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LOS ANGELES — The 76th annual Emmy Awards were handed out Sunday at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles. “Shogun” set a single season record for most wins with 18. “Shogun” won best drama series, and Hiroyuki Sanada and Anna Sawai won acting awards for their roles. “Hacks’’ won the award for best comedy series. ”Baby Reindeer” and “The Bear’’ won four awards apiece. Early winners included Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Jeremy Allen White and Liza Colón-Zayas, who won awards for their work in the comedy series “The Bear.” Stars presenting Emmys to their peers included: Billy Crystal, Viola Davis, Selena Gomez, Steve Martin, Maya Rudolph and Martin Sheen. Several actors and shows, including Rudolph, won last week. Rudolph won her sixth Emmy Award at last weekend’s Creative Arts Emmys for her voice work on “Big Mouth.” Jamie Lee Curtis also picked up a supporting actress Emmy last weekend for her appearance on “The Bear.” Here’s a list of winners at Sunday’s Emmys: Supporting actor in a comedy series Ebon Moss-Bachrach, “The Bear” Supporting actor in a drama series Billy Crudup, “The Morning Show” Actor in a comedy series Jeremy Allen White, “The Bear” Supporting actress in a comedy series Liza Colón-Zayas, “The Bear” Supporting actress in a drama series Elizabeth Debicki, “The Crown” Actress in a comedy series Jean Smart, “Hacks” Reality competition program “The Traitors,” Peacock Supporting actress limited Jessica Gunning, “Baby Reindeer” Scripted variety series “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” HBO/Max Writing for a variety special Alex Edelman, “Just for Us” Directing for a limited or anthology series Steven Zaillian, “Ripley” Writing for a comedy series Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs and Jen Statsky, “Hacks” Talk series “The Daily Show,” Comedy Central Supporting actor in a limited or anthology series Lamorne Morris, “Fargo” Writing for a drama series Will Smith, “Slow Horses” Writing for a limited series, anthology or movie Richard Gadd, “Baby Reindeer” Directing for a comedy series Christopher Storer, “The Bear” Governors award Greg Berlanti Directing for a drama series Frederick E.O. Toye, “Shogun” Actor in a limited, anthology series or movie Richard Gadd, “Baby Reindeer” Actress in a limited, anthology series or movie Jodie Foster, “True Detective: Night Country” Limited, anthology series or movie “Baby Reindeer” Actor in a drama series Hiroyuki Sanada, “Shogun” Actress in a drama series Anna Sawai, “Shogun” Drama series “Shogun” Comedy series “Hacks”

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WELLINGTON, New Zealand — It's noisy, smelly, shy – and New Zealand's bird of the year. The hoiho, or yellow-eyed penguin, won the country's fiercely fought avian election on Monday, offering hope to supporters of the endangered bird that recognition from its victory might prompt a revival of the species. It followed a campaign for the annual Bird of the Year vote that was absent the foreign interference scandals and cheating controversies of past polls. Instead, campaigners in the long-running contest sought votes in the usual ways — launching meme wars, seeking celebrity endorsements and even getting tattoos to prove their loyalty. More than 50,000 people voted in the poll, 300,000 fewer than last year, when British late night host John Oliver drove a humorous campaign for the pūteketeke — a "deeply weird bird" which eats and vomits its own feathers – securing a landslide win. This year, the number of votes cast represented 10% of the population of New Zealand — a country where nature is never far away and where a love of native birds is instilled in citizens from childhood. "Birds are our heart and soul," said Emma Rawson, who campaigned for the fourth-placed ruru, a small brown owl with a melancholic call. New Zealand's only native mammals are bats and marine species, putting the spotlight on its birds, which are beloved — and often rare. This year's victor, the hoiho — its name means "noise shouter" in the Māori language — is a shy bird thought to be the world's rarest penguin. Only found on New Zealand's South and Chatham islands — and on subantarctic islands south of the country — numbers have dropped perilously by 78% in the past 15 years. "This spotlight couldn't have come at a better time. This iconic penguin is disappearing from mainland Aotearoa before our eyes," Nicola Toki, chief executive of Forest & Bird — the organization that runs the poll — said in a press release, using the Māori name for New Zealand. Despite intensive conservation efforts on land, she said, the birds drown in nets and sea and can't find enough food. "The campaign has raised awareness, but what we really hope is that it brings tangible support," said Charlie Buchan, campaign manager for the hoiho. But while the bird is struggling, it attracted a star billing in the poll: celebrity endorsements flew in from English zoologist Jane Goodall, host of the Amazing Race Phil Keoghan, and two former New Zealand prime ministers. Aspiring bird campaign managers — this year ranging from power companies to high school students — submit applications to Forest & Bird for the posts. The hoiho bid was run by a collective of wildlife groups, a museum, a brewery and a rugby team in the city of Dunedin, where the bird is found on mainland New Zealand, making it the highest-powered campaign of the 2024 vote. "I do feel like we were the scrappy underdog," said Emily Bull, a spokesperson for the runner-up campaign, for the karure — a small, "goth" black robin only found on New Zealand's Chatham Island. The karure's bid was directed by the students' association at Victoria University of Wellington, prompting fierce skirmish on the college campus when the student magazine staged an opposing campaign for the kororā, or little blue penguin. The rivalry provoked a meme war and students in bird costumes. Several people got tattoos. When the magazine's campaign secured endorsements of the city council and local zoo, Bull despaired for the black robin's bid. But the karure – which has performed a real-life comeback since the 1980s, with conservation efforts increasing the species from five birds to 250 – took second place overall. This weekend as Rawson wrapped up her campaign for the ruru, she too took her efforts directly to the people, courting votes at a local dog park. The veteran campaign manager who has directed the bids for other birds in past years was rewarded by the ruru placing fourth in the