Defense begins calling witnesses in Hunter Biden’s federal gun trial after prosecution rests case
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — The prosecution has rested its case against the president’s son Hunter, who is accused of lying on a federal gun-purchase form when he said he wasn’t using drugs at the time he bought a revolver in 2018. Prosecutors say Hunter Biden was actively using drugs around and purposefully lied on the form. They called his ex-wife and a former girlfriend to testify that his drug use was habitual. His lawyer Abbe Lowell has said he did not believe he had a serious drug problem at the time of the gun purchase and that there was no attempt to deceive anyone.
Biden apologizes to Zelenskyy for monthslong congressional holdup to weapons that let Russia advance
PARIS (AP) — President Joe Biden has for the first time publicly apologized to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a monthslong congressional holdup in American military assistance that let Russia make battlefield gains. Biden and Zelenskyy met Friday in France, where they attended ceremonies marking the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings. Biden told Zelenskyy he apologized to the Ukrainian people for the weeks of not knowing if more assistance would come while Congress waited six months before sending him a $61 billion military aid package. The Democrat insists Americans stand by Ukraine. Biden says, “We’re still in. Completely. Thoroughly.” Zelenskyy has appealed for bipartisan U.S. support “like it was during World War II.”
Putin says he sees no current threat to Russia that would warrant the use of nuclear arms
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — President Vladimir Putin says that he sees no current threat to Russia’s sovereignty that would warrant the use of nuclear weapons but has again warned Moscow could send weapons to states or others to strike Western targets. He spoke Friday at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. He said use of nuclear weapons is only possible in exceptional cases and that he does not believe such a case has happened. But he repeated a warning made days earlier that Moscow reserves the right to arm Western adversaries as a response to some NATO allies allowing Ukraine to use their weapons to strike targets inside Russia. He didn’t specify where such arms might be sent and said Moscow was not ready to do it.
Biden looks to Pointe du Hoc to inspire the push for democracy abroad and at home
POINTE DU HOC, France (AP) — President Joe Biden has spoken from Pointe du Hoc, marking his second trip to the Normandy coast during his visit to France for the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Biden used the site Friday to rally Americans in defense of democracy, which he says is under threat from Donald Trump in this year’s election. The cliffs of Pointe du Hoc were scaled by Army Rangers during the invasion. The mission was memorialized by President Ronald Reagan in 1984, when he paid tribute to “the boys of Pointe du Hoc.” Biden says the legacy of Pointe du Hoc is a call to “stay true to what America stands for.”
US-built pier in Gaza is reconnected after repairs, and aid will flow soon, US Central Command says
WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. military-built pier designed to carry aid into Gaza by boat has been reconnected to the beach in the besieged territory after it broke apart in storms and rough seas. U.S. Central Command said Friday food and other supplies will begin flowing in the coming days. The pier section that connects to the beach in Gaza was rebuilt two weeks after heavy storms damaged it and abruptly halted what had already been a troubled delivery route. Central Command says operations at the reconnected pier will be ramped up soon with a goal to get 1 million pounds of food and other supplies moving through the pier into Gaza every two days.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels detain at least 9 UN staffers and others in sudden crackdown, officials say
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — At least nine Yemeni employees of United Nations agencies have been detained by Yemen’s Houthi rebels under unclear circumstances. That’s according to regional officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Friday as they weren’t authorized to brief journalists. A human rights group said people working for aid groups also likely have been detained. The detentions come as the Houthis have been targeting shipping throughout the Red Sea corridor over the Israel-Hamas war. The group has been cracking down on dissent, though it’s unclear what sparked the detentions. The rebels have faced increasing casualties from U.S.-led airstrikes and economic strains from a civil war that has killed 150,000 people and caused a humanitarian disaster.
Alex Jones seeks permission to convert his personal bankruptcy into a liquidation
Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is seeking court permission to convert his personal bankruptcy reorganization to a liquidation. That would lead to a sell-off of a large portion of the Infowars host’s assets to help pay some of the $1.5 billion he owes relatives of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Jones and his media company both filed for bankruptcy reorganization after the Sandy Hook families won lawsuits against him for his repeatedly calling the 2012 shooting that killed 20 children and six educators in Newtown, Connecticut, a hoax. A bankruptcy judge in Houston is holding a hearing next week on whether Jones and his company’s cases should be converted to liquidations.
Scorching heat keeps grip on Southwest US as records tumble and more triple digits forecast
RENO, Nev. (AP) — The first heat wave of the year is expected to maintain its grip on the Southwest United States for at least another day as record-setting temperatures continue to soar past 110 degrees Fahrenheit from southeast California to Arizona. The official start of summer is still two weeks away. But roughly half of Arizona and Nevada remain under an excessive heat alert into Friday evening. The alert continues through Saturday in Las Vegas, where its never been hotter this early in the year. New record highs Thursday included 113 in Phoenix, 111 in Las Vegas and 122 in Death Valley National Park.
Zombies: Ranks of world’s most debt-hobbled companies are soaring, and not all will survive
NEW YORK (AP) — They are called zombies, companies so laden with debt that they are just stumbling by on the brink of survival, barely able to pay even the interest on their loans and often just a bad business hit away from dying off for good. An Associated Press analysis found their numbers have soared to 7,000 publicly traded companies around the world, including 2,000 in the United States alone, whiplashed by years of piling up cheap debt followed by stubborn inflation that has pushed borrowing costs to decade highs. And now many could be facing their day of reckoning, with due dates on hundreds of billions of dollars of loans.
Paris Olympics organizers unveil a display of the five Olympic rings mounted on the Eiffel Tower
PARIS (AP) — The Paris Olympics organizers have unveiled a display of the five Olympic rings mounted on the Eiffel Tower as the French capital marks 50 days until the start of the Summer Games. The structure of rings, made of recycled French steel, was displayed on Friday on the south side of the 135-year-old landmark in central Paris, overlooking the Seine River. The hugely popular tower in central Paris has seen soaring visitor numbers in the leadup to the Games. The tower is nicknamed La Dame de Fer — The Iron Lady — and will feature prominently in the July Paris Games and the following Paralympics.