Kyiv is said to have launched a major push against Russian forces in southeastern Ukraine
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Kyiv has launched a major push to dislodge Russian forces from southeastern Ukraine as part of its weeks-long counteroffensive, committing thousands of troops to the battle in the country’s southeast. That’s according to Western and Ukrainian officials and analysts. One Western official says the surge in firepower and manpower has been centered on the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region. Fighting has intensified in recent weeks at multiple points along the 1,500-kilometer (930-mile) front line. Ukraine is deploying its Western-supplied advanced weapons and Western-trained troops against the deeply entrenched Kremlin’s forces who invaded 17 months ago.
Bluffing or not, Putin’s declared deployment of nuclear weapons to Belarus ramps up saber-rattling
Sometime this summer, if President Vladimir Putin can be believed, Russia moved some of its short-range nuclear weapons into Belarus, closer to Ukraine and onto the doorstep of NATO’s members in Central and Eastern Europe. The declared deployment of the weapons onto the territory of its neighbor and loyal ally marks a new stage in the Kremlin’s nuclear saber-rattling over its invasion of Ukraine. Neither Putin nor his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, said how many were moved — only that Soviet-era nuclear arms depots in the country had been readied to accommodate the weapons, and that Belarusian pilots and missile crews have been trained to use them. The U.S. and NATO haven’t confirmed the move and doubts remain.
Trump once condemned the Jan. 6 rioters. Now he’s become one of their biggest supporters
NEW YORK (AP) — The day after Jan. 6, 2021, then-President Donald Trump denounced the rioters who had violently stormed the Capitol building. Two and a half years later, his public characterizations have dramatically changed. Since leaving office, Trump has downplayed the violence, lionized the rioters as patriots and spread false claims about who was involved. He’s not only vowed to pardon a “large portion” of Jan. 6 defendants if he wins a second term in the White House, but he has also fundraised for them, met with their families and collaborated on a song that became a surprise iTunes hit.
Hunter Biden’s plea deal on hold after federal judge raises concerns over the terms of the agreement
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — The plea deal in Hunter Biden’s criminal case unraveled during a court hearing Wednesday after a federal judge raised concerns about the terms of the agreement that has infuriated Republicans who believe the president’s son is getting preferential treatment. Hunter Biden was charged last month with two misdemeanor crimes of failure to pay more than $100,000 in taxes from over $1.5 million in income in both 2017 and 2018. He had been expected to plead guilty after making an agreement with prosecutors, who were planning to recommend two years of probation.
Mutinous soldiers claim to have overthrown Niger’s president
NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Mutinous soldiers in the African nation of Niger claim to have overthrown the democratically elected president, announcing on state television that they have put an end to the government over the country’s deteriorating security. The announcement Wednesday night comes after a day of uncertainty as members of Niger’s presidential guard surrounded the presidential palace, detaining President Mohamed Bazoum. It was unclear where the president was at the time of the announcement or if he had resigned. Threats to Bazoum’s leadership would undermine the West’s efforts to stabilize Africa’s Sahel region, which has been overrun with coups in recent years. Mali and Burkina Faso have had four coups since 2020.
Biden looks to provide relief from extreme heat as record temperatures persist
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden plans to announce new steps to address the extreme heat that has threatened millions of Americans, most recently in the Southwest. The White House says officials are working on improved weather forecasts and more accessible drinking water. The leaders of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as well as the mayors of Phoenix, Ariz., and San Antonio, Texas, will participate in the event with Biden. Both cities have seen long stretches of broiling triple-digit temperatures.
Church sex abuse revelations are an unwelcome diversion as Pope Francis visits scandal-hit Portugal
LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Pope Francis is making a five-day visit next week to Portugal, where a scandal that erupted earlier this year over Catholic Church sex abuse is still simmering. A panel of experts reported in February that at least 4,815 Portuguese boys and girls had been abused since 1950. Before those findings, senior Portuguese church officials maintained there had been only a few cases of clergy sex abuse. Church officials have hesitated over such central issues as reparations for victims and whether to suspend active members of the clergy named in the panel’s report. The scandal is unfinished business in Portugal, where Francis will attend World Youth Day. Hundreds of thousands of people are due to attend.
Accused of bomb threats they say they didn’t make, family of Chinese dissident detained in Thailand
BANGKOK (AP) — The wife and daughter of exiled Chinese dissident Gao Zhi are in detention on immigration charges in Thailand, after a series of bomb threats made in their names against airports, luxury hotels and the Chinese embassy in Bangkok derailed the family’s plan to join Gao in the Netherlands. The threats appear to be part of Beijing’s increasingly sophisticated efforts to harass Chinese dissidents living overseas and their families. While parts of the story Gao Zhi and his son told couldn’t be independently confirmed, their predicament echoes accounts by other Chinese dissidents who believe Chinese authorities are making bomb threats in their names to control their political activities.
How many transgender and intersex people live in the US? Anti-LGBTQ+ laws will impact millions
New laws targeting LGBTQ+ people are proliferating in GOP-led states, but the conversations often lack a clear understanding of how many people will be directly affected. Data collection on the number of LGBTQ+ people living in the U.S. has been relatively scant. The best data currently available comes from UCLA’s Williams Institute and a KFF/The Washington Post poll. Those studies show there are between 1 and 2 million adults in the U.S. who identify as transgender. Most advocacy groups estimate that 1.7% percent of people are born intersex, which means they have genitalia, reproductive organs, chromosomes and/or hormone levels that don’t fit typical definitions of male or female.
Elon Musk wants to turn tweets into ‘X’s’. But changing language is not quite so simple
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Elon Musk may want to send “tweet” back to the birds, but the ubiquitous term for posting on the site he now calls X is here to stay — at least for now. For one, the word is still plastered all over the website formerly known as Twitter. With “tweets,” Twitter accomplished in just a few years something few companies have done in a lifetime: It became a verb and implanted itself into the lexicon of America and around the world. Upending that takes more than a top-down declaration, even if it is from the owner of Twitter-turned-X who also happens to be one of the world’s richest man.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