poll, her best ever result. "I have not been in human political campaigning before," said Rawson, who is drawn to the competition because of the funds and awareness it generates. The campaign struck a more sedate tone this year, she added. "There's been no international interference, even though that was actually a lot of fun," she said, referring to Oliver's high-profile campaign. It was not the only controversy the election has seen. While anyone in the world can vote, Forest & Bird now requires electors to verify their ballots after foreign interference plagued the contest before. In 2018, Australian pranksters cast hundreds of fraudulent votes in favor of the shag. The following year, Forest & Bird was forced to clarify that a flurry of votes from Russia appeared to be from legitimate bird-lovers. While campaigns are fiercely competitive, managers described tactics more akin to pro wrestling — in which fights are scripted — than divisive political contests. "Sometimes people want to make posts that are kind of like beefy with you and they'll always message you and be like, hey, is it okay if I post this?" Bull said. "There is a really sweet community. It's really wholesome."

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — Practitioners of different religious traditions marched down Rio de Janeiro's iconic Copacabana Beach on Sunday to support religious freedom in Brazil, where cases of intolerance have doubled over the past six years. Hundreds of men, women and children from more than a dozen faiths participated in the event, known as the March for the Defense of Religious Freedom. Many of the participants were practitioners of Afro-Brazilian religions that have recently faced attacks from members of Christian groups. Brazil's recently appointed Minister for Human Rights Macaé Evaristo also joined the march, which was held for the 17th consecutive year. "The great challenge today in our country is to reduce inequality," Evaristo told the state-run Agencia Brasil news agency. "So for me it is very important to be present in this march, because the people here are also struggling for many things like decent work and a life free from hunger." In Rio de Janeiro state, which is home to a quarter of the practitioners of Afro-Brazilian religions, there's been a proliferation of evangelical Christianity, particularly neo-Pentecostal churches founded since 1970 that focus on spreading their faith among non-believers. Experts say that while most neo-Pentecostal proselytizing is peaceful, the spread of the faith has been accompanied by a surge of intolerance for traditional African-influenced religions, ranging from verbal abuse and discrimination to destruction of temples and forced expulsion from neighborhoods. "Everything that comes from Black people, everything that comes from people of African origin is devalued; if we are not firm in our faith, we will lose strength," said Vania Vieira, a practitioner of the Afro-Brazilian religion Candomblé. "This walk is to show that we are standing, that we will survive." While the Brazilian constitution protects the free exercise of religion, cases of disrespect and attacks, especially against groups of African origin, have become increasingly frequent. Between 2018 and 2023, the Brazilian government's complaint service recorded an increase of 140% in the number of complaints of religious intolerance in the country. In Brazil, those who commit crimes of religious intolerance can face up to five years in prison, as well as a fine.

PITTSBURG, Kan. — The Rev. Anthony Navaratnam stood before his congregation and urged them to pray for the women from surrounding states who will flock to the new abortion clinic in town that opened in August. "God is giving us an opportunity to be missionaries in Pittsburg, Kansas," he told those at Flag Church, which hosted a training on how to protest outside of the clinic. The debate over reproductive rights has landed in this college town of 20,000 in the southeast corner of one of the few states left in the region still allowing abortions. It is near Missouri, Oklahoma and Arkansas and not terribly far from Texas. A place this size, especially one in a historically red state, was unlikely to have an abortion clinic before Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. Since then, Kansas has become one of five states that people are most likely to travel to in order to get an abortion when they're unable to at home, said Caitlin Myers, an economics professor at Middlebury College who researches abortion policies. Abortions spiked in Kansas by 152% after Roe, according to a recent analysis by the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights. Using Myers' count, six of the clinics in Kansas, Illinois, New Mexico, North Carolina and Virginia that have opened or relocated post-Roe are in communities with fewer than 25,000 people. Two others are in communities of fewer than 50,000. "Kansas is really the only one in this region that can provide care to many people in these surrounding states," said Kensey Wright, a member of the board of directors for the Roe Fund in Oklahoma, which supports Kansas abortion clinics through grants. "Without abortion clinics in that state, we would be without hope," Wright said. Providing abortions for out-of-state people Housed in a former urology office, Pittsburg's Planned Parenthood clinic sits across the street from a medical clinic run by a Catholic health care system. Behind the clinic are houses. Clinic manager Logan Rink said her mother used to work in this building as a nurse — a connection that's "small-town stuff." She loves this town, and said her neighbors agree the clinic is needed. But she was guarded in her optimism, saying " the reception that we are going to get from the community is going to be favorable in some ways and probably not always." Experts said smaller-sized clinics can be less overwhelming for women who are coming from rural areas, like those surrounding Pittsburg. But there is no anonymity in these smaller communities, where religious and family ties often run deep. Pittsburg was established in 1876, and settled largely by immigrants from Catholic-leaning countries who came to work at surrounding coal mines. There's a typical main street and a state university with about 7,400 students. "In a small town, it's not just that you'll know that person. Your family will know them. You will have known them for 40 years," said Dr. Emily Walters, a supporter of the Pittsburg clinic who works as an anesthesiologist at a hospital in neighboring Missouri. "Your