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Nation
US officials investigate new outbreak
Federal health officials are investigating a new outbreak involving the diarrhea-causing parasite cyclospora.
The outbreak included 72 people as of Wednesday. The Food and Drug Administration has not yet identified which products are linked to the illnesses. Officials also have not said where the cases are located.
Alaska
Voters asked to verify citizenship
JUNEAU -- The state has sent more than 3,000 letters to Alaska voters asking them to verify their citizenship ahead of the Aug. 18 primary, a number a top state elections official said is unusually high.
The letters have raised concerns among some state lawmakers, including one who said some constituents who received them are U.S. citizens.
California
Nearly 150K mail ballots rejected
LOS ANGELES -- Nearly 150,000 California voters had their mail-in ballots rejected for the state's June primary, a spike from recent elections even as the state attempts to make voting easier with the goal of boosting participation and counting every ballot.
California has become notorious for its ponderously slow vote counts that can drag on for weeks and sometimes longer, largely the result of multiple changes over the years. Among the changes: Every voter receives a mail-in ballot that can arrive at an election office seven days late and still be counted, provided the envelope is postmarked by Election Day.
World
Brazil
Icing contributed to 2024 plane crash
SAO PAULO -- Brazilian air force investigators on Thursday published their findings about the 2024 Voepass airplane accident that killed 62 people after it spiraled into a crash.
The probe confirmed that a combination of severe icing conditions, as well as mechanical system failures and pilot distractions, contributed to the country's most deadly air crash since 2007.
Cuba
Aid distributed in two towns
HAVANA -- Hundreds of boxes of humanitarian aid from the U.S. are being distributed in two towns near the Cuban capital, the Catholic Church organization in charge of the distribution said Thursday.
The aid arrived this week and its distribution began on Wednesday. It is shrouded in controversy due to the long-standing political distrust between Cuba and the U.S., and comes amid a crisis on the island exacerbated by an energy embargo imposed in January by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Ukraine
Trump ally meets with Zelenskyy
KYIV -- Laura Loomer, an ardent ally of President Donald Trump with a reputation for incendiary social media commentary, sat down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday after a dramatic turnaround on the war that could have political reverberations back in Washington.
Loomer had spent years minimizing Russia's invasion of Ukraine and amplifying Russian propaganda to her nearly
2 million followers. This week she had a change of heart.