AP News in Brief at 11:04 p.m. EDT
Who’s testified, and who might, in Hunter Biden's firearms trial
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Jurors who will decide whether President Joe Biden's son is guilty of federal firearms charges are hearing deeply personal testimony about a dark period for Hunter Biden.
The case playing out in Wilmington, Delaware, stems from a gun the younger Biden bought in October 2018, months before his father announced his bid for the presidency.
Prosecutors say Hunter Biden lied when he swore he wasn't a drug user on a form he filled out at the gun shop. He had the gun for about 11 days before it was thrown in a trash can.
Hunter Biden’s attorney argues his client did not believe he was in the throes of addiction when he stated in the paperwork that he did not have a drug problem.
Hunter Biden was supposed to have avoided prosecution in the gun case altogether, but a deal with prosecutors fell apart last year. He was subsequently indicted on three felony gun charges. He also faces a trial scheduled for September on felony charges alleging he failed to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes over four years.
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The costs of World War II and the war in Ukraine fuse as Allies remember D-Day without Russia
UTAH BEACH, France (AP) — As the sun sets on the D-Day generation, it will rise again Thursday over the Normandy beaches where the waves long ago washed away the blood and boot-steps of its soldiers, but where their exploits that helped end Adolf Hitler's tyranny are being remembered by the next generations, seeing war again in Europe, in Ukraine.
Ever-dwindling numbers of World War II veterans who have pilgrimaged back to France, and Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine that has dashed hopes that lives and cities wouldn't again be laid to waste in Europe, are making the always poignant anniversaries of the June 6, 1944, Allied landings even more so 80 years on.
As now-centenarian veterans revisit old memories and fallen comrades buried in Normandy graves, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's presence at D-Day commemorations with world leaders — including U.S. President Joe Biden — who are supporting his country's fight against Russia's invasion will inevitably fuse together World War II's awful past with the fraught present on Thursday.
The break of dawn almost eight decades exactly after Allied troops waded ashore under hails of gunfire on five code-named beaches — Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword — will kick off a day of remembrance by Allied nations now standing together again behind Ukraine — and with World War II ally Russia not invited by host France. It cited Russia's “war of aggression against Ukraine that has intensified in recent weeks" for the snub.
With the dead and wounded on both sides in Ukraine estimated in the hundreds of thousands, commemorations for the more than 4,400 Allied dead on D-Day and many tens of thousands more, including French civilians, killed in the ensuing Battle of Normandy are tinged with concerns that World War II lessons are being lost.
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Putin warns that Russia could provide long-range weapons to others to strike Western targets
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — President Vladimir Putin warned Wednesday that Russia could provide long-range weapons to others to strike Western targets in response to NATO allies allowing Ukraine to use their arms to attack Russian territory.
Putin also reaffirmed Moscow’s readiness to use nuclear weapons if it sees a threat to its sovereignty.
The recent actions by the West will further undermine international security and could lead to “very serious problems,” he said, taking questions from international journalists — something that has become extremely rare since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine.
“That would mark their direct involvement in the war against the Russian Federation, and we reserve the right to act the same way,” Putin added.
The United States and Germany recently authorized Ukraine to hit some targets on Russian soil with the long-range weapons they are supplying to Kyiv.
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Tornadoes touch down across US, killing toddler in Michigan and injuring 5 in Maryland
LIVONIA, Mich. (AP) — A tornado killed a 2-year-old boy and injured his mother Wednesday when a tree fell on their house in suburban Detroit, while emergency workers in Maryland were responding to reports of collapsed structures with people trapped inside after a tornado there.
Officials in Livonia, Michigan, said in a post on the city’s website that the quick-developing tornado struck several neighborhoods in the city on Wednesday afternoon.
A massive tree was uprooted and fell onto the family’s house and through the roof, landing on a bed where the woman and her 2-year-old were sleeping, officials said. Crews worked for nearly an hour to remove the roof and parts of the tree and then lift the tree to get the victims out.
The toddler was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said. The mother was transported to a local hospital in critical condition.
A 2-week-old sibling who was in a crib in a separate room was not injured but taken to a hospital for an evaluation, Livonia Fire Department Chief Robert Johnson told WDIV-TV.
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Ukraine uses US weapons to strike inside Russia, according to a senator and a Western official
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukraine has used U.S. weapons to strike inside Russia in recent days, according to a U.S. senator and a Western official familiar with the matter.
The weapons were used under recently approved guidance from President Joe Biden allowing American arms to be used to hit targets inside Russia for the limited purpose of defending Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city.
The official was not authorized to comment publicly on the sensitive matter and spoke on condition of anonymity. Republican Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, confirmed the strikes with U.S. weapons, but did not say how he was briefed.
Biden’s directive allows for U.S.-supplied weapons to be used to strike Russian forces that are attacking or preparing to attack. It does not change U.S. policy that directs Ukraine not to use American-provided ATACMS or long-range missiles and other munitions to strike offensively inside Russia, U.S. officials have said.
