U.S./World category, Page 677
ICC prosecutor to open probe into war crimes in Ukraine
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said Monday he plans to open an investigation “as rapidly as possible” into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine. Prosecutor Karim Khan said in a statement that the investigation will look at alleged crimes committed...
Europe welcomes Ukrainian refugees — others, less so
BARCELONA, Spain — They file into neighboring countries by the hundreds of thousands — refugees from Ukraine clutching children in one arm, belongings in the other. And they’re being heartily welcomed, by leaders of countries like Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Moldova and Romania. But while the hospitality has been applauded, it...
A look inside a cartel ‘extermination site’ in Mexico, which nears 100K missing
NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico — For the investigators, the human foot — burned, but with some fabric still attached — was the tipoff: Until recently, this squat, ruined house was a place where bodies were ripped apart and incinerated, where the remains of some of Mexico’s missing multitudes were obliterated. How...
Pittsburgher who walked from Ukraine to Poland shares stories of war refugees
A Pittsburgh-based journalist is one of hundreds of thousands of people who have fled Ukraine in response to Russian military strikes and aggression, and he did so by walking 45 miles from Lviv to neighboring Poland. “I am not going to pretend like I was brave. I was terrified,” Manny...
Georgia moves to exempt military retirement pay from taxes
ATLANTA — Georgia would exempt up to $35,000 a year in military retirement income from state income tax under a bill passed Monday by the state House. Representatives voted 161-0 for House Bill 1064, under which the state is projected to forgo an estimated $55 million to $60 million in...
Ukraine applies to join European Union
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he has signed an application for Ukraine to join the European Union. The action comes five days after Russia invaded its smaller neighbor, touching off widespread international condemnation and offers of military assistance from the 27-member nation EU and elsewhere. Andrii Sybiha,...
Photo gallery: Exit out of Ukraine: escape by foot, train, car
LVIV, Ukraine — By car, train, foot and — in at least one case — office chair, tens of thousands of Ukrainian war refugees have sought safety in the bordering nations of Poland, Romania, Hungary, Moldova, and the Czech Republic. The chaotic run for freedom was captured by Associated Press...
Zimbabwe: 1 dead after clashes at opposition party rally
HARARE, Zimbabwe — One person died and others were injured in clashes at an opposition party rally in Zimbabwe over the weekend, police said Monday. The country’s main opposition leader claimed his followers were attacked by ruling party supporters armed with machetes, spears and rocks. Police spokesman Paul Nyathi confirmed...
Ukraine slows Russian advance under shadow of nuclear threat
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian and Ukrainian officials met for talks Monday amid high hopes but low expectations for any diplomatic breakthrough, after Moscow ran into unexpectedly stiff resistance when it unleashed the biggest land war in Europe since World War II. Outgunned Ukrainian forces managed to slow the Russian advance,...
Ruble plummets as sanctions bite, sending Russians to banks
MOSCOW — Ordinary Russians faced the prospect of higher prices and crimped foreign travel as Western sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine sent the ruble plummeting, leading uneasy people to line up at banks and ATMs on Monday in a country that has seen more than one currency disaster in...
Trump talks Putin, grievances as GOP focuses on midterm wins
ORLANDO, Fla. — Leading Republicans spent much of three days avoiding Donald Trump’s chief grievances or ignoring him altogether as they unified behind a midterm message designed to win back the voters the polarizing former president alienated while in office. That changed Saturday night. Facing thousands of cheering activists at...
Sorting fact, disinformation after Russian attack on Ukraine
KYIV, Ukraine — Associated Press journalists around Ukraine and beyond are documenting military activity during Russia’s invasion. With disinformation rife and social media amplifying military claims and counterclaims, determining exactly what is happening is difficult. Here’s a look at what could be confirmed Sunday. WHAT ARE THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS? Huge...
On cusp of Biden speech, a state of disunity, funk and peril
WASHINGTON — In good times or bad, American presidents come to Congress with a diagnosis that hardly differs over the decades. In their State of the Union speeches, they declare “the state of our union is strong,” or words very much like it. President Joe Biden’s fellow Americans, though, have...