stories will be intertwined." She wondered aloud, "How do I see you at a protest and then see you the next day at the grocery store and still be able to be polite and civil with each other?" Walters also chairs the Crawford County Democratic Party in an area that is increasingly Republican and has no Democratic state legislators — a change from 20 years ago when there were six. The county also has become increasingly religious in the same span; it now has twice as many white evangelical Protestants as the national average, and slightly more Catholics, according to the Public Religion Research Institute. Just five weeks after Roe was overturned in 2022, voters in Kansas had to decide whether to strip the right to an abortion from the state constitution, which could have led to an outright ban. Despite the Republican and religious leanings, 55% of Crawford County voters were part of the 59% of voters statewide who killed the proposal. It's in line with an Associated Press-NORC poll from 2024 that showed 6 in 10 Americans think their state should generally allow a person to obtain a legal abortion if they don't want to be pregnant for any reason. But the rural counties that surrounded Pittsburg chose otherwise at the ballot box. "I remember people were stealing yard signs, putting up different ones in people's yards," said Anastin Journot, an 18-year-old from Independence, Kansas, who is majoring in elementary education at Pittsburg State. She said she was alarmed by Roe getting overturned, remembering she thought: "What if I'm in a situation where I'm needing to get an abortion and it's not an option?" Abortion in Kansas is generally legal up until the 22nd week of pregnancy. The clinic's southern location puts it closer to states that have banned abortions instead of sending people to Kansas' larger cities, where hours have been expanded and appointments are still in short supply. About 60% to 65% of people who call Planned Parenthood clinics in Kansas for an abortion appointment are turned away because there isn't enough capacity, said Emily Wales, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains. Already, Wales said, the bulk of people seeking abortions in Kansas are from out of state — mostly Texas, which is about five hours south. After that, it's Missouri, a few minutes' drive east and Oklahoma, less than an hour away. She said some come from as far away as Louisiana and even Florida, which now prohibits the procedure after six weeks. Clinics "strategically placed near (a state's) border can really help ease the congestion," said Ushma Upadhyay, a public health scientist at the University of California San Francisco who studies abortion. Most of the area that's 100 miles from the new clinic has been designated as medically underserved for primary care by the federal government, and the number of obstetricians and gynecologists for every 100,000 female residents is less than half of the U.S. average. For now, though, the focus at the Pittsburg clinic will be on abortion. Wales said Planned Parenthood wants to slowly add more services over the next two to three months, and one future goal for the clinic is to provide gender-affirming care. Neighboring states have restricted that, too. "Pittsburg is going to lift up a whole lot of states in the South and help people get care," Wales said. But those additions, she added, will come after staff gets used to the patients and the presence of protesters and opposition. Protesters are at the ready Donations are up at Vie Medical Clinic, the town's crisis pregnancy center, executive director Megan Newman said. Such centers are typically religiously affiliated and encourage clients to continue their pregnancies. People opposed to the Planned Parenthood clinic also are picking up pamphlets about Vie so they can hand them out to those seeking abortions. "When we got word that Planned Parenthood was coming, you could just kind of feel that in the town," Newman said. Jeanne Napier, a 68-year-old who attends a local Baptist church, vowed as she shopped at the local mall that she'll "be there every day with signs." Her daughter, Terri Napier, said in a phone interview she believes part of her parents' opposition to the clinic is from watching her struggle about 20 years ago. She was in an abusive relationship with someone who has since died. She got pregnant. The family was fearful of bringing a child into the situation. She had an abortion and spiraled into drug use. "I was at war with forgiving myself," said the 43-year-old, who is now clean. Jeanne Napier said she felt like she encouraged the abortion. "And I hate that," she said, "because I wish I could take that sin upon myself, so it's real personal. I had an active play in terminating a life, and we don't have that right." Brianna Barnes, a 19-year-old journalism major at Pittsburg State who is from Wichita, has protested and prayed outside of a clinic in her hometown. "If someone made eye contact with us, we just smiled at them, kind of showing that love and care because no one responds well to screaming, yelling, violence no matter what side it's on," she said just after arriving on campus for the fall semester. Most of the students the AP talked to voiced support for the clinic. Her mother, Crystal Barnes, 42, turned to her daughter: "You're going to be the odd man out being a Catholic, and conservative, especially with things like abortion. It is so heated." The Friday before the clinic opened, crews installed a wooden facade outside, the air filled with the smell of fresh-cut lumber. Walters, the local anesthesiologist, had stopped by to check on the progress. Walters' support comes from a personal place. When she was 20 and the same number of weeks pregnant, she went to an emergency room, bleeding. She said she was sent home to miscarry instead of having her labor induced or having a procedure to remove the fetus. That experience — "horrific, and wouldn't be considered standard of care, in modern practice," she said — left her with a deep empathy for women in tough positions. Just before the 2022 vote, an ad backed by 400 Kansas doctors who support abortion rights ran in some of the state's largest papers, including The Kansas City Star. Walters' name was listed first. During that time, her home address appeared online, a frightening prospect in a state where abortion provider Dr. George Tiller was shot dead in 2009 at his Wichita church by an anti-abortion extremist. "It is critical health care for women," she said. "It is going to be disruptive to Pittsburg. And that part hurts my heart."

