Biden says US embassy evacuation in Sudan has been completed
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said late Saturday that the U.S. military evacuation of U.S. embassy personnel in Sudan has been completed as he called for end to the “unconscionable” violence. Biden thanked the U.S. troops who carried out the mission to extract American staffers in Sudan, as Washington shuttered the U.S. mission in Khartoum indefinitely. The staffers were airlifted to an undisclosed location in Ethiopia, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the mission. U.S. troops carried out the operation as fighting between two armed Sudanese rivals —which has left more than 400 dead, put the nation at risk of collapse and could have consequences far beyond its borders—moved into a second week.
Trump defends push to restrict abortion rights after rebuke
CLIVE, Iowa (AP) — Donald Trump, stinging from a rebuke by the nation’s leading anti-abortion group, used a speech Saturday before influential evangelicals in Iowa to spotlight his actions as president to try to restrict abortion rights. Chief among the accomplishments Trump listed to the Iowa Christian group were his nominations of three conservative judges to the U.S. Supreme Court. The appointments paved the way for the overturning last year of the landmark Roe. v. Wade ruling, which had affirmed a federal right to abortion. Trump told the gathering that “nobody thought it was going to happen” and “they thought it would be another 50 years.”
Montana House speaker silences trans lawmaker for 2nd day
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A transgender Montana lawmaker is still being blocked from speaking on the chamber’s floor following her refusal to apologize for saying lawmakers would have “blood on their hands” if they banned gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth. Democratic Rep. Zooey Zephyr on Friday sought to speak on a bill to prevent minors from seeing pornography online. but the House upheld the speaker’s ruling from Thursday to again block her from being recognized. The bill at the heart of the issue is in the hands of Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte. He has indicated he will sign it.
Rape lawsuit trial puts spotlight back on Trump and women
NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump’s behavior toward women has long been a source of flashpoints in his political career. Now he faces a new level of scrutiny: a trial in a lawsuit accusing him of rape. Jury selection is set to start Tuesday. The case involves allegations by former advice columnist E. Jean Carroll. She says Trump raped her in a luxury New York department store dressing room in the 1990s. Trump has called the accusations “a complete con job.” The trial comes as he runs to return to the White House. But if such a trial would be a crisis for most candidates, with Trump, it remains to be seen.
After Russia bombs own city, explosive found at same site
Authorities say 17 apartment buildings were evacuated in a Russian city near the Ukrainian border after an explosive device was found at the site where a bomb accidentally dropped by a Russian warplane earlier caused a powerful blast. The bomb blast late Thursday rocked part of Belgorod, leaving three people injured. Belgorod’s regional governor said Saturday that sappers examining explosion site had found and decided to detonate what he called an “explosive object” that was “in the immediate vicinity of residential buildings.” The city’s mayor later reported that a bomb was removed and residents were allowed to go home. Russian authorities didn’t say if the detonated device was part of Thursday’s misfire.
Wrexham earns promotion on wild journey under Ryan Reynolds
Wrexham has secured promotion to the fourth tier of English soccer to achieve the first part of the dream of celebrity owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. The Hollywood actors were among a crowd of around 10,000 at the Racecourse Ground in north Wales to see Wrexham clinch the National League title with a 3-1 win over Boreham Wood. Reynolds and McElhenney seemingly have become soccer fanatics since completing their out-of-nowhere purchase of the Welsh club for $2.5 million in 2021. Wrexham is heading back into the English Football League for the first time in 15 years. Wrexham is four points clear of second-placed Notts County with one round of games left.
2 empty suburban Utah homes collapse down hill; nobody hurt
DRAPER, UTAH (AP) — Two dangerously unstable homes in suburban Salt Lake City whose occupants were ordered to evacuate six months ago have collapsed down a hill. No one was injured when the unoccupied houses broke apart early Saturday in Draper. Officials say the homes had been in danger due to sliding that resulted from shifting ground and breaks in the foundations. Two other nearby residences were evacuated for safety reasons afterward. Officials said they followed up with the developer, Edge Homes, for months on engineering studies of the stability of the area. Edge Homes did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
Alabama education director ousted over book’s stance on race
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has replaced her director of early childhood education over the use of a teacher training book that the Republican governor denounced as teaching “woke concepts” because of language about inclusion for all families and battling racism. Barbara Cooper was forced out as head of the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education after Ivey expressed concern over the distribution of the book to state-run pre-kindergartens. A spokesperson for Ivey identified the book as the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Developmentally Appropriate Practice Book, 4th edition.
Curfew in Jamaica district after gunmen wound 7 boarding bus
KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Police are enforcing a curfew in a community on the southern fringes of Jamaica’s capital after gunmen fired on people boarding a public minibus, wounding seven, including three children. The Jamaica Constabulary Force gave no information Saturday on the conditions of the wounded. The brazen attack occurred at midafternoon Friday in Seaview Gardens, a poor area of Kingston. There was speculation the gunmen were targeting one of the people trying to get on the bus, but authorities have not commented on a possible motive. Conflict among rival gangs has been blamed for an uptick in violence in the community.
Oklahoma county worried about fallout from racist recording
IDABEL, Okla. (AP) — McCurtain County in far southeast Oklahoma has become a tourism hotbed over the last several decades. So many tourists from north Texas come to the area each week, the area has earned the nickname of the “Dallas-Fort Worth Hamptons.” But the region’s growing reputation took a gut punch this week when the local newspaper identified several local elected officials, including the sheriff, in an audio recording. In it, the elected officials discuss killing two journalists and lynching Black people. Many residents say the racist remarks are a throwback to a bygone era. But they still worry about the negative repercussions the incident will have on the community’s reputation.