US charges ex-Guatemala economy chief with money laundering

MIAMI (AP) — United States prosecutors charged a former Guatemala economy minister Wednesday in a purported money laundering conspiracy that allegedly took drug proceeds and converted them into bribes for corrupt p…

The Latest: Calif. says 17,600 inmates may be freed early

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California officials say as many as 17,600 inmates may be released early due to the coronavirus pandemic.

AP News Digest 6:15 p.m.

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AP News in Brief at 6:04 p.m. EDT

In a horrific instant, a burst of power that ravaged Beirut

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In a horrific instant, a burst of power that ravaged Beirut

BEIRUT (AP) — As black smoke billowed into the sky, Shiva Karout stepped out of his gym with his colleagues and customers to watch. His gym, Barbell House, sits just across the coastal highway from Beirut’s port wh…

A look at some deadly explosions involving ammonium nitrate

The investigation into an explosion in the harbor of Lebanon's port city of Beirut is focusing on how 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive chemical used in fertilizers, came to be stored at the facili…

Minnesota man sells '57 pickup for $75 he paid 44 years ago

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota man sold the 1957 Chevy pickup he drove for 44 years for $75, the same price he paid decades ago.

'We don't seem to learn': Beirut explosion echoes US tragedy

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The staggering videos from the

Nicaragua archbishop rejects that chapel fire was accidental

MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) — Managua’s Roman Catholic archbishop celebrated Mass on Wednesday in front of a fire-scorched chapel at the capital’s cathedral and reiterated the church’s assertion that the fire was a “sa…

No hoopla: Virus upends Trump, Biden convention plans

WASHINGTON (AP) — At the last minute, President Donald Trump and his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, are searching for places to impressively yet safely accept their parties' presidential nominations as the spread of …

Fatal quarrel among Palestinians ignites protest in Ramallah

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Relatives of a top Palestinian official rampaged through Ramallah late Wednesday, firing into the air and at government buildings after a family member was killed in a personal quarrel wi…

Downdraft blamed for crashes of Wyoming sightseeing balloons

JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) — Three sightseeing hot air balloons crashed this week in western Wyoming because of an unexpected downdraft during a freak storm, according to the balloon company owner.

Police charge alleged MS-13 members with trafficking teen

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — Federal prosecutors have charged 11 alleged members and associates of the MS-13 street gang with sex trafficking and other charges after they say a 13-year-old runaway was repeatedly beaten w…

Police: 3 teens inadvertently jump wall into Mar-a-Lago

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Three teenagers fleeing police while carrying a semiautomatic gun in a backpack jumped a wall at President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, but probably didn't know that's where they w…