MEXICO CITY — Storm Ileana has weakened to a tropical depression, the National Hurricane Center said Sunday. The tropical storm formed Thursday off Mexico's Pacific coast as it moved ashore, making landfall on the coast of the Mexican state of Sinaloa on Saturday, a day after it pounded the resort-studded Los Cabos. On Sunday, wind speed dropped to 55 kph, NOAA said in an advisory, as Ileana was nearly 45 kilometers southwest of Los Mochis, Mexico, and moving west-northwest at 4 kph. It also forecasts the storm to become a remnant low — a post-tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds less than 34 knots. On Friday, a warning had been in effect for portions of the Baja California Peninsula, including Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo. Juan Manuel Arce Ortega, from Los Cabos Civil Protection, said the municipalities of La Paz and Los Cabos had suspended classes in schools because of the storm. Authorities prepared 20 temporary shelters in San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas, according to Los Cabos Civil Protection. At the Hacienda Beach Club and Residences in Cabo San Lucas, valet worker Alan Galvan said the rain arrived late Thursday night and has been constant. "The rain isn't very strong right now, but the waves are choppy," he said. "The guests are very calm and already came down for coffee," Galvan said. "There's some flights canceled but everything is OK at the moment." The rain remained consistent through Los Cabos Friday afternoon, with several roads flooded and some resorts stacking up sandbags on their perimeters. Some people were still walking around boat docks with their umbrellas. "The priority has to be safety, starting with the workers. We always have to check on our colleagues who live in risk areas," said Lyzzette Liceaga, a tour operator at Los Cabos. Ileana was the only active tropical storm in the National Weather Service's Eastern Pacific basin on Friday. In the Atlantic basin, post-tropical cyclone Francine was bringing heavy rain to parts of the southern United States, and Tropical Storm Gordon formed on Friday in the Atlantic Ocean, with forecasters saying it is expected to remain over open water for several days.

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LOS ANGELES — Being a venture capitalist carries a lot of prestige in Silicon Valley. Those who choose which startups to fund see themselves as fostering the next big waves of technology. So when some of the industry's biggest names endorsed former President Donald Trump and the onetime venture capitalist he picked for a running mate, JD Vance, people took notice. Then hundreds of other venture capitalists — some high profile, others lesser-known — threw their weight behind Vice President Kamala Harris, drawing battle lines over which presidential candidate will be better for tech innovation and the conditions startups need to thrive. Venture capitalist and Harris backer Stephen DeBerry says some of his best friends support Trump. Though centered in a part of Northern California known for liberal politics, the investors who help finance the tech industry have long been a more politically divided bunch. "We ski together. Our families are together. We're super tight," said DeBerry, who runs the Bronze Venture Fund. "This is not about not being able to talk to each other. I love these guys — they're almost all guys. They're dear friends. We just have a difference of perspective on policy issues." It remains to be seen if the more than 700 venture capitalists who've voiced support for a movement called "VCs for Kamala" will match the pledges of Trump's well-heeled supporters such as Elon Musk and Peter Thiel. "There are a lot of practical reasons for VCs to support Trump," including policies that could drive corporate profits and stock market values and favor wealthy benefactors, said David Cowan, an investor at Bessemer Venture Partners. But Cowan said he is supporting Harris as a VC with a "long-term investment horizon" because a "Trump world reeling from rampant income inequality, raging wars and global warming is not an attractive environment" for funding healthy businesses. Several prominent VCs have voiced their support for Trump on Musk's social platform X. Public records show some of them have donated to a new, pro-Trump super PAC called America PAC, whose donors include powerful tech industry conservatives with ties to SpaceX and Paypal and who run in Musk's social circle. Also driving support is Trump's embrace of cryptocurrency and promise to end an enforcement crackdown on the industry. Although some Biden policies have alienated parts of the investment sector concerned about tax policy, antitrust scrutiny or overregulation, Harris' bid for the presidency has reenergized interest from VCs who until recently sat on the sidelines. "We buy risk, right? And we're trying to buy the right type of risk," Leslie Feinzaig, founder of "VCs for Kamala" said in an interview. "It's really hard for these companies that are trying to build products and scale to do so in an unpredictable institutional environment." The schism in tech has left some firms split in their allegiances. Although venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, founders of the firm that is their namesake, endorsed Trump, one of their firm's general partners, John O'Farrell, pledged his support for Harris. O'Farrell declined further comment. Doug Leone, the former managing partner of Sequoia Capital, endorsed Trump in June, expressing concern on X "about the general direction of our country, the state of our broken immigration system, the ballooning deficit, and the foreign policy missteps, among other issues." But Leone's longtime business partner at Sequoia, Michael Moritz, wrote in the Financial Times that tech leaders supporting Trump "are making a big mistake." Much of the VC discourse about elections is in response to a July podcast and manifesto in which Andreessen and Horowitz backed Trump and outlined their vision of a "Little Tech Agenda" that they said contrasted with the policies sought by Big Tech. They accused the U.S. government of