Putin calls armed rebellion by mercenary chief a betrayal and promises to defend Russia
Russian mercenary leader Yevgheny Prigozhin on Saturday denied allegations by President Vladimir Putin that he is betraying his country and called his fighters patriots.
In an audio message on his Telegram channel, Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said: “Regarding the betrayal of the motherland, the president was deeply mistaken. We are patriots of our homeland.
He said his fighters would not turn themselves in at the request of Putin, as "we do not want the country to live on in corruption, deceit and bureaucracy.”
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday vowed to defend the country from an armed rebellion declared by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, which Putin called a “stab in the back” to Russia.
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Analysis: Donald Trump's war on truth confronts another test with voters
WASHINGTON (AP) — The cherry tree folklore is too good to be true, but it's no lie that George Washington had a thing for the truth. “I hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is the best policy,” he wrote in his farewell address.
A few decades later, another future president's reputation for veracity earned him a well known nickname: Honest Abe Lincoln.
Then there's Donald Trump, who during his presidency faced questions about business dealings in Moscow. “I have nothing to do with Russia,” he said in 2016. He switched stories when the facts of his decades-long effort to build a luxury tower there emerged. “Everybody” had always known about the project, according to Trump, who suggested only a sucker would drop such a proposal just because they wanted to serve their country as president.
“Why should I lose lots of opportunities?” Trump said.
America has had prevaricators in the Oval Office before, but never one who has been at war with the truth as regularly, on so many different subjects. As a candidate and as president, Trump demonstrated a keen ability to use broadcast and social media to amplify his distortions, and found remarkable success in convincing large chunks of the American public.
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US and Canada start the process of determining how the Titanic-bound submersible imploded
Authorities from the U.S. and Canada began the process of investigating the cause of the fatal Titan submersible implosion even as they grappled with questions of who was responsible for determining how the tragedy unfolded.
A formal inquiry has not yet been launched because maritime agencies are still busy searching the area where the vessel was destroyed, killing all five people aboard, the U.S. Coast Guard said Friday. Debris was located about 12,500 feet (3,810 meters) underwater, several hundred feet away from the Titanic wreckage it was on its way to explore.
The U.S. Coast Guard led the initial search and rescue mission, which was a massive international effort that likely cost millions of dollars.
It was not entirely clear Friday who would have the authority to lead what is sure to be a complex investigation involving several countries. OceanGate Expeditions, the company that owned and operated the Titan, is based in the U.S. but the submersible was registered in the Bahamas. OceanGate is based in Everett, Washington, but closed when the Titan was found. Meanwhile, the Titan’s mother ship, the Polar Prince, was from Canada, and those killed were from England, Pakistan, France, and the U.S.
The National Transportation Safety Board said Friday that the U.S. Coast Guard has declared the loss of the Titan submersible to be a “major marine casualty” and the Coast Guard will lead the investigation. NTSB spokesperson Peter Knudson said that information was provided to the agency’s senior management by Coast Guard officials, and the NTSB has joined the investigation.
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Want a climate-friendly flight? It's going to take a while and cost you more
When it comes to flying, going green may cost you more. And it's going to take a while for the strategy to take off.
Sustainability was a hot topic this week at the Paris Air Show, the world’s largest event for the aviation industry, which faces increasing pressure to reduce the climate-changing greenhouse gases that aircraft spew.
Even the massive orders at the show got a emissions-reduction spin: Airlines and manufacturers said the new planes will be more fuel-efficient than the ones they replace.
But most of those planes will burn conventional, kerosene-based jet fuel. Startups are working feverishly on electric-powered aircraft, but they won't catch on as quickly as electric vehicles.
“It's a lot easier to pack a heavy battery into a vehicle if you don't have to lift it off the ground,” said Gernot Wagner, a climate economist at New York University.
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UK village marks struggle against US Army racism in World War II
BAMBER BRIDGE, England (AP) — The village of Bamber Bridge in northwestern England is proud of the blow it struck against racism in the U.S. military during World War II.
When an all-Black truck regiment was stationed in the village, residents refused to accept the segregation ingrained in the U.S. Army. Ignoring pressure from British and American authorities, pubs welcomed the GIs, local women chatted and danced with them, and English soldiers drank alongside men they saw as allies in the war against fascism.
But simmering tensions between Black soldiers and white military police exploded on June 24, 1943, when a dispute outside a pub escalated into a night of gunfire and rebellion that left Private William Crossland dead and dozens of soldiers from the truck regiment facing court martial. When Crossland's niece learned about the circumstances of her uncle's death from an Associated Press reporter, she called for a new investigation to uncover exactly how he died.
The community has chosen to focus on its stand against segregation as it commemorates the 80th anniversary of what’s now known as the Battle of Bamber Bridge and America reassesses its past treatment of Black men and women in the armed forces.
“I think maybe it’s a sense of pride that there was no bigotry towards (the soldiers),” said Valerie Fell, who was just 2 in 1943 but whose family ran Ye Olde Hob Inn, the 400-year-old thatched-roof pub where the conflict started. “They deserved the respect of the uniform that they were wearing. … That’s how people felt about it.”
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Nearly 1/3 of the US homeless population lives in California. This veterinarian cares for the pets
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — An elevated train clangs along tracks above Dr. Kwane Stewart as the veterinarian makes his way through a chain link gate to ask a man standing near a parked RV whether he might know of any street pets in need.
