COLU @ CONCEPTS

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Having declared that finding a solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict is “maybe not as difficult as people have thought,” President Donald Trump will make his first visit to Israel with few concrete ideas of solving a problem that has vexed presidents for decades. Trump, fresh off two days in Saudi Arabia, will journey to Jerusalem on Monday and his stay will include separate meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Trump also planned to visit the Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem and the Western Wall, an important key Jewish holy site. While hosting Abbas at the White House in March, Trump boldly stated that achieving peace is “something that I think is, frankly, maybe not as difficult as people have thought over the years.” “But we need two willing parties,” he continued. “We believe Israel is willing. We believe you’re willing. And if you both are willing, we’re going to make a de...

CLEVELAND (AP) — LeBron James’ frustrating night kept going after one of the worst playoff games of his splendid career. James exchanged words with a fan late Sunday night after the Boston Celtics stormed back from a 21-point deficit in the third quarter and shocked the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals. As he walked down a hallway inside Quicken Loans Arena to the postgame news conference, James, who scored just 11 points and only one in the final 18 minutes, was heckled by the fan for his sub-par outing. James spun around and asked the man to repeat himself. Security ushered the fan away from James, who then went to the podium and was blunt in assessing a very uncharacteristic game for the NBA’s best all-around player. “I had a tough game, period,” he said. “Not just in the second half. Me, personally, I didn’t have it. My teammates did a great job of keeping us in the game, building that lead. But me, personally, I didn’t have it. That’s all...

Drake was a high roller in Las Vegas, beating Adele’s record for most wins at the Billboard Music Awards. Cher and Celine Dion each reflected on their own iconic careers and amazing songs on Sunday night’s awards show, while a moment of silence was held for rocker Chris Cornell, who died Thursday in Detroit. Miley Cyrus delivered an emotional, but low-key performance and Vanessa Hudgens shined as co-host. These are the top moments from the awards show. ___ DRAKE’S LUCKY 13 The rapper broke Adele’s record with 13 wins for the night as well as an eye-catching performance in the middle of famous Fountains of Bellagio. With the streams of water and fireworks timed to his song, “Gyalchester,” the Canadian rapper danced around a platform in the water. He already had 10 awards by the time the show began, but made sure to give a shout out during his acceptance speeches to his friends in the audience including Nicki Minaj, co-host Ludacris and Lil Wayne. The Chainsmokers, who tie...

ABU JARBUAH, Iraq (AP) — As Omar Rashad’s combine clutters down the barley field in northern Iraq, the farmer shields his eyes from the scorching sun and points at the tall berm at the end of his land, just past a cluster of agricultural buildings. The berm he points to marks the de facto border between federal Iraq and its self-governing Kurdish region in the north. It was built in November after Kurdish Peshmerga forces pushed about 5 kilometers (3 miles) into the Nineveh plains outside Mosul with the support of the U.S.-led coalition, retaking a cluster of towns and villages from the Islamic State group. Now, more than half of Rashad’s land, some 20 hectares (50 acres), is on the other side of the line in Iraqi federal territory. Crossing over to it is so complicated — requiring daily approval from both Iraqi and Kurdish authorities — that he has given up. “This is our village and here is the berm. The berm divides our land into two halves,” said Rashad, an Iraqi who fled...

REYNOSA, Mexico (AP) — Waving arms and brandishing a long electric prod, the ranch hands and truck drivers herd about 400 leggy calves onto trucks as the sun crests on the outskirts of this border city. After spending their first eight months on the ranches of Gildardo Lopez Hinojosa, the calves are about to cross the border — bound for Texas and U.S. feed lots beyond. On one of the three bridges connecting Reynosa with Texas, they might cross paths with the beef and chicken shipments that Lopez imports from the U.S. for his local chains of butcher shops and fried chicken restaurants. He gets the best price for his calves in the U.S. and it’s cheaper for him to import U.S. chicken than ship Mexican chicken from the country’s interior. Lopez has been selling calves and buying beef across the border for about as long as the North American Free Trade Agreement has been in effect. President Donald Trump has said the agreement that is the basis for much of the $500 billion annual t...

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Thirteen years after a Temple University basketball team manager went to famous alumni Bill Cosby’s nearby home for career advice, her complaint that Cosby drugged and molested her that night will soon be a task for a Pennsylvania jury. Lawyers this week hope to find a dozen jurors and six alternates willing to spend two weeks or more sequestered nearly 300 miles (482 kilometers) from home. The case has attracted worldwide publicity the judge hopes to shield from jurors when the trial starts June 5 in suburban Philadelphia. Jurors are being chosen in Pittsburgh starting Monday. “You want to see if they’re a celebrity-conscious person — if they read celebrity stuff, if they worship celebrity,” trial consultant Howard Varinsky said. “Prosecutors have to be very worried about fans.” The lawyers also will be weighing a potential juror’s race, gender, age, occupation and interests as the questioning gets underway. They hope to tease out whether they relate m...

FOREST GROVE, Ore. (AP) — A pair of Oregon school districts were intent on identifying warning signs that students might be contemplating a campus shooting when they stumbled on a threat far more pervasive yet much less discussed — sexual aggression among classmates. Unsure at first what to do, the districts adapted the same early-intervention approach used to handle potential school shooters: Based on observations or tips, school staff now quietly keep an eye on kids they worry are sexually aggressive. Parents help the school try to understand why their child is acting out. And the school intervenes if behavior threatens to escalate, whether the student is a kindergartener or about to graduate. A handful of school districts and student activists are at the forefront of grassroots efforts to grapple with student-on-student sexual assault. (May 22) This awakening puts the districts at the forefront of grassroots efforts to grapple with a sensitive and complex challenge ...

TOKYO (AP) — North Korea says it’s ready to deploy and start mass-producing a new medium-range missile capable of reaching Japan and major U.S. military bases there following a test launch it claims confirmed the missile’s combat readiness and is an “answer” to President Donald Trump’s policies. The solid-fuel Pukguksong-2 missile flew about 500 kilometers (310 miles) and reached a height of 560 kilometers (350 miles) Sunday before plunging into the Pacific Ocean. North Korea’s media said more missiles will be launched in the future. Trump, traveling in Saudi Arabia, had no immediate public comment. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered the launch and watched from an observation post, state media reported Monday. The Korea Central News Agency said the test verified technical aspects of the weapon system and examined its “adaptability under various battle conditions” before it is deployed to military units. Kim reportedly said the launch was a success, “approved the deplo...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Members of key congressional committees are pledging a full public airing as to why former FBI director James Comey was ousted amid an intensifying investigation into Russia’s interference with the U.S. election. The probe appears to be reaching close to President Donald Trump and his inner circle. In Sunday show appearances, both Republican and Democratic lawmakers said they will press Comey in hearings as to whether he ever felt that Trump tried to interfere with his FBI work. Others are insisting on seeing any White House or FBI documents that detail conversations between the two, following a spate of news reports that Comey had kept careful records. President Donald Trump denounced the appointment of a special counsel to investigate his campaign’s ties with Russia Thursday, calling it an unprecedented “witch hunt” that “hurts our country terribly.” (May 18) Comey was fired by Trump earlier this month. The former FBI director agreed to testify be...