96 Pete McCloskey a pro-environment, anti-war California Republican who co-wrote the Endangered Species Act and co-founded Earth Day has died. He was 96. A fourth-generation Republican ''in the mold of Teddy Roosevelt,'' he often said, McCloskey represented the 12th Congressional District for 15 years, running for president against an incumbent Richard Nixon in 1972. He battled party leaders while serving seven terms in Congress a

Biden says bombs US has paused sending to Israel have killed civilians U.S. President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that bombs the United States has supplied to Israel and has now paused sending in its war against Hamas have been used to kill Palestinian civilians. Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers, he said in an interview with CNN, when asked about 2,000-pound bombs sent to Israel.

Rains return to flooded southern Brazil, interrupting rescues Authorities interrupted rescue efforts in flood-ravaged southern Brazil on Wednesday amid more rain and the risk of lightning and stiff winds that threaten to exacerbate a catastrophe that has already killed at least 100 people and left over 163,000 seeking shelter. The floods that began last week, caused by unusually heavy rains, have destroyed highways and bridges in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, which borders Uruguay and Argentin

Ambrey receives info on sighting of unmanned aerial vehicle activity southeast of Yemen's Aden British security firm Ambrey said early on Thursday it had received information of the sighting of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) activity approximately 58 nautical miles southeast of Yemen's Aden. The Houthi militia, which controls the most populous parts of Yemen and is aligned with Iran, has staged attacks on ships in the waters off the country for months in solidarity with Palestinians fighting Isra

Germany's Scholz says weakening EU would be self-destructive German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday denounced calls to weaken the role of the European Union as self-destructive and irresponsible, speaking ahead of EU parliamentary elections in June. In a video message posted on the government's website, Scholz said some populists wanted Germany to leave the European Union, others wanted to wind down the bloc, and others saw Russia or China as role models. What self-destructive insanity! he sa

WRAPUP 7-Hamas says it will not compromise further with Israel to win Gaza ceasefire * LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: * Hamas says it will not compromise further to win ceasefire * Ceasefire talks in Cairo continue into the night -Egypt TV By Nidal al-Mughrabi, Steve Holland and Mohammad Salem CAIRO/WASHINGTON/RAFAH, Gaza Strip, May 8 (Reuters) - P alestinian militant group Hamas said on Wednesday it was unwilling to make more concessions to Israel in negotiations over a ceasefire for Gaza, although talks

Presidential candidate RFK Jr had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment. Citing a 12-year-old deposition, the Times said Kennedy stated that a doctor had told him an abnormality on his brain scan was caused by a worm that got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died. Kenned

House quickly defeats Greene's effort to oust Speaker Mike Johnson The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday quickly defeated an effort by firebrand Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene to remove fellow Republican Speaker Mike Johnson from his leadership role. Democrats joined Republicans in a 359-43 vote to protect Johnson's speakership, in a bid to avoid a replay of the chaos that followed in October when Republicans ousted his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy. Greene's move represented a rare Re

North Macedonia opposition wins big on election night North Macedonia's right-wing opposition won big in parliamentary and presidential elections on Wednesday, on a night that saw the Balkan country also elect its first female head of state. Hundreds of jubilant supporters of the opposition VMRO-DPMNE party braved the rain outside their party headquarters in downtown Skopje waving national and party flags and dancing to folk music. Dear people of (North) Macedonia ... we have made it. Macedonia

North Korea's Kim expresses support for Putin in Victory Day message, KCNA says North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has expressed firm support and solidarity for Russia in his congratulatory message to Russian President Vladimir Putin over Victory Day, which marks the 79th anniversary of the end of World War Two, state news KCNA agency said on Thursday. Russia on Thursday marks the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two as relations with the West spiral deeper into crisis over the

Effort Launched to Remove Rep. Mike Johnson as House Speaker Hardline Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene called Wednesday for a vote to oust Speaker Mike Johnson, pressing ahead with her long-shot effort despite pushback from Republicans at the highest levels tired of the political chaos. Greene, who is one of Donald Trump's biggest supporters in Congress, stood on the House floor and read a long list of transgressions she said Johnson had committed as speaker. Colleagues booed in protest. The vote, wh

Colombia recognizes dissident ELN faction as independent organization A front of Colombian leftist rebel group the National Liberation Army (ELN) has broken ranks with the group's central command, becoming the guerrillas' first dissident faction, as Colombia's government on Wednesday recognized it as an independent organization. The Southern Community Front, which operates in Colombia's Narino province, announced its split with the wider ELN on Tuesday. It was confirmed almost immediately by Pab

Republican firebrand Greene calls for vote to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson Firebrand Republican U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene called on Wednesday for a vote on her motion to remove fellow Republican House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson from his leadership role. Greene's effort is unlikely to succeed as she has scant support within her party and top House Democrats have said they would move to protect Johnson to avoid a replay of the chaos that followed in October when Re

