In the 1950s, American counterinsurgents decided to play into Philippine folklore by orchestrating a deadly 'vampire' attack.

The homes are nearly identical, dotting both sides of the curvy road in a middle-class subdivision. But one stands out: 10 solar panels newly attached to its sloping roof as the crew links the system to the electric meter. The finishing touch: a new Midwest Solar magnet attached to the junction box.

There seems to be a serious issue with the new episode's broadcast as there has been no word about it for the past three weeks

The White House says President Joe Biden has gotten the updated COVID-19 vaccine and the annual flu shot

Sales on the secondary-ticket market were surging for Saturday night’s Las Vegas Grand Prix

A cease-fire agreement between the Hamas militant group and Israel has been confirmed by both parties, along with Washington and Qatar, which helped broker the deal that would bring a temporary halt to the devastating war that is now in its seventh week. The Israeli government said that under an outline of the deal, Hamas is to free at least 50 of the roughly 240 hostages taken in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack over a four-day period. Qatar, which mediates with Hamas, later confirmed the deal, saying the start time will be announced in the next 24 hours and that it will last for four days. The agreement will bring the first respite to war-weary Palestinians in Gaza, where more than 11,000 people have been killed, according to health authorities. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said before the Cabinet voted early Wednesday that the war would continue even if a deal was reached. Some 1,200 people have been killed in Israel, mostly during the initial incursion by Hamas. Currently: — Truce deal raises hopes of freeing hostages in Gaza and halting worst Mideast violence in decades — South African lawmakers vote in favor of closing Israel’s embassy and cutting diplomatic ties. — Bahrain government websites are briefly inaccessible after a cyberattack over the Israel-Hamas war. — Gaza health officials say they lost the ability to count dead as Israeli offensive intensifies — Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war Here’s what's happening in the war: US STRIKES BACK AT IRAN-BACKED MILITANTS IN IRAQ Baghdad — The United States military said Wednesday that it had carried out strikes against Iran-backed groups in Iraq that have launched attacks on U.S. forces. Two officials with Iranian-backed militias in Iraq said the strikes hit three locations in the area of Jurf al-Sakhar south of Baghdad, killing five members of the Kataeb Hezbollah militant group and wounding seven. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. Iranian-backed militants have launched dozens of attacks on bases and facilities housing U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria since Oct. 17. While most of the more than five dozen attacks have been ineffective, at least 60 U.S. personnel have reported minor injuries. The militant groups have said that the strikes are in retaliation for U.S. support of Israel in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. The U.S. Central Command said in a statement Wednesday that its forces had “conducted discrete, precision strikes against two facilities in Iraq … in direct response to the attacks against U.S. and Coalition forces by Iran and Iran-backed groups,” including one on Tuesday involving the use of close-range ballistic missiles. ___ Qassim Abdul-Zahra reported from Baghdad. FRANCE IS HOPEFUL ITS NATIONALS WILL BE AMONG THE FIRST RELEASED UNDER DEAL PARIS — France’s foreign minister says she’s hopeful that French nationals will be among the first hostages released as part of a truce deal between Israel and Hamas. “We hope that French nationals are among them and even, if possible, among the first group that will be released,” the minister, Catherine Colonna, said Wednesday morning on France Inter radio. “We are working for that.” France counts eight people missing, some of them confirmed as hostages, from the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas militants that ignited their latest and deadliest war. France also counts 40 killed in the attack. Colonna said that not all the hostages taken on Oct. 7 were captured by Hamas. But she said that in the course of negotiations, the militant group has said that “it could assemble together all of the hostages.” THE RED CROSS STANDS BY TO ASSIST ANY SWAP DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The International Committee of the Red Cross says it is standing by to assist any swap in the Israel-Hamas war. “Currently, we are actively engaged in talks with the parties to help carry out any humanitarian agreement they reach,” the Red Cross said. “As a neutral intermediary, it is important to clarify that we are not part of the negotiations, and we do not make decisions on the substance of it. Our role is to facilitate the implementation, once the parties agree.” Read More Israel and Hamas have reached a deal on a cease-fire and hostages. What does it look like? Cameron welcomes Israel-Hamas truce which paves way for hostage release Coldplay concert in Malaysia can be stopped by organizers if the band misbehaves, government says Truce deal raises hopes of freeing hostages in Gaza and halting worst Mideast violence in decades At least 50 hostages to be freed in deal for four-day ceasefire – follow live Fifty hostages in Gaza to be freed in Israel and Hamas deal after weeks of talks

