By Samantha Waldenberg, CNN (CNN) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Saudi Arabia next week to meet with regional partners as talks between Israel and Hamas remain deadlocked, the State Department announced Saturday. “The Secretary will discuss ongoing efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza that secures the release of hostages and how it is Hamas that is standing between the Palestinian people and a ceasefire,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement. “The Secretary will also emphasize the importance of preventing the conflict from spreading and discuss ..read more

By MARK THIESSEN Associated Press ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The Native Youth Olympics in Anchorage, Alaska, is a three-day celebration of Indigenous culture in the form of games that mimic hunting and survival techniques that Alaska Natives in the Arctic region have relied on for thousands of years. The games are essentially the state competition for students competing in events like the scissor broad jump, which emulates jumping from one ice floe in the water to the next, and the Indian stick pull, a game of strength resembling what it feels like to pull a seal from the ocean. The games are in ..read more

WOODSTOCK, Ill. (AP) — Three children were hurt when the minivan they were in rolled down a hill into a concrete baseball dugout in northern Illinois’ Woodstock. The children, ages 12 and 13, were hospitalized with mild to moderate injuries. Police say they were among four children in the parked minivan which is believed to have been accidentally slipped into drive while the radio was being adjusted Saturday morning. A baseball game was being played in Emricson Park when the minivan hit the rear of the dugout. None of the nearly dozen teenage ball players inside the dugout were injured. The pa ..read more

By STEFANIE DAZIO Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — The University of Southern California’s president called recent controversies roiling the campus over the Israel-Hamas war “incredibly difficult for all of us.” In her first public statement in nearly two weeks, President Carol Folt condemned this week’s protests — where 90 demonstrators were arrested by police in riot gear — while imploring the campus community to find common ground and ways to support each other. The private university initially came under fire April 15 when officials said the 2024 valedictorian, who has publicly supporte ..read more

By Jennifer Hauser, CNN (CNN) — At least five people were killed and 33 injured in a tornado Saturday that struck Guangzhou, a city of 19 million people in southern China, according to Chinese state media. Authorities say 141 factory buildings were damaged but no residential houses collapsed, according to the Xinhua news agency. It said a preliminary assessment put the tornado at level-three intensity, two below the highest level of five. Guangzhou, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) from Hong Kong, is the capital city of Guangdong province. A weather station in Liangtian Village, Baiyun District ..read more

By Amanda Musa and Jamiel Lynch, CNN (CNN) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed legislation Friday allowing teachers and school staff in the state to be armed in school buildings and campuses, according to the General Assembly’s website. State legislators approved the bill Tuesday, which authorizes a faculty or staff member of a school to carry a concealed handgun on school grounds, subject to certain conditions including having approval from the principal and others to possess a gun. “I think we need to be really clear about what the law does -– districts have the right to choose.” Lee, a Republi ..read more

By Shania Shelton and Daniel Strauss, CNN (CNN) — The Republican National Committee is asking the Secret Service to keep protesters farther back from the July convention in Milwaukee than is currently planned. RNC counsel Todd Steggerda wrote in a letter dated Friday that the city of Milwaukee’s current proposal “creates an elevated and untenable safety risk to the attending public” and places demonstrators in a one-block park that “will force thousands of peaceful attendees and demonstrators … to be in extremely close, consistent and unavoidable proximity.” Steggerda ..read more

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer said Saturday that the onetime movie mogul has been hospitalized for a battery of tests after his return to New York City following an appeals court ruling nullifying his 2020 rape conviction. Attorney Arthur Aidala said Weinstein was moved to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan after his arrival on Friday to city jails. “They examined him and sent him to Bellevue. It seems like he needs a lot of help, physically. He’s got a lot of problems. He’s getting all kinds of tests. He’s somewhat of a train wreck health wise,” Ai ..read more

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer said Saturday that the onetime movie mogul has been hospitalized for a battery of tests after his return to New York City following an appeals court ruling nullifying his 2020 rape conviction. Attorney Arthur Aidala said Weinstein was moved to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan after his arrival on Friday to city jails. “They examined him and sent him to Bellevue. It seems like he needs a lot of help, physically. He’s got a lot of problems. He’s getting all kinds of tests. He’s somewhat of a train wreck health wise,” Ai ..read more

NEW YORK (AP) — Harvey Weinstein’s attorney says former media mogul has been hospitalized following his return to New York City jails. The post Harvey Weinstein’s attorney says former media mogul has been hospitalized following his return to New York City jails appeared first on KION546 ..read more