WARSAW, Poland (AP) — President Joe Biden has closed out his wartime visit to Europe by working to shore up partnerships with allies perched on NATO’s perilous eastern flank. At the same time, Russia’s Vladimir Putin is drawing closer to China as his invasion of Ukraine nears the one-year mark. Biden met with leaders of…
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Legislation by a Missouri Republican would strengthen the state’s abortion ban. A GOP-led Senate committee on Wednesday debated an amendment that would say abortion rights are not protected in Missouri’s Constitution. Missouri law already bans abortions except in medical emergencies. The ban kicked in after the U.S. Supreme Court last year…
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — President Joe Biden has left Kyiv, Ukraine, after an unannounced visit to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Monday’s visit was a gesture of solidarity coming days before the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Biden delivered remarks and met Zelenskyy at Mariinsky Palace to announce an additional half-billion dollars in U.S.…
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The mother of Tyre Nichols says none of the five former Memphis, Tennessee, police officers charged with killing her son would look her in the eye in court. The former officers pleaded not guilty Friday to second-degree murder and other charges. Mother RowVaughn Wells said at a news conference after the…
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is calling for making preschool available to every 3- and 4-year-old in the state within four years, starting with a $440 million investment to bring 5,000 additional children into the program this fall. Details about the “Smart Start Illinois” program dominated the fifth annual State of the…
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A white supremacist who killed 10 Black people at a Buffalo supermarket has been sentenced to life in prison without parole Wednesday after listening to the relatives of his victims express the pain and rage caused by his racist attack. Wendesday’s sentencing hearing for Payton Gendron was disrupted briefly when he…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is defending the shootdowns of three unidentified objects in as many days even as it acknowledged that officials had no indication the objects were intended for surveillance in the same manner as the high-altitude Chinese balloon that traversed American airspace earlier this month. White House national security spokesman John…
Alec Baldwin has asked a judge in New Mexico to dismiss a five-year firearm sentencing enhancement in the charges against him, saying it is unconstitutionally based on a law passed after the shooting on the set of the film “Rust.” The Friday court filing from the actor’s attorneys said prosecutors committed a basic legal error…
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley and the state’s Republican attorney general are investigating whistleblower complaints against a transgender health center for children. Hawley and Attorney General Andrew Bailey on Thursday announced their investigations of Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. The whistleblower claims minors are put on puberty blockers…
GAZIANTEP, Turkey (AP) — Stretched rescue teams in Turkey and Syria are searching for signs of life in the rubble of thousands of buildings toppled by a catastrophic earthquake. The confirmed death toll from the world’s deadliest quake in more than a decade passed 11,000 on Wednesday. While teams from more two dozen countries have…