increasing hostility toward startups and the VCs who fund them, citing Biden's proposed higher taxes on the wealthy and corporations and regulations they said could hobble emerging industries involving blockchain and artificial intelligence. Vance, a U.S. senator from Ohio who spent time in San Francisco working at Thiel's investment firm, voiced a similar perspective about "little tech" more than a month before he was chosen as Trump's running mate. "The donors who were really involved in Silicon Valley in a pro-Trump way, they're not big tech, right? They're little tech. They're starting innovative companies. They don't want the government to destroy their ability to innovate," Vance said in an interview on Fox News in June. Complicating the allegiances is that a tough approach to breaking up the monopoly power of big corporations no longer falls along partisan lines. Vance has spoken favorably of Lina Khan, who Biden picked to lead the Federal Trade Commission and has taken on several tech giants. Meanwhile, some of the most influential VCs backing Harris — such as LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman; and Sun Microsystems co-founder Vinod Khosla, an early investor in ChatGPT-maker OpenAI — have sharply criticized Khan's approach. U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, a Democrat whose California district encompasses part of Silicon Valley, said Trump supporters are a vocal minority reflecting a "third or less" of the region's tech community. But while the White House has appealed to tech entrepreneurs with its investments in clean energy, electric vehicles and semiconductors, Khanna said Democrats must do a better job of showing that they understand the appeal of digital assets. Naseem Sayani, a general partner at Emmeline Ventures, said Andreessen and Horowitz's support of Trump became a lightning rod for those in tech who do not back the Republican nominee. Sayani signed onto "VCs for Kamala," she said, because she wanted the types of businesses that she helps fund to know that the investor community is not monolithic. "We're not single-profile founders anymore," she said. "There's women, there's people of color, there's all the intersections. How can they feel comfortable building businesses when the environment they're in doesn't actually support their existence in some ways?"

washington — For the second time in nine weeks, former President Donald Trump walked away from an assassination attempt – the latest, on Sunday afternoon, at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, authorities said. Officials said Trump was not hurt, and that the shooter was spotted and fired on first by members of Trump’s security detail. Various national media sources, including The Associated Press, The New York Times and Fox News Channel, cited unnamed law enforcement officials who identified the suspect as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, of Hawaii. Those officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation. Unlike the previous attempt, this one did not happen on live television, like the dramatic shooting Trump survived on July 13. That attempt wounded Trump in the ear and killed a man attending the rally behind Trump. Days later, Trump accepted the Republican party’s presidential nomination. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, which is leading the case, has described it as “what appears to be an attempted assassination.” That makes this the agency’s second ongoing investigation into an attempt on Trump’s life.     The local sheriff said the suspect fled, leaving behind an “AK-47-style rifle” with a scope, a GoPro camera and two backpacks. Police later caught him as he sped on the main highway into a neighboring county. “The Secret Service agent that was on the course did a fantastic job,” said Sheriff Ric Bradshaw of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, in a briefing held by law enforcement shortly after. “What they do is they have an agent that jumps one hole ahead of time to where the president was at. And he was able to spot this rifle barrel sticking out of the fence and immediately engage that individual, at which time the individual took off.” In a joint statement sent out to journalists less than an hour after the Trump campaign announced this latest attempt on Trump’s life, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris said they were being regularly briefed and said they are “relieved” that he is safe. “The president and vice president have been briefed about the security incident at the Trump International Golf Course, where former President Trump was golfing,” their statement read. “They are relieved to know that he is safe. They will be kept regularly updated by their team.”  And in evening statement, Biden reiterated his message from the July shooting. “As I have said many times, there is no place for political violence or for any violence ever in our country, and I have directed my team to continue to ensure that Secret Service has every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure the former President’s continued safety,” he said.  And Harris issued a shorter, solo statement on social media, in which she said, “Violence has no place in America.”  Trump has not reacted to this latest turn of events on the social media platform he owns.  However, in an email to supporters, Trump said: “There were gunshots in my vicinity, but before rumors start spiraling out of control, I wanted you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND WELL!” And so, as dawn rises and questions swirl in America about how this will impact what has already been a tumultuous election season as America hurtles toward November. Trump has not announced any changes to his schedule and is set to speak live on X on Monday night from his Mar-a-Lago resort to launch his sons’ crypto platform. Meanwhile, the leaders of a congressional bipartisan task force investigating the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump said they have requested a briefing by the Secret Service.  Some of the material for this story is from Reuters and The Associated Press.

