by Sam Mednick NIAMEY, Niger  — Tensions are escalating between Niger’s new military regime and the West African regional bloc that has ordered the deployment of troops to restore Niger’s flailing democracy. The ECOWAS bloc said on Thursday it had directed a “standby force” to restore constitutional order in Niger after its Sunday deadline to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum expired. Hours earlier, two Western officials told The Associated Press that Niger’s junta had told a top U.S. diplomat they would kill Bazoum if neighboring countries attempted any military intervention to restore his rule. It’s unclear when or where the…

by Bianca Vazquez Toness SPRINGFIELD, Mass.  — When in-person school resumed after pandemic closures, Rousmery Negrón and her 11-year-old son both noticed a change: School seemed less welcoming. Parents were no longer allowed in the building without appointments, she said, and punishments were more severe. Everyone seemed less tolerant, more angry. Negrón’s son told her he overheard a teacher mocking his learning disabilities, calling him an ugly name. Her son didn’t want to go to school anymore. And she didn’t feel he was safe there. He would end up missing more than five months of sixth grade. Across the country, students have…

by Emeka Obasi LAGOS, NIGERIA -Fifty seven years after his assassination, the departure of General Johnson Aguiyi – Ironsi continues to be engulfed in mystery. Even those closest to him came out with different versions of what transpired in Ibadan, on July 29, 1966. In all accounts, it is impossible to name who really shot the first African to command United Nations forces and the first Nigerian general. What is certain is that the trigger was pulled by a Non Commissioned Officer ( NCO) after commissioned officers lost control of the rabid situation. Recently, Col. Sani Bello, then a…

by Joseph Omoremi CHICAGO, IL The discovery hearing to authenticate the certificate of Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was yesterday assigned to U.S District Judge Jeffrey T. Gilbert and a directive to Chicago State University (CSU) to respond by August 23, 2023 to the application filed by former Nigeria’s vice president Alhaji Abubakar Atiku. Atiku is seeking all records of Tinubu at the university along with CSU’s responses to the various subpoenas, academic and attendance records of Tinubu at the university. The university had urged Atiku to secure  a release from appropriate federal and state authorities before such documents could be released…

by Josh Boak WASHINGTON  — President Joe Biden signed an executive order Wednesday to block and regulate high-tech U.S.-based investments going toward China — a move the administration said was targeted but it also reflected an intensifying competition between the world’s two biggest powers. The order covers advanced computer chips, micro electronics, quantum information technologies and artificial intelligence. Senior administration officials said that the effort stemmed from national security goals rather than economic interests, and that the categories it covered were intentionally narrow in scope. The order seeks to blunt China’s ability to use U.S. investments in its technology companies…

by Kyle Hightower and Alanis Thames From his booth at the corner of the court, Miami Heat disc jockey M Dot has a front-row look at the harmonious fusion of basketball and music. M Dot — real name Michael Hankerson — has watched LeBron James and Dwyane Wade to Jimmy Butler nod their heads in pregame layup lines to songs from artists like Drake and Jeezy. He’s seen fans mumble song lyrics between cheers, and rap artists hype up the crowd during timeouts. It’s a relationship that began in the late 1970s, early ’80s as hip-hop was taking flight, and…

by Agency reports WASHINGTON  — U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the oldest member of Congress, fell in her home and went to a hospital for a short time, her office said on Wednesday. The 90-year-old California Democrat, who has faced mounting concerns about her health and her ability to perform the duties of a senator, “briefly went to the hospital yesterday afternoon as a precaution after a minor fall in her home,” her office said in a statement. All of her scans were clear, and she returned home later Tuesday, said her spokesman Adam Russell, who provided no further details. Senate…

by Brendan Farrington and Freida Frisaro TALLAHASSEE, Fla.  — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday suspended the top prosecutor in Orlando, again wielding his executive power over local government in taking on a contentious issue in the 2024 presidential race. It’s the second time DeSantis, a Republican, has removed a Democratic state attorney and follows an investigation that began when a teenager was charged with fatally shooting a television reporter and a 9-year-old girl. “It is my duty as Governor to ensure that the laws enacted by our duly elected Legislature are followed,” DeSantis said during a news conference in…

by Alanna Durkin Richer Special counsel Jack Smith’s team obtained a search warrant in January for records related to former President Donald Trump’sTwitter account, and a judge levied a $350,000 fine on the company for delay in complying, according to court documents released Wednesday. The details were included in a decision from the federal appeals court in Washington stemming from a legal battle over the warrant that has played out under seal and behind closed doors for months. The appeals court rejected Twitter’s claim that it should not have been held in contempt or sanctioned. X, the platform formerly known…

by Sam Mednick NIAMEY, Niger  — Niger’s deposed president is running out of food and experiencing other increasingly dire conditions two weeks after he was ousted in a military coup and put under house arrest, an advisor told The Associated Press on Wednesday. President Mohamed Bazoum, the West African nation’s democratically elected leader, has been held at the presidential palace in Niamey with his wife and son since mutinous soldiersmoved against him on July 26. The family is living without electricity and only has rice and canned goods left to eat, the advisor said. Bazoum remains in good health for…