Thousands of Ukrainians live in agony and uncertainty as they search for their missing loved ones
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The latest figures from the National Police show that more than 30,000 people have been reported missing in Ukraine during two years of war. Among them are military personnel, civilians and children. Tens of thousands of people have disappeared under a variety of circumstances, their whereabouts unknown. The families endure excruciating uncertainty, desperately seeking any sign of their missing loved ones. For many, this agonizing quest has persisted for the duration of Russia’s unprovoked war aimed at seizing Ukraine. The International Committee of the Red Cross says since February 2022 its team has been contacted more than 100,000 times by families searching for their loved ones.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is in Ukraine to meet Zelenskyy as US aid hangs in the balance
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is in Ukraine to try to reassure President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other officials that Congress will deliver U.S. aid, even as a package that would provide $60 billion is stalled in the U.S. House. Schumer’s surprise trip comes as Zelenskyy has said that delays in aid from the U.S. and other Western countries are opening a door for Russian battlefield advances. The Senate passed the Ukraine aid last week, but Speaker Mike Johnson has not yet put forward a plan for passing it in the House.
Live updates | Israeli strikes kill 100 Palestinians in 24 hours as officials hold cease-fire talks
Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 100 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours. Hamas says its top political leader has held talks with Egyptian officials about a possible cease-fire in Gaza and an exchange of hostages held by the militants for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. During Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, militants killed about 1,200 people and took some 250 hostages. Roughly half of the hostages were released during a weeklong cease-fire in November. About 100 hostages remain in captivity. Israel’s subsequent offensive in Gaza has killed more than 29,000 Palestinians and driven some 80% of the territory’s 2.3 million people from their homes.
Relatives of hostages in Gaza endure a nightmare, but dream their loved ones will be freed
KIBBUTZ BE’ERI, Israel (AP) — Relatives of hostages still being held by Hamas and other militant groups have endured a nightmare. Nearly five months into the war that began with Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel, the hostages’ relatives hold on to hope that they will be freed. But they’re growing increasingly desperate for a resolution. After multiple failed rounds of negotiations, the hostages’ relatives fret that both Israelis and the world are losing interest in their struggle. Roughly 250 people, including women, children and older adults, were taken as hostages on Oct. 7, and more than 100 have been freed so far. Of the 134 remaining hostages, Israel believes 100 or so are still alive.
Private lander makes first US moon landing in more than 50 years
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A private lander has made the first U.S. moon landing in more than 50 years. Intuitive Machines’ lander touched down Thursday, but left flight controllers scrambling before gaining better contact. Tension mounted in the company’s Houston control center when there was no immediate word from the lander following the designated touchdown time. A faint signal finally was acquired. Once communication was improved, the company confirmed the lander was upright and starting to send back data. The landing put the U.S. back on the moon for the first time since NASA’s Apollo moonwalkers.
Ex-FBI source accused of lying about Bidens and having Russian contacts is returned to US custody
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Defense lawyers say a former FBI informant who claims to have links to Russian intelligence and is charged with lying about a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden’s family has been taken back into the custody of U.S. Marshals. Alexander Smirnov had been released with a GPS monitor ahead of trial. He was arrested during a meeting Thursday morning at his lawyers’ offices in downtown Las Vegas. The arrest came after prosecutors asked a judge in California, where the case originally was filed, to reconsider Smirnov’s custody status while he awaits trial. He is charged with making a false statement and creating a false and fictitious record.
Trump’s lawyers call for dismissal of classified documents case, citing presidential immunity
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump is urging a federal judge in Florida to dismiss the criminal case charging him with illegally retaining classified documents. Trump’s lawyers claim in part that presidential immunity protects him from prosecution — an argument they have already submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court in his election interference case. Trump faces dozens of felony counts accusing him of illegally hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate and obstructing government efforts to retrieve them. The case is currently set for trial on May 20, but that date could be pushed back.
A love affair unraveled before a Black transgender woman was fatally shot in rural South Carolina
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The secretive relationship between a South Carolina man and a Black transgender woman has been the focus of the nation’s first federal trial over an alleged hate crime based on gender identity. The Department of Justice says Daqua Lameek Ritter fatally shot Dime Doe in August 2019 to keep their sexual affair from getting further exposed to the rural community of Allendale. It remains unclear what transpired in the less than three hours between the time police pulled Doe over in a traffic stop and authorities discovered her body. But text messages and testimony from the community suggest that Ritter spent the weeks leading up to Doe’s death trying to dispel rumors of their dalliance.
Collapse of illegal gold mine in Venezuela lays bare feelings of abandonment in rural communities
LA PARAGUA, Venezuela (AP) — The collapse of an illegally operated gold mine in a remote area of central Venezuela has laid bare the sense of abandonment that plagues communities across the South American country. La Paragua is the closest community to the open-pit Bulla Loca mine, where dozens of men and women worked at any given time, and residentss repeatedly expressed frustration with the government as funerals for victims began Thursday. At least 16 people were killed in one of the worst accidents in Venezuela’s poorly regulated mining industry.