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Bamako, Mali — Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger will soon launch new biometric passports, Mali's military leader Colonel Assimi Goita said Sunday, as the junta-led states look to solidify their alliance after splitting from regional bloc ECOWAS. The three Sahel nations, all under military rule following a string of coups since 2020, joined together last September under the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), after severing ties with former colonial ruler France and pivoting toward Russia. They then said in January that they were turning their backs on the Economic Community of West African States — an organization they accused of being manipulated by France. In July, the allies consolidated their ties with the creation of a Confederation of Sahel States which will be chaired by Mali in its first year and groups some 72 million people. "In the coming days, a new biometric passport of the AES will be put into circulation with the aim of harmonizing travel documents in our common area," Goita said during a televised address late Sunday. "We will be working to put in place the infrastructure needed to strengthen the connectivity of our territories through transport, communications networks and information technology," he said. The announcement came a day before the three states are due to mark the one-year anniversary of the alliance's creation. The neighbors are all battling jihadi violence that erupted in northern Mali in 2012 and spread to Niger and Burkina Faso in 2015. The unrest is estimated to have killed thousands and displaced millions across the region.

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Tegucigalpa, Honduras — An anti-mining activist was shot and killed in Honduras, President Xiomara Castro said, vowing justice for the latest such murder in one of the world's most dangerous countries for environmentalists. Juan Lopez, 46, was gunned down as he left church Saturday in the northeastern town of Tocoa, his widow Thelma Pena told AFP. Castro condemned the "vile murder" in a post on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, late Saturday and said she had ordered an investigation. "Justice for Juan Lopez," Castro wrote. Lopez, who belonged to the ruling Libre party, campaigned against open-pit iron ore mining in a forest reserve in the vicinity of Tocoa, where he worked in the town hall. In an interview with AFP in 2021, Lopez discussed the risks that he said environmental activists face in this poor and violent Central American country. "If you start defending common interests in this country," he said, "you clash with major interests." "If you leave home, you always have in mind that you do not know what might happen, if you are going to return," said Lopez. At a recent news conference, the activist called for the resignation of Libre officials caught on video negotiating bribes with drug traffickers in 2013. That video recently ensnared Carlos Zelaya, a brother-in-law of the president. He resigned his seat in congress after admitting he took part in that meeting with drug gangsters. The U.N. country representative of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Isabel Albaladejo, urged investigators to consider "possible reprisals" against Lopez for his demand for a local mayor to resign for alleged links to organized crime. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights had ordered protective measures for Lopez due to threats against him and other environmentalists from Tocoa. Fellow rights defender Joaquin Mejia paid tribute to the environmentalist, calling him "a comrade committed to social change." Mejia accused authorities of failing to "fulfill their obligation" to protect Lopez. Honduran Attorney General Johel Zelaya said the "reprehensible" murder would not go unpunished, and paid tribute to Lopez's activism. "His life was an example of struggle. He never gave up in his incessant battle, hand-in-hand with the people to preserve natural resources," Zelaya said on X. The NGO Global Witness says Honduras is one of the world's most dangerous countries for environmental activists. In 2023 it was ranked third in the world for the number of killings of such activists at 18, tied with Mexico. The top two were Colombia and Brazil. The organization said that from 2012 to 2023, 148 environmental campaigners were killed in Honduras.   They include Berta Caceres, a high-profile opponent of a controversial hydroelectric dam who was murdered in 2016. A council of Indigenous organizations co-founded by Caceres said that the Honduran state and Castro's government were "responsible for this new murder by not guaranteeing Juan's life."

Washington — The FBI is investigating what it said was another assassination attempt on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. The incident occurred Sunday at the Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach in Florida where Trump, the former president, was golfing. Law enforcement officials said Secret Service saw a man with a rifle in the bushes and shot at the suspected assassin. The suspect fled the bushes and was later apprehended on a highway, according to law enforcement. Previous attempt on Trump In July, Trump was shot by a gunman during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania in what the FBI said was an attempted assassination. The former president was wounded in the ear. The Congressional Research Service says direct assaults against presidents, presidents-elect, and candidates have occurred on at least 15 separate occasions, with five resulting in death. Below is a list of other previous attempts on the lives of American leaders, successful or not. Assassinations Four U.S. presidents were assassinated while in office. Abraham Lincoln: Killed in 1865 by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theater in Washington. James Garfield: Shot in 1881 in Washington at a train station and died of his wounds two and a half months later. William McKinley: Assassinated in 1901 by an anarchist in Buffalo, New York. John F. Kennedy: Assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald in 1963 in Dallas, Texas, as the president rode in a motorcade. Leaders who survived assassination attempts Four presidents were wounded but survived assassination attempts, while in office or afterward. Donald Trump: Trump had just started a campaign speech in Pennsylvania on July 13 when shots rang out. Trump was shot in the ear. He was rushed by security officials to a black SUV. Ronald Reagan: He was shot in 1981 outside the Hilton Hotel in Washington. Reagan was wounded when one of the bullets ricocheted off a limousine and struck him under the left armpit. Gerald Ford: Survived two attempts on his life in less than three weeks in 1975 without being hurt. Theodore Roosevelt: He was shot in the chest in 1912 while campaigning for election in Milwaukee but insisted on delivering his speech to supporters before being taken to a hospital. Assassination attempts on other US leaders Robert F. Kennedy: A U.S. presidential candidate, and a U.S. senator, Kennedy was assassinated in 1968 by a gunman in the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. Alabama Governor George C. Wallace: A candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, he was shot in 1972 and became paralyzed from the waist down.