UK PM Sunak to call on university bosses to protect Jewish students British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will call on university bosses at a meeting on Thursday to protect Jewish students, saying a vocal minority of those protesting on campuses were propagating harassment and antisemitic abuse. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Pro-Palestinian student protests over the war in Gaza have become a flashpoint in the United States, where some demonstrations have been cleared from campuses by riot police. Pro-Israeli

Hamas sticks to its approval of truce proposal, Hamas senior official says Hamas has remained steadfast to its position towards a truce proposal and stuck to its approval of it, a member of Hamas' political bureau, Izzat El-Reshiq, said in a statement on Thursday. Reshiq's comments came as Cairo hosted new ceasefire talks attended by delegations from Hamas, Israel, the United States and Qatar in an attempt to conclude a deal.

UK refuses to sign global vaccine treaty, The Telegraph reports Britain is refusing to sign the World Health Organization's pandemic accord because the country says it would have to give away a fifth of its vaccines, the Telegraph reported on Wednesday. Britain will only agree to a legally binding global accord if there is a commitment that British-made shots are used for what the country deems to be its own national interest, the Telegraph said. Britain's Department of Health and Social Care an

Baseball star Ohtani's ex-interpreter agrees to plead guilty to bank fraud Japanese baseball great Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter has agreed to plead guilty to federal charges he illegally transferred nearly $17 million from the athlete's bank account, without Ohtani's knowledge, to pay off his own gambling debts. The plea agreement reached between federal prosecutors and Ohtani's onetime confidante, Ippei Mizuhara, 39, was announced on Wednesday by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles,

Alabama schedules second execution by nitrogen gas Alabama has scheduled a second execution with nitrogen gas, months after the state became the first to put a person to death with the previously untested method. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey set a Sept. 26 execution date for Alan Eugene Miller, who was convicted of killing three men during a 1999 workplace shooting. The execution will be carried out by nitrogen gas, the governor's office said. Miller survived a 2022 lethal injection attempt. The govern

Biden touts new $3.3 billion Microsoft data center at failed Foxconn site Trump backed U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday unveiled plans by Microsoft Corp to build a $3.3 billion data center in southeastern Wisconsin, drawing a sharp contrast to his Republican predecessor who had backed a previous $10 billion project at the same site that was significantly scaled back. Biden, on his fourth visit to Wisconsin this year, said Microsoft's investment would create thousands of jobs in the presiden

IMF and DR Congo reach agreement on final review of loan deal The International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday it had reached a staff-level agreement with Democratic Republic of Congo on the final review of a $1.5 billion loan programme, noting the need for Congo to manage properly funds from a revised mining deal. This takes Congo one step closer to completing an IMF programme for the first time. Previous agreements have been derailed by issues including a lack of transparency in its vast mini

Mexico's Megacable, Nokia announce successful data transmission test in connectivity plan Mexican telecommunications company Megacable said on Wednesday it executed a successful long-distance optical transmission test with Finnish telecom equipment supplier Nokia as it aims to scale up the capacity of its network. The transmission test reached 1.1 Terabits per second (Tbps), Megacable said in a news release, calling it he first optical channel of this capacity to be implemented in an active net

Robinhood beats profit estimates on interest income strength (Recasts lede, adds details throughout) May 8 (Reuters) - Online trading app Robinhood Markets beat estimates for first-quarter profit thanks to strong trading volumes and rate hikes that boosted its net interest revenue and sent shares up about 6% after the bell on Wednesday. The company reported a profit of $157 million or 18 cents per share for the three months ended March 31, compared with expectations of 6 cents per share, accordi

GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks slip, dollar gains as market awaits inflation data Global equity markets mostly faltered on Wednesday as investors await fresh inflation data to better assess the likelihood of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, while the dollar edged higher on expectations of U.S. economic out-performance. European stocks rose to a record high, boosted by company earnings, but stocks on Wall Street slid as a downbeat forecast from Uber knocked its shares down 5.7% and made the ride-hailin

Baseball star Ohtani's ex-interpreter agrees to plead guilty to federal charges Japanese baseball great Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter has agreed to plead guilty to federal charges he illegally transferred nearly $17 million from the athlete's bank account, without Ohtani's knowledge, to pay off his own gambling debts. The plea agreement reached between federal prosecutors and Ohtani's onetime confidante, Ippei Mizuhara, was announced on Wednesday by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles

Man who murdered, stabbed homeless New Yorkers gets 25 years to life in prison A New York man who murdered a homeless person and wounded two others as they slept outdoors on park benches in a stabbing spree over several nights in July 2022 was sentenced to between 25 years and life in prison on Wednesday, prosecutors said. Trevon Murphy, 42, had pleaded guilty in January to one count of murder in the second degree and two counts of attempted murder for the attacks. New Yorkers who face the painf

