Rubio defends new US sanctions on Cuba

HAVANA (AP) – U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday defended the Trump administration’s decision to slap new sanctions on Cuba, the largest of which is against Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A., a business conglomerate operated by the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces.

In legal dispute over 'The View,' ABC argues Trump is trying to chill free speech

NEW YORK (AP) – In a strongly worded filing, ABC accuses the Trump administration of trying to chill its constitutionally protected free speech and hinder open political discussion.

Russia's WWII victory celebrations are muted this year as Ukraine war weighs on Putin

Tensions are high as Russia prepares to celebrate its most important secular holiday Saturday, with fears about security amid the war with Ukraine and signs of domestic discontent casting a shadow over annual celebrations in Moscow’s Red Square.

3 Australian women back from Syria face slavery and terrorism charges

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) – Three Australian women were refused bail when they appeared in courts on Friday charged with slavery and terrorism offenses after they arrived home from Syria with another 10 others whom police allege are linked to the Islamic State group.

Paraguay and Taiwan reaffirm ties after China sought to lure away Taipei ally

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) – Paraguay’s President Santiago Peña said Friday that his country deeply values its ties with Taiwan, in a show of solidarity with the island democracy a day after Beijing asked the South American nation to sever diplomatic relations with Taipei.

US Employers Add Surprisingly Strong 115,000 jobs in April

WASHINGTON (AP) – America’s employers delivered a surprising 115,000 new jobs last month despite an economic shock from the Iran war. Hiring beat the 65,000 jobs forecasters had expected, though it decelerated from the 185,000 jobs created in March. The unemployment rate remained at a low 4.3%, the Labor Department reported Friday.

Hungary Plans 'regime-change celebration' to mark Orbán's departure

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) – As incoming prime minister Péter Magyar takes his oath of office within the halls of Hungary’s sprawling neo-Gothic parliament on Saturday, thousands are expected to gather on a square just outside to celebrate the final moments of Viktor Orbán ‘s 16-year rule.

Editorials from The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post and others

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:

US lifts hold on immigration applications for doctors, but leaves others waiting

Libyan Dr. Faysal Alghoula must renew his green card to continue caring for roughly 1,000 patients in southwestern Indiana, but hasn’t been able to since the Trump administration stopped reviewing applications for people from several dozen countries it deemed high-risk.