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Los Angeles — Hollywood will dole out the annual Emmy Awards, the highest honors in television, Sunday at a red-carpet ceremony where the historical drama "Shogun" and restaurant tale "The Bear" are poised to dominate the night. "Shogun," a lavish epic about a power struggle in 17th-century Japan, is the front-runner to take the night's top trophy for best drama series, according to awards pundits. Reigning best comedy champion "The Bear" is expected to claim that prize again. Both shows debuted on the FX cable network and stream on Hulu, setting up a big night for owner Walt Disney and its TV chief Dana Walden. Sunday's ceremony will take place just eight months after the last Emmys, which aired in an unusual January slot because of disruptions caused by Hollywood labor strikes. Back on a September schedule, the show will air live from downtown Los Angeles on Disney's ABC starting at 5 p.m. Pacific time Sunday (12 a.m. GMT on Monday). "Schitt's Creek" father-son duo Eugene and Dan Levy will host the festivities. Producers have promised cast reunions from shows past, such as "Happy Days," and other moments to celebrate the history of television. Olympic gold medalist swimmer Caeleb Dressel and bronze medalist rugby player Ilona Maher also are scheduled to appear. Ahead of the ceremony, "Shogun" has already set records. It won 14 trophies — the most ever for one season of a drama series — at last weekend's Creative Arts Emmys, where awards were given for guest actors and crafts such as cinematography. The expensive series was no sure thing. It had been in development for years before it came together with elaborate sets, makeup and costumes and storytelling that impressed critics with its attention to detail. "That's part of the Cinderella story of this series," said Clayton Davis, awards editor at Hollywood publication Variety. Competitors for best drama include British royal family saga "The Crown" and spy thriller "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" from Amazon's Prime Video. "The Bear" also performed well at the Creative Arts Emmys, earning seven awards. The show is competing with its second season, which featured a widely praised episode about a disastrous family holiday gathering. HBO's "Hacks," about a 70-something comedienne and a millennial writer, could play the role of spoiler in the comedy category. Due to the timing of their seasons, the shows have never competed head-to-head at the Emmys. Limited series looks like a lock for "Baby Reindeer," awards watchers said. The Netflix series tells the tale of a bartender stalked and harassed by a customer. Scottish comedian and star Richard Gadd has said the Netflix show is based on his real-life story, although a defamation lawsuit argues the stalker's behavior is exaggerated. Rivals for limited series include Netflix's psychological thriller "Ripley," FX's "Fargo" and HBO's "True Detective: Night Country," starring lead actress nominee Jodie Foster. Winners are chosen by the nearly 22,000 performers, directors, producers and other members of Hollywood's Television Academy.

Austin, Texas — A Texas jury will soon decide whether a convoy of supporters of then-President Donald Trump violently intimidated former Democratic lawmaker Wendy Davis and two others on a Biden-Harris campaign bus when a so-called “Trump Train” boxed them in for more than an hour on a Texas highway days before the 2020 election. The trial, which began on Sept. 9, resumes Monday and is expected to last another week. Attorneys for the plaintiffs argued that six of the Trump Train drivers violated state and federal law. Lawyers for the defendants said they did not conspire against the Democrats on the bus and that their actions are protected speech. Here's what else to know: What happened on Oct. 30, 2020? Dozens of cars and trucks organized by a local Trump Train group swarmed the bus on its way from San Antonio to Austin. It was the last day of early voting in Texas for the 2020 general election, and the bus was scheduled to make a stop in San Marcos for an event at Texas State University. Video recorded by Davis shows pickup trucks with large Trump flags aggressively slowing down and boxing in the bus as it tried to move away from the Trump Train. One defendant hit a campaign volunteer's car while the trucks occupied all lanes of traffic, slowing the bus and everyone around it to a 15-mph crawl. Those on the bus — including Davis, a campaign staffer and the driver — repeatedly called 911 asking for help and a police escort through San Marcos, but when no law enforcement arrived, the campaign canceled the event and pushed forward to Austin. San Marcos settled a separate lawsuit filed by the same three Democrats against the police, agreeing to pay $175,000 and mandate political violence training for law enforcement. Davis testified that she felt she was being “taken hostage” and has sought treatment for anxiety. In the days leading up to the event, Democrats were also intimidated, harassed and received death threats, the lawsuit said. “I feel like they were enjoying making us afraid,” Davis testified. “It's traumatic for all of us to revisit that day.” What's the plaintiffs' argument? In opening statements, an attorney for the plaintiffs said convoy organizers targeted the bus in a calculated attack to intimidate the Democrats in violation of the “Ku Klux Klan Act,” an 1871 federal law that bans political violence and intimidation. "We're here because of actions that put people's lives in danger,” said Samuel Hall, an attorney with the law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher. The plaintiffs, he said, were “literally driven out of town by a swarm of trucks.” The six Trump Train drivers succeeded in making the campaign cancel its remaining events in Texas in a war they believed was “between good and evil," Hall said. Two nonprofit advocacy groups, Texas Civil Rights Project and Protect Democracy, also are representing the three plaintiffs. What's the defense's argument? Attorneys for the defendants, who are accused of driving and organizing the convoy,   said they did not conspire to swarm the Democrats on the bus, which could have exited the highway at any point. “This was a political rally. This was not some conspiracy to intimidate people,” said attorney Jason Greaves, who is representing two of the drivers. The defense also argued that their clients' actions were protected speech and that the trial is a concerted effort to “drain conservatives of their money,” according to Francisco Canseco, a lawyer for three of the defendants. “It was a rah-rah group that sought to support and advocate for a candidate of their choice in a very loud way,” Canseco said during opening statements. The defense lost a bid last month to have the case ruled in their favor without a trial. The judge wrote that “assaulting, intimidating, or imminently threatening others with force is not protected expression.”

