South Korea’s new President Lee vows to pursue talks with North and bolster ties with US and Japan

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s new President Lee Jae-myung says he’ll pursue dialogue with North Korea while bolstering a trilateral partnership with the U.S. and Japan. He said in his inaugural address after taking office Wednesday that his government will deal with potential North Korean aggressions with “a strong deterrence” based on the solid South Korea-U.S. military alliance. But he would also leave the door open for dialogue with North Korea and establish peace on the Korean Peninsula. He said he’ll pursue pragmatic diplomacy and boost a trilateral Seoul-Washington-Tokyo cooperation based on the South Korea-U.S. alliance. Lee won a snap election Tuesday for a five-year term.

US immigration authorities detain the family of the man charged in the Colorado attack

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Federal officials say the wife and five children of a man accused of throwing Molotov cocktails at demonstrators in Boulder have been taken into custody. The White House said in a post on X Tuesday that the family of Mohamed Sabry Soliman could be deported as early as Tuesday night. Authorities say Soliman, an Egyptian national who has been living in the U.S. illegally, had 18 Molotov cocktails but threw just two during Sunday’s attack in which he yelled “Free Palestine.” Police wrote in an affidavit that Soliman didn't carry out his full plan “because he got scared and had never hurt anyone before.” Soliman faces federal hate crime and state attempted murder charges.

Musk calls Trump's big tax break bill a 'disgusting abomination,' testing his influence over the GOP

WASHINGTON (AP) — Elon Musk has blasted President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” of tax breaks and spending cuts as a “disgusting abomination." The tech billionaire's comments Tuesday test his own influence over the Trump-led Republican Party. Musk targeted Trump’s top congressional priority just days after the president gave him a celebratory Oval Office sendoff marking the end of Musk’s role leading the Department of Government Efficiency. Musk’s business interests stand to lose from Trump’s bill, which would slash funding for electric vehicles and related technologies.

Russian rockets kill 4 in a Ukrainian city as Kyiv claims it damaged a key bridge

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Russian rocket attack targeted the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy, killing at least four people and wounding 25. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denounced Tuesday's assault, saying it underscored that Moscow has no intentions of halting the 3-year-old war. The attack came a day after direct peace talks in Istanbul made no progress on ending the fighting. Local authorities said the barrage of rockets struck apartment buildings and a medical facility in the center of Sumy. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s secret services said they struck inside Russia again, two days after a spectacular Ukrainian drone attack on air bases deep inside the country.

Gaza officials say Israeli forces killed 27 heading to aid site. Israel says it fired near suspects

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinian health officials and witnesses say 27 people are dead after Israeli forces opened fire as people headed toward an aid distribution site. It was the third such shooting in three days. The army says it fired “near a few individual suspects” who left the designated route, approached its forces and ignored warning shots Tuesday. The near-daily shootings have occurred after an Israeli and U.S.-backed foundation established aid distribution points inside Israeli military zones. It says the system is designed to circumvent Hamas. The United Nations says the new system doesn’t address Gaza’s mounting hunger crisis and allows Israel to use aid as a weapon.

New Orleans jail escapee releases videos, prompting search of home where they were made, source says

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A man who identifies himself as New Orleans jail escapee has released videos on social media while still on the run from authorities. A senior law enforcement official says authorities were so convinced the videos were authentic that they searched a home late Monday where they believe escapee Antoine Massey recorded them. The official said Massey wasn't in the home, but some clothes he apparently wore during filming were found there. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation into the May 16 breakout by 10 inmates. Eight have since been recaptured.

Arkansas authorities release photo rendering of 'Devil in the Ozarks' as manhunt continues

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas authorities have released a photo rendering of a convicted murderer and former police chief known as the “Devil in the Ozarks” who escaped from prison. The Arkansas Department of Corrections said Tuesday the rendering shows what 56-year-old Grant Hardin may look like more than a week after his escape from the Calico Rock prison. Hardin was serving sentences for rape and murder when he escaped May 25. Authorities have said he donned an outfit designed to look like a law enforcement uniform. Police continued to search the north-central Arkansas region for Hardin.

Federal prisons must keep providing hormone therapy to transgender inmates, a judge says

WASHINGTON (AP) — A judge says the federal Bureau of Prisons must keep providing hormone therapy to hundreds of transgender inmates following an executive order signed by President Donald Trump that led to a disruption in medical treatment. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth in Washington said Tuesday a federal law prohibits prison officials from arbitrarily depriving inmates of medications the bureau's own medical staff deems appropriate. The judge says the transgender inmates who sued to block Trump’s order are trying to lessen the anguish caused by their gender dysphoria. The Republican president’s order required the bureau to revise its medical care policies so federal funds aren’t spent for "conforming an inmate’s appearance to that of the opposite sex.”

Knicks fire coach Tom Thibodeau after first Eastern Conference finals berth in 25 years

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Knicks have fired coach Tom Thibodeau, just days after their first trip to the Eastern Conference finals in 25 years. The Knicks were eliminated by the Indiana Pacers with a loss in Game 6 on Saturday night. They then decided to move on from Thibodeau, who led them to the postseason in four of his five seasons in New York. The decision was made by team president Leon Rose with approval from owner Jim Dolan, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday.

Weinstein retrial nears end as lawyers argue: sexual predator or #MeToo 'poster boy'?

NEW YORK (AP) — Closing arguments are underway at Harvey Weinstein's New York sex crimes retrial. His lawyer portrayed Weinstein Tuesday as the falsely accused “poster boy” of the #MeToo era. A prosecutor, on the other hand, said the former movie mogul preyed on less-powerful women he thought would never speak up. Closing arguments are due to conclude Wednesday. The majority-female jury is expected to start deliberations at some point in the day. Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to raping a woman in 2013 and forcing oral sex on two others, separately, in 2006.