Record-setting MLB umpire 'Cowboy' Joe West officially retired after 45 seasons

Reuters
Incoming Taiwan president courts diplomatic allies with shrimp fishing
President-elect Lai Ching-te took leaders from some of Taiwan's handful of remaining diplomatic allies shrimping on Sunday, the day before he takes office and has to deal with China which believes the island has no right to the trappings of a state. Lai, detested by Beijing as a "separatist", is expected to pledge to secure stability by maintaining the status quo in the island's relationship with China in his inauguration speech on Monday. Beijing views proudly democratic Taiwan as its own territory, over the strong objections of the government in Taipei, and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control.
Reuters
Eruption of Indonesia's Mt Ibu forces seven villages to evacuate
A volcano on the remote Indonesian island of Halmahera has spectacularly erupted, spewing a grey ash cloud into the sky, and people from seven nearby villages have been evacuated, authorities said on Sunday. Mt. Ibu erupted on Saturday evening, sending ash 4 km (2.5 miles) high, as streaks of purple lightning flashed around its crater, according to information and images shared by Indonesia's volcanology agency. Indonesia's volcanology agency raised the alert level of the volcano to the highest level on Thursday, after Ibu erupted multiple times earlier this month.
Reuters
Saudi crown prince, US national security adviser meet on Gaza, bilateral ties
CAIRO (Reuters) -Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan met to discuss Israel's war in Gaza and seek to complete a broad bilateral agreement, the Saudi state news agency reported on Sunday. The meeting in the Saudi city of Dhahran including reviewing "the semi-final version of the draft strategic agreements between the two countries, which are almost being finalised," a statement read.
Associated Press
Elon Musk arrives in Indonesia's Bali to launch Starlink satellite internet service
Elon Musk arrived in Indonesia’s resort island of Bali on Sunday to launch Starlink satellite internet service in the world’s largest archipelago nation. Musk is slated to launch the service alongside Indonesian President Joko Widodo in a ceremony later Sunday at a public health clinic in Denpasar, the provincial capital of Bali.
AFP
Iraq father begins legal action against BP over son's cancer death
Hussein Julood is taking legal action against British energy giant BP after he lost his son to leukaemia, which he alleges was caused by gas flaring at Iraq's largest oil field. BP is one of the biggest foreign players in Iraq's oil sector, with a history of producing oil in the country dating back to the 1920s when it was still under British mandate.
NBC News
Trump accepts NRA endorsement, urges gun owners to turn out to vote
The National Rifle Association is supporting former President Donald Trump, an expected endorsement as the Republican nominee urged gun owners to vote in 2024.
TODAY
L.A. County investigating reported hepatitis A case at Beverly Hills Whole Foods
Los Angeles County public health officials are investigating a reported case of hepatitis A in an employee at a Whole Foods supermarket in Beverly Hills.
AFP
Dominican Republic's vote is dominated by Haiti crisis
Dominican President Luis Abinader is poised for comfortable reelection Sunday on the back of widespread support for his tough stance on migration from troubled neighbor Haiti.- United against migration - The capital, Santo Domingo, and smaller provincial towns are plastered with political posters, and Abinader and Fernandez have crisscrossed the country holding rallies with hundreds of supporters chanting slogans and dancing Dominican merengue.
CNN
UCLA faculty reject censure and no confidence resolutions against chancellor after attack on pro-Palestinian encampment
The UCLA Academic Senate rejected censuring and making a no confidence statement against university Chancellor Gene Block amid mounting criticism of his handling of a campus pro-Palestinian encampment that was violently attacked by counterprotesters.
AFP
Can we rid artificial intelligence of bias?
Artificial intelligence built on mountains of potentially biased information has created a real risk of automating discrimination, but is there any way to re-educate the machines?The huge models on which ChatGPT is built "can't reason about what is biased or what isn't so they can't do anything about it," cautioned Jayden Ziegler, head of product at Alembic Technologies.
AFP
Forgotten D-Day cameramen out of shadows, 80 years on
Seated side by side behind an antiquated viewer, the sisters run and rerun the 35 mm black-and-white film reel, whispering to each other about the images captured by their father, the only cameraman on Omaha Beach on D-Day.Lieb shot both black-and-white footage for American newsreels and personal images in color.
CNN
Georgian president vetoes ‘foreign agents’ bill after widespread opposition
Georgia’s President Salome Zourabichvili has vetoed a controversial “foreign agents” bill that sparked weeks of widespread protests across the country.
CNN
Houston surveys destruction from deadly storms and races to restore power as Southeast and Gulf Coast face flood threat
As officials assess the damage from destructive storms in the Houston area that killed at least seven people and knocked out power amid rising temperatures, residents in the Southeast and Gulf Coast face a severe weather threat through Saturday that could bring another round of excessive rainfall and severe thunderstorms.
CNN
Tsai Ing-wen: the leader who put Taiwan on the map and stood up to China
Tsai Ing-wen never set out to be a leader. Growing up shy, she aspired to become an archeologist, because “people that are dead already wouldn’t jump up and argue with you.”
AFP
'Unhinged,' 'crooked': Trump and Biden trade campaign trail barbs
Donald Trump used an expletive to attack Joe Biden during an address to an influential gun group Saturday, while the incumbent president warned in the crucial swing state of Georgia that his "unhinged" challenger is a threat to US democracy.Trump, who is fending off multiple criminal indictments for his unprecedented attempt to overthrow the results of the 2020 election and was twice impeached as president, told the crowd Biden is "crooked" and a "threat to democracy."
Associated Press
Taiwan's new president inherits a strong foreign policy position but political gridlock at home
In a campaign ad for Taiwan’s president-elect Lai Ching-te, incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen was shown driving with Lai in the passenger seat, exchanging reflections on their years governing together. Tsai later turned over the driving to Lai, who was joined by running mate Bi-khim Hsiao. The message was clear: Lai would steer the island in the direction set by Tsai, who after eight years in power was barred from running again.
Politico
Trump at NRA convention floats a three-term presidency
The former president has more recently shut down the proposition of seeking a third term, which is barred by the Constitution.
Politico
Alice Stewart, veteran GOP adviser and CNN commentator, dies at 58
Law enforcement told CNN a medical emergency likely occurred.
CNN
Trapped cargo ship Dali will refloat to Baltimore Monday at high tide
Almost two months after its devastating collision with a Baltimore bridge, the trapped cargo ship Dali will refloat and travel to the Baltimore marine terminal on Monday morning, officials said.
CNN
Trump addresses an embattled NRA as he campaigns against Biden’s gun policies
Donald Trump arrives at the NRA convention a reliable ally of gun rights activists. But it’s unclear how much the NRA can help with his latest White House bid.

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