WRAPUP 2-Pro-Palestinian protests roil university campuses from Washington to Amsterdam Dutch riot police clashed with protesters at the University of Amsterdam on Wednesday, while scores of demonstrators at U.S. colleges were arrested overnight as the student-led protests against Israel's war in Gaza roiled more campuses on both sides of the Atlantic. In Amsterdam, protesters atop makeshift barriers of desks, bricks and wooden pallets used fire extinguishers to push back police, local televisio

US STOCKS-Dow ends higher for 6th session, but Treasury yields pressure market The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended higher on Wednesday, stretching its winning streak to six straight and closing above 39,000 points for the first time in five weeks, as investors kept betting on supportive U.S. monetary policy. The other Wall Street benchmarks cooled a touch as momentum stalled and U.S. Treasury yields rose on the day of a 10-year notes auction. The S&P 500 ended unchanged after four sessions of

Civil rights leader Daisy Bates honored with statue at US Capitol The late U.S. civil rights leader and journalist Daisy Bates, who was instrumental in desegregating Arkansas public schools in the 1950s, was honored with a statue of her that was unveiled on Wednesday in the U.S. Capitol. The bronze statue depicts Bates, who died in 1999 at the age of 84, with a newspaper in one hand and a notebook and pen in the other. It will be joined later this year by another Arkansas entry, honoring the lat

Three Russian grain regions declare emergency over cold weather, frost damage Three of Russia's key grain-growing areas declared a state of emergency on Wednesday, citing May frosts that have caused severe damage to crops and will reduce this year's harvest. The central regions of Lipetsk, Voronezh and Tambov all imposed emergency measures. The frosts that hit in early May led to catastrophic consequences, Igor Artamonov, the governor of the Lipetsk region, said on the Telegram messaging app bef

Argentina industrial output crashes near pandemic lows as Milei austerity bites Argentina's industrial output plunged 21.2% in March from a year ago, the INDEC statistics agency said on Wednesday, the worst slide since the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic as libertarian President Javier Milei pushes a tough austerity package. The new government, which inherited an economic crisis with triple-digit inflation when it took over in December, is caught between stabilizing the South American country's

Grayscale's application for ethereum futures ETF withdrawn Crypto asset manager Grayscale Investments' proposal for an exchange-traded fund tied to ether futures was withdrawn last week, according to a Tuesday notice from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT The decision by NYSE Arca -- the exchange where Grayscale's ETF would have been listed if approved -- to withdraw the application comes just weeks before the SEC is set to deliver a final decision on proposals for

North Macedonia's President Stevo Pendarovski concedes defeat in run-off for presidency North Macedonia's President Stevo Pendarovski conceded defeat in the run-off for the presidency on Wednesday to rightist Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova. The results are clear... I want to congratulate victory to those who won, Pendarovski told a news conference. Pendarovski who had the backing of the ruling Social Democrats (SDSM) secured 29.42% of the vote. Siljanovska-Davkova, who had the support of the opposi

Xi Jinping's Hungary Visit to Bolster Chinese Investments and Enhance Bilateral Ties Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Hungary late Wednesday, the final stop on his five-day European tour, where he's expected to finalize a number of agreements with Prime Minister Viktor Orbn that will deepen China's economic footprint in the region. Xi is set to spend two nights in the Hungarian capital Budapest where he will meet with Orbn and Hungarian President Tams Sulyok. Talks will center on future C

Biden set to tighten asylum access at US-Mexico border - sources The Biden administration is set to tighten access to asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border via a new regulation that could be issued as soon as Thursday, three sources familiar with the matter said, in a targeted move aimed at reducing illegal crossings. The regulation would require migrants to be assessed at an initial asylum screening stage to see whether they should be barred from asylum and quickly deported, said the sources, who re

Argentina industrial output sinks 21% amid Milei austerity, worst since pandemic Argentina's industrial output plunged 21.2% in March from a year ago, the INDEC statistics agency said on Wednesday, the worst slide since the depths of the Covid-19 pandemic as libertarian President Javier Milei pushes a tough austerity package. The new government, that inherited a tough economic crisis when it took over in December, is caught between stabilizing the South American country's wobbly finances with co

Devastating Tornadoes Batter Midwest: 1 Fatality Reported in Tennessee Three tornadoes have been confirmed in Michigan as severe storms barreled through the central US early Wednesday, killing one man in Tennessee when a tree toppled onto a vehicle he was in. The storm that rumbled across northeastern Tennessee brought high winds that knocked down powerlines and trees. Claiborne County Sheriff Bob Brooks said a 22-year-old man was in a car struck by one of the trees. National Weather Service met

Microsoft to shut Africa development centre in Nigeria Microsoft is closing down its Africa Development Centre in the continent's most populous nation Nigeria, which will lead to job losses, a spokesperson said on Wednesday. The centre, based in the commercial capital Lagos was opened in 2022 as part of Microsoft's push to deliver high-end engineering and innovation solutions for the company. The company said it would, however, continue to operate in Nigeria, continuing to prioritize and invest