Fence being reinstalled around U.S. Capitol for Biden speech
WASHINGTON — Fencing installed around the U.S. Capitol for months after the January 2021 insurrection will be put back up before President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on Tuesday as concern grows about potential demonstrations or truck convoys snarling traffic in the nation’s capital. Capitol Police Chief Tom...
How is Russia-Ukraine war linked to religion?
Ukraine’s tangled political history with Russia has its counterpart in the religious landscape, with Ukraine’s majority Orthodox Christian population divided between an independent-minded group based in Kyiv and another loyal to its patriarch in Moscow. But while there have been appeals to religious nationalism in both Russia and Ukraine, religious...
West unleashes SWIFT bans, more crushing penalties on Russia
WASHINGTON — The United States and European nations agreed Saturday to impose the most potentially crippling financial penalties yet on Russia over its unrelenting invasion of Ukraine, going after the central bank reserves that underpin the Russian economy and severing some Russian banks from a vital global financial network. The...
Putin puts nuclear forces on high alert, escalating tensions
KYIV, Ukraine — President Vladimir Putin dramatically escalated East-West tensions by ordering Russian nuclear forces put on high alert Sunday, while Ukraine’s embattled leader agreed to talks with Moscow as Putin’s troops and tanks drove deeper into the country, closing in around the capital. Citing “aggressive statements” by NATO and...
14 shot at Vegas hookah parlor; 1 dead and 2 critically hurt
LAS VEGAS — Fourteen people were shot before dawn Saturday morning at a hookah parlor, and police said one person died and that two of the victims suffered critical injuries. The shooting happened at about 3:15 a.m. and preliminary information indicated there was a party during which two people got...
Trayvon Martin’s mother: ‘Don’t give up’ fight for justice
NEW YORK — The mother of Trayvon Martin used the 10th anniversary of her son’s death Saturday to urge those who sought justice for her family to continue to fight. “I never do anything on the 26th, I never even plan anything on the 26th of February,” Sybrina Fulton said...
China is Russia’s best hope to blunt sanctions, but wary
BEIJING — China is the only friend that might help Russia blunt the impact of economic sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine, but President Xi Jinping’s government is giving no sign it might be willing to risk its own access to U.S. and European markets by doing too much. Even...
War via TikTok: Russia’s new tool for propaganda machine
The Russian TikTok video has it all: a cat, puppies and a pulsing background beat. It’s cute, watchable and hardly seems the stuff of state propaganda. In 2014, Russia flooded the internet with fake accounts pushing disinformation about its takeover of Crimea. Eight years later, experts say Russia is mounting...
Russian troops zero in on Kyiv as 150,000 Ukrainians flee
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian troops closed in on Kyiv and skirmishes flared on its outskirts Saturday as Ukraine’s leader vowed to continue battling an invasion by a much better-armed adversary. Terrified men, women and children sought safety inside and underground amid a 39-hour curfew the government imposed to keep people...
Explainer: What’s ahead for Biden’s Supreme Court nominee
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court has launched what Democrats hope will be a quick, bipartisan confirmation process for the court’s first Black woman. Jackson would replace Justice Stephen Breyer, who has said he will retire this summer at the end...
U.S. sanctions on Russian oligarchs miss richest of rich
WASHINGTON — The term Russian oligarch conjures images of posh London mansions, gold-plated Bentleys and sleek superyachts in the Mediterranean, their decks draped with partiers dripping in jewels. But the raft of sanctions on oligarchs announced by President Joe Biden this week in response to the invasion of Ukraine may...
Scott Peterson juror denies bias during 2004 trial
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The juror at the heart of convicted murderer Scott Peterson’s retrial bid swore Friday that she had no animosity toward him until after she heard evidence that he had killed his pregnant wife in a case that grabbed worldwide attention in 2004. “Before the trial, I didn’t...