Ukrainian officials had stepped up calls on the U.S. to allow Kyiv's forces to defend themselves against attacks originating from Russian territory. Kharkiv sits just 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the Russian border and has come under intensified Russian attack.
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At least 4 people killed, 23 injured after trains collide in the Czech Republic, officials say
PRAGUE (AP) — A passenger train collided head-on with a freight train in the Czech Republic, killing at least four people and injuring 23 others, officials said early Thursday.
Interior Minister Vít Rakušan said the crash took place late Wednesday night in the city of Pardubice, some 100 kilometers (62 miles) east of Prague. The high-speed passenger train belonged to the private RegioJet company.
Rakušan said none of the injured was in life-threatening condition.
Transport Minister Martin Kupka said the main track between Prague and the eastern part of the country had to be closed while authorities investigate the collision.
“We can't and won't speculate about the cause of the accident," Kupka said.
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Appeals court halts Trump's Georgia case during appeal of order allowing Willis to stay on case
ATLANTA (AP) — An appeals court has halted the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump and others while it reviews the lower court judge's ruling allowing Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to remain on the case.
The Georgia Court of Appeals' order on Wednesday prevents Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee from moving forward with pretrial motions as he had planned while the appeal is pending. While it was already unlikely that the case would go to trial before the November general election, when Trump is expected to be the Republican nominee for president, this makes that even more certain.
The appeals court on Monday docketed the appeals filed by Trump and eight others and said that “if oral argument is requested and granted” it is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 4. The court will then have until mid-March to rule, and the losing side will be able to appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court.
A spokesperson for Willis declined to comment on the appeals court ruling.
A Fulton County grand jury in August indicted Trump and 18 others, accusing them of participating in a sprawling scheme to illegally try to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. Four defendants have pleaded guilty after reaching deals with prosecutors, but Trump and the others have pleaded not guilty. It is one of four criminal cases against Trump.
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Speaker Johnson appoints two Trump allies to a committee that handles classified intelligence
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday appointed two far-right Republicans to the powerful House Intelligence Committee, positioning two close allies of Donald Trump who worked to overturn the 2020 presidential election on a panel that receives sensitive classified briefings and oversees the work of America's spy agencies.
The appointments of GOP Reps. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania and Ronny Jackson of Texas to the House Intelligence Committee were announced on the House floor Wednesday. Johnson, a hardline conservative from Louisiana who has aligned himself with Trump, was replacing spots on the committee that opened up after the resignations of Republican Reps. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin and Chris Stewart of Utah.
Committee spots have typically been given to lawmakers with backgrounds in national security and who have gained respect across the aisle. But the replacements with two close Trump allies comes as Johnson has signaled his willingness to use the full force of the House to aid Trump's bid to reclaim the Oval Office. It also hands the hard-right faction of the House two coveted spots on a committee that handles the nation's secrets and holds tremendous influence over the direction of foreign policy.
Trump has long displayed adversarial and flippant views of the U.S. intelligence community, flouted safeguards over classified information and directly berated law enforcement agencies like the FBI. The former president faces 37 felony counts for improperly storing in his Florida estate sensitive documents on nuclear capabilities, repeatedly enlisting aides and lawyers to help him hide records demanded by investigators and cavalierly showing off a Pentagon “plan of attack” and classified map.
Johnson did not release a statement on his picks for the committee.
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Climate records keep getting shattered. Here is what you need to know
WASHINGTON (AP) — Month after month, global temperatures are setting new records. Meanwhile, scientists and climate policymakers warn of the growing likelihood that the planet will soon exceed the warming target set at the landmark Paris 2015 climate talks.
Making sense of the run of climate extremes may be challenging for some. Here's a look at what scientists are saying.
WHAT CLIMATE RECORDS HAVE BEEN BROKEN RECENTLY?
The European Union’s climate-watching agency Copernicus declared last month that it was the hottest May on record, marking the 12th straight monthly record high. Separately, the World Meteorological Organization estimated that there's almost a one-in-two chance that average global temperatures from 2024 to 2028 will surpass the hoped-for warming limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times that was agreed in the Paris talks.
And one more: Earth warmed at a slightly faster rate in 2023 than 2022, a group of 57 scientists determined in a report in the journal Earth System Science Data.
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Pro athletes understand gambling on their games is a non-negotiable no-no. Some learned the hard way
BOSTON (AP) — Professional athletes get the lecture at the start of every season, and see the warnings any time they walk into their locker room or clubhouse: If you gamble on your games, the consequences are severe.
And, every once in a while, there is a more personal reminder.
When Major League Baseball banned San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano for life — following the NBA’s permanent exile of Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter in April — it reinforced the message that the talk about gambling isn’t just talk.
“What you do in the dark will come to light, I guess,” Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen said this week after Marcano, his former teammate, was banished. “And you’ve got to deal with the consequences of poor choices.”
A 24-year-old Venezuelan with 149 games of major league experience, Marcano was the first active baseball player in a century banned for life for gambling. MLB said he placed hundreds of bets totaling more than $150,000 on baseball in 2022 and 2023 — including wagers on the Pirates while he was on Pittsburgh's big league injured list.
The Associated Press