Soon after Felix Llerena arrived in Miami in 2017, the Cuban activist was drawn to then-President Donald Trump by the Republican's aggressive approach toward Cuba’s communist government

The trial is beginning for three Tacoma, Washington, police officers charged in the death of a 33-year-old Black man who was tackled, punched, shocked with a Taser and held face-down on a sidewalk in March 2020

The acclaimed singer in a Facebook post just before his death, wrote, 'Dwight Twilley broke his leg! Has to hang up his Dancin’ shoes for a while'

It’s now been one year since moms and dads dropped their children off at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde for the very last time. It’s been one year since 21 of those young students and their heroic teachers were shot dead in their classrooms. And it’s also been one year since Texas Governor Greg Abbott began ignoring the desperate pleas for action from the victims’ families. On 24 May 2022, 18-year-old gunman Salvador Ramos entered Robb Elementary School armed with a legally purchased AR-15 and murdered 19 students aged between nine and 11 years old and two teachers. The massacre horrified the nation, marking one of the deadliest mass shootings in American history. Since then, the families have been begging Texas officials to take action and tighten the state’s gun laws – gun laws that are among the weakest in the nation. But, for the last 12 months, it has all fallen on deaf ears. Despite their desperate pleas, Mr Abbott refused to call a legislative session to even discuss the possibility of introducing gun safety measures all the while he continues to enjoy his longstanding, cosy relationship with the National Rifle Association (NRA). Mr Abbott’s action – or inaction – over the mass shooting fell under scrutiny almost immediately after the 24 May tragedy. When news of the shooting reached him in Abilene, where he was holding a press conference about wildfires, instead of rushing to Uvalde, he continued with his plans to attend a fundraiser to drum up donations for his re-election campaign. Initially, Mr Abbott claimed that he only stopped by the campaign fundraiser in Huntsville to “let people know that I could not stay, that I needed to go”. But this version of events fell apart two months later when campaign finance reports and flight-tracking records, obtained byThe Dallas Morning News, revealed that he actually stayed almost three hours at the event. While devastated parents were receiving the worst possible news, Mr Abbott was raising up to $50,000 in campaign funds. Call logs, released by state Senator Roland Gutierrez, showed that Mr Abbott only accepted three calls from Texas DPS Director Steve McCraw on 24 May, with the two men speaking for less than 30 minutes about one of the deadliest mass shootings in US history on the day of the massacre. In the weeks after the shooting, Mr Abbott also came under fire when he was a no-show at the funerals for each of the 21 victims. When scheduling records exposed his absence, Mr Abbott’s office responded by saying he had sent flowers and condolences to the families and had visited every family who had requested a meeting. Then there was his change in messaging about what happened that day. One day after the massacre, Mr Abbott gave his first public address in which he heaped praise on the “amazing courage” of law enforcement officers on the scene. He told the community that had just lost 21 members that “it could have been worse”. “It could have been worse. The reason it was not worse is because law enforcement officials did what they do,” he said. This turned out to be false. In the days and weeks after the shooting, it emerged that almost 400 officers waited a staggering 77 minutes before breaching the classroom as the gunman continued his murderous rampage and wounded victims bled to death. The police response has now been branded an “abject failure,” one in which officers on the scene prioritised their own safety over saving the lives of the victims. Mr Abbott later fumed that he had been “misled” by unidentified “public officials” before making his speech. Three days on from the shooting, the governor spoke out again – this time giving two vastly different speeches with two dramatically conflicting messages on the topic of gun safety. That Friday, Mr Abbott had been due to speak on stage at the NRA convention in Houston. In light of the shooting, he pulled out of the event – but not before sending a pre-recorded video message to be played on stage. In that speech, he undermined the importance of gun safety laws, claiming they have no impact on reducing gun violence. “There are thousands of laws on the books