Michael Evans immediately goes for his 11-month-old pit bull, Bear, his beloved companion living beneath the rumbling San Francisco Bay Area commuter trains.
“Focus. Sit. That’s my boy,” Evans instructs the high-energy puppy as he eagerly accepts Stewart's offer.
A quick check of the dog reveals a moderate ear infection that could have made Bear so sick in a matter of weeks he might have required sedation. Instead, right there, Dr. Stewart applies a triple treatment drop of antibiotic, anti-fungal and steroids that should start the healing process.
“This is my son right here, my son. He’s my right-hand man,” an emotional Evans says of Bear, who shares the small RV in Oakland. “It’s a blessing, really.”
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In Iran, a restorer brings back to life famed Cadillac Sevilles once assembled in the country
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The sleek, polished dark blue 1978 Cadillac Seville eased slowly out of a showroom near Iran's capital, its driver carefully inserting the 8-track tape that came with it to blast the sounds of a time long since past.
The Sevilles, once assembled in Iran, represented the height of luxury in the country just before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. General Motors had partnered with an Iranian firm to build the sedans, selling them for two-and-a-half times the price in America at the zenith of the country's oil wealth.
Today, Khosro Dahaghin’s passion for restoring the cars means he carefully examines each frame, component and stitch of the Sevilles in Iran, a challenge that's only grown as parts become scarce, the vehicles get older and as the country faces U.S. sanctions over its nuclear program.
“The most luxurious and the most special car that was assembled in Iran was Cadillac Iran," Dahaghin told The Associated Press as he wore a necklace bearing the iconic Cadillac crest. "The first time this car was assembled outside U.S soil was in Iran. At that time I can say no other brand could rival this car in any aspect imaginable.”
To the uninitiated, the Seville may seem like a strange pick for a sought-after antique car with its almost boxy frame and wood-accented interior. However, it represented a sea change for Cadillac at a time when American buyers sought the smaller luxury cars coming from European manufacturers. Cadillac had been better known for the massive, finned cars of the past and the Seville’s fuel economy and handling caught the attention of drivers.
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'Rage giving' prompted by the end of Roe has dropped off, abortion access groups say
The " rage giving " did not last. Abortion access groups who received a windfall of donations following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade one year ago say those emergency grants have ended and individual and foundation giving has dropped off.
After the Dobbs decision, some major funders of abortion access also have ended or shifted funding from organizations working in states where abortion is now banned, said Naa Amissah-Hammond, senior director of grantmaking with Groundswell Fund, which funds grassroots groups organizing for reproductive justice.
Women’s health and foster care nonprofits, who expected increased demand in areas where access to abortion has been eliminated or restricted, say they also haven’t seen increased support.
Holly Calvasina said her experience as director of development at the reproductive health clinic CHOICES in Memphis, Tennessee, might provide an explanation. Like many working in the reproductive rights sector, Calvasina said she tried to prepare for the increase in need, even before a draft of the Supreme Court decision was leaked in May last year. While some funders saw the writing on the wall and stepped up support, others wanted to wait and see.
"I think (that) really speaks to kind of a fundamental issue with philanthropy and responding to an emergent crisis," Calvasina said. "Philanthropy moves really slowly and human rights crises unfold quickly.”
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Long heritage of Native Hawaiian gender-fluidity showcased in Las Vegas drag show
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Drag queens donning the white, red and blue of the Hawaiian flag shimmied across the stage to a throbbing techno remix of “Aloha Oe,” a song composed by Hawaii's last reigning monarch. Spectators roared as a performer shook her hips in a Tahitian-style dance.
All were “mahu” — a Hawaiian term for people with dual male and female spirit and a mixture of gender traits.
They starred in a drag show this week called “Mahu Magic” on the sidelines of a Native Hawaiian convention in Las Vegas to remind the world of the respected place gender-fluidity has held in Hawaiian culture for hundreds of years, while also making a foray into the national conversation about transgender rights.
“It's a little different from other drag shows because this one has a very specific purpose," Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, who is mahu, a community leader and a master teacher of hula and chanting, told the audience midway through the event.
“It is meant to reinstate the rightful place that mahu have between kane and wahine,” Wong-Kalu said, using the Hawaiian words for man and woman. The crowd erupted in raucous cheers and applause.
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Mix of bravado and access to guns contribute to mass shootings by teens in St. Louis, other cities
CHICAGO (AP) — A 1 a.m. shooting at a party in downtown St. Louis kills one and injures nearly a dozen. Gunmen open fire during a fight near Florida's Hollywood Beach, injuring nine, including a 1-year-old. Bursts of gunfire at a Sweet 16 party in Dadeville, Alabama, kill four and wound more than 30.
What these and other recent mass shootings share in common is they all involve suspects in their teens, highlighting what can be a deadly mix of teenage bravado and impulsiveness with access to guns.
The days when many teens opted to fight out disagreements with fists seem quaint by comparison.
“I remember when I was a child and we had fights — somebody got a black eye or a broken nose and (they) lived to tell about it,” St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones told reporters after Sunday's shooting.
Reaching for a gun is the default these days for some teens who are as quick to take offense as to pull a trigger, agreed Rodney Phillips, a 50-year-old former Chicago Black Disciples leader who works with gang members nationwide to tamp down festering beefs.
The Associated Press
