EU leaders face calls to take swift action on Med migrants
BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders gathering for an extraordinary summit are facing calls from all sides to take emergency action to save lives in the Mediterranean, where hundreds of migrants are missing and feared drowned in recent days. The leaders will examine a plan to respond to the crisis, after more than 10,000 migrants were plucked from seas between Italy and Libya in a week, and are widely expected to approve swift action.
Malta honors dead of Med’s worst migrant disaster
VALLETTA, Malta (AP) — Twenty-four caskets containing the only bodies recovered from the Mediterranean’s worst-ever migrant disaster have been laid out for a memorial service in Malta for the estimated 800 victims. Malta’s president and prime minister, Italy’s interior minister and the EU’s migration commissioner were on hand for Thursday’s service, which includes Christian and Muslim prayers. Flowers lined the route that the caskets took from Malta’s morgue to the service on a helipad of the island nation’s main hospital.
Pakistan leaders in Saudi Arabia to press Yemen negotiations
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s top leaders are in Saudi Arabia to push for negotiations in the Yemen conflict. In Islamabad, Foreign Office spokesman Tasnim Aslam says Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif will meet King Salman on Thursday to discuss the crisis.
Man’s death after arrest exposes tensions in Baltimore
BALTIMORE (AP) — The death of Freddie Gray, a Baltimore man critically injured while in police custody, has sparked demonstrations across the city that touch on the fears many from his neighborhood say they feel about their everyday interactions with police. “He was a typical Sandtown kid,” said Sean Price, who grew up in Baltimore’s Sandtown neighborhood where Gray lived. “He wasn’t perfect but neither is anybody. This isn’t anything new. Freddie Gray is just a microcosm of what happens every day in Sandtown, in Baltimore.”
Some officers looking to body cameras on their own
NEW RICHMOND, Ohio (AP) — The dramatic body camera video shows the slaying suspect charging at the officer, screaming — pleading, even — for him to open fire. “Shoot me!” yells Michael Wilcox to the backpedaling officer, who keeps the suspect at bay until he ultimately surrenders when backup arrives.
Victims describe injuries, loss at marathon bombing trial
BOSTON (AP) — The long-lasting impact of the Boston Marathon bombing was brought home to jurors as the loved ones of two of the people killed in the attack described their profound loss. The testimony came on Wednesday, the second day of the penalty phase in the trial of convicted bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
Reagan, MLK, rapper Minaj: 2016 candidates are name-droppers
WASHINGTON (AP) — This is name-dropping season for the 2016 presidential hopefuls. They’re salting their speeches, interviews and tweets with mentions of everyone from the old standby, Ronald Reagan, to civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., rapper Nicki Minaj and astronomer Galileo.
Afghan museum seeks to remember anti-Soviet war
HERAT, Afghanistan (AP) — The Jihad Museum in the Afghan city of Herat sits in a hillside garden, surrounded by blooming rose bushes and the detritus of the war against the Soviet Union — a war that claimed thousands of lives in this city alone. A MiG fighter jet and an attack helicopter captured from the enemy are parked on a manicured lawn in front of the circular building, which is covered in tiles listing the names of those who died in the war.
Q&A: What’s listeria and how is it traced to ice cream?
WASHINGTON (AP) — New technologies account for one way that the government is tracking a life-threatening outbreak of listeria linked to Blue Bell ice cream products. Texas-based Blue Bell Creameries recalled all its products this week after listeria was found in a variety of the company’s frozen treats. The massive recall followed several smaller recalls as health officials across the country rapidly worked to track the outbreak, which is linked so far to 10 listeria illnesses in four states, including three deaths.
Calbuco volcano erupts in Chile, and nearby town evacuated
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — The Calbuco volcano erupted Wednesday for the first time in more than 42 years, billowing a huge ash cloud over a sparsely populated, mountainous area in southern Chile. Authorities ordered the evacuation of the 1,500 inhabitants of the nearby town of Ensenada, along with residents of two smaller communities.