across the country that limit the owning and using of firearms, laws that have not stopped madmen from carrying out evil acts on innocent people in peaceful communities,” he said. “In Uvalde, the gunman committed a felony under Texas law before he even pulled the trigger. It’s a felony to possess a firearm on school premises. But that did not stop him.” The message – a show of defiance that he had no plans to tighten the state’s already weak gun laws – aired at the same time as he was telling the grieving Uvalde community that he “absolutely” expected new laws to be passed in response to the tragedy. “With regard to a special (legislative) session, let me just say this: all options are on the table,” he said. “Do we expect laws to come out of this devastating crime? The answer is absolutely yes. And there will be laws in multiple different subject areas. There will be committees formed, there will be meetings held, there will be proposals that will be derived, many of which will lead to laws that will be passed in the state of Texas.” Over the next year, Mr Abbott ignored ongoing requests from Uvalde officials to call a special legislative session to at least discuss the possibility of gun reform in the state. State Representative Tracy King and Mr Gutierrez – the two Texas lawmakers who represent Uvalde – urged the governor to call the session. State Democrats said they would support proposals including raising the minimum age to buy semi-automatic assault rifles from 18 to 21, creating red flag laws, introducing a 72-hour “cooling off” period for gun purchases and regulating private gun sales. Grieving family members begged for change, calling — at the very least — for a raise in minimum age to purchase assault weapons. Time after time, their pleas were ignored. Instead of acknowledging that the state’s weak gun laws may have played any part in the massacre (the 18-year-old gunman legally bought two AR-15s just days after his birthday), Mr Abbott pointed the finger at mental illness and school safety and insisted that raising the minimum age to buy would be “unconstitutional”. He claimed he took several other actions to “support the Uvalde community and make schools safer” including providing 30 law enforcement officers to the school district campuses for the new school year, $105.5m in funding for school safety and mental health services – as well as roping in Chuck Norris to front a programme to report suspicious behaviour at schools. None of the actions involved restricting access to firearms. Even during his race to hold onto his gubernatorial seat in the midterms, Mr Abbott refused to move the needle on the gun control debate. Family members who lost loved ones in the Uvalde massacre threw their support behind his Democratic rival Beto O’Rourke – including featuring in a gutwrenching ad campaign. Behind Mr Abbott, of course, was the NRA. Data compiled by Giffords showed that Mr Abbott received $20,700 in career gun lobby contributions – one of the highest of all candidates in gubernatorial races. His close relationship with the NRA was perhaps most evident when in June 2021 – less than one year before Uvalde – he signed a bill into law allowing Texans without a licence to open carry handguns. Standing at his shoulder at the bill signing were NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre and NRA president Carolyn Meadows. In November, less than six months after the state endured the worst school shooting in its history, Texans chose to re-elect Mr Abbott as governor for a third term. In the weeks and months leading up to the one-year anniversary of the Uvalde mass shooting, Texas has been rocked by several more mass shootings. On 28 April, five people – including a nine-year-old boy – were shot dead in a horror attack at a home in Cleveland. Days later, on 6 May, eight people were killed and seven injured when a neo-Nazi gunman went on a shooting rampage at an outlet mall in Allen. And again, nothing changed. Then on the one-year anniversary of the state’s worst mass shooting in history, Mr Abbott did announce some action: A moment of silence. Flags lowered to half staff in Texas. But still no attempt to tackle the state’s problem with gun violence. Read More Uvalde father warns lawmakers not to pay tribute to his son today New video from Uvalde massacre shows police officers vomiting and sobbing after discovering victims Uvalde victim's mother perseveres through teaching, connecting with daughter's memory

A factory of a blacksmith was a cover for manufacturing and selling arms to criminals, police say.

All discretionary spending will be stopped in plans to restore confidence in the Irish broadcaster.