Islamabad — Pakistan has documented the killings of 11 journalists in 2024, reaching a record-breaking annual tally with nearly four months left in the year. The South Asian nation continues to face persistent criticism for an alleged lack of justice or impunity for journalists' murders, making it one of the world’s most dangerous countries for media workers. The latest victim was Nisar Lehri, a 50-year-old Pakistani journalist and secretary of a local press club in violence-hit southwestern Balochistan province. Unknown assailants shot and killed him on September 4 near his home in the town of Mastung for his reporting about criminal elements, according to a complaint filed with the area police. Lehri’s murder followed the death of reporter Muhammad Bachal Ghunio on August 27. He was associated with the local Awaz TV channel and was targeted by gunmen in his native Ghotki district in southeastern Sindh province. Ghunio’s family and police investigators believe he was killed because of his reporting. Police subsequently announced the arrest of a suspect, and the recovery of a weapon allegedly used in the attack. Islamabad-based nonprofit Freedom Network, an advocate for press freedoms, reported that before the two fatalities, nine journalists were killed in Pakistan this year, including a YouTube show host.  “Safety is every journalist’s key concern while reporting, and given the fact that 11 journalists, including a YouTuber, were killed this year so far, it has a chilling effect on independent media,” Iqbal Khattak, the executive director of the nonprofit network, told VOA.  Pakistani officials blame growing terrorist activities in the country for the uptick in attacks on journalists. However, critics dispute these claims, noting that many of the journalist fatalities this year occurred in Sindh and the country’s most populous Punjab province, which have been relatively peaceful compared to terrorism-hit Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.  While Pakistan’s military and its intelligence agencies are routinely accused of orchestrating violence against journalists critical of their involvement in national politics, influential feudal lords and politicians in Sindh, as well as Punjab, are often blamed for ordering violence against media workers in their native constituencies and escaping accountability.  “The deep-rooted impunity and political instability are driving the current violence. However, the list of press freedom predators is not restricted to the two drivers,” Khattak stated. “The list is long to name the predators. Terrorism is not excluded,” he added. Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar told reporters Saturday that the federal government is working closely with authorities in the four provinces to address the challenges facing journalists. “There are incidents in Sindh, I totally agree. Some people often use political influence to get their way and get out of these cases," Tarar stated when asked by VOA about his government’s role in addressing the cases of fatal attacks on journalists and providing justice to their families. The minister pledged to coordinate with provincial counterparts to investigate these cases and deter further violence against media workers. “We need to set an example in one or two cases, so this does not happen again. I think this is a very important issue which needs to be handled,” Tarar said.   The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a U.S.-based global media rights group, mourned the deaths of Lehri and Ghunio in a Friday statement.  “Pakistani authorities must immediately bring the perpetrators of the killings … to justice and show urgent political will to end the horrifying cycle of violence against journalists that has continued this year across Pakistan,” said Beh Lih Yi, the CPJ Asia program coordinator. “The press in Pakistan cannot carry out their journalism unless the government and security agencies put an end to the impunity against journalists in the country,” she stressed.  The CPJ statement also noted that dozens of Pakistani journalists have been attacked or forced into hiding this year due to their reporting across the country. Another global media watchdog, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), urged Pakistan's federal and provincial authorities in a recent report to take urgent measures to address the alarming decline in press freedom in the country. “The many press freedom violations reveal a climate of violence, and a determination to censor that has little in common with the undertakings by the political parties in their elections campaign manifestos and the message of support for journalists by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif,” stated Celia Mercier, the head of RSF’s South Asia desk. “Pakistan remains one of the world’s most dangerous countries for media personnel, and the level of impunity for the murders of journalists is appalling,” Mercier said in June.     Stifling free press   Until this month, millions of Pakistanis experienced significant disruptions in accessing major social media platforms nationwide, including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, drawing a public outcry. The military-backed Sharif government was blamed for imposing the shutdowns and internet slowdowns to deter dissent or political unrest.  Pakistani authorities rejected the allegations and blamed internet disruptions on a faulty submarine internet cable.  In an August 28 announcement, the state regulator, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, announced that repairs to the faulty cable would likely be completed by early October, but slow internet speeds might persist until then.  VOA Islamabad Bureau Chief Sarah Zaman contributed to this report.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.