Hunter Biden’s ex-wife and former girlfriend testified at trial about finding his drug paraphernalia
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Hunter Biden’s ex-wife and a former girlfriend testified in his gun trial about finding his crack pipes and other drug paraphernalia. In other developments Wednesday, jurors saw photos of the president’s son bare-chested in a bubble bath and heard about his visit to a strip club. As the first lady sat in the front row, the courtroom grew quiet when Kathleen Buhle, who was married to Hunter for 20 years, walked in. She testified that she discovered her husband was using drugs when she found a crack pipe in an ashtray on their porch in 2015. The trial is about whether he lied on a gun purchase form in 2018 when he said he wasn’t using drugs.
Putin warns that Russia could provide long-range weapons to others to strike Western targets
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — President Vladimir Putin is warning that Russia could provide long-range weapons to others to strike Western targets elsewhere in the world in response to NATO allies allowing Ukraine to launch attacks on Russian territory. Putin also reaffirmed Moscow’s readiness to use nuclear weapons if it sees a threat to its sovereignty. Putin said the recent actions by the West will further undermine international security and could lead to “very serious problems.” He responded to questions from international journalists — something that has become extremely rare since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine.
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 attack inside Russia in recent days. That’s 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 strike inside Russia for the limited purpose of defending Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. Republican Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota, a member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, confirmed the strikes with U.S. weapons, but didn’t say how he was briefed. Ukrainian officials had stepped up calls on the U.S. to allow Kyiv’s forces to defend themselves against attacks originating from Russian territory.
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 on Wednesday issued the order, which will prevent Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee from moving forward with pretrial motions 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.
Toddler killed and mother injured during tornado in Detroit suburb
LIVONIA, Mich. (AP) — Officials say a tornado killed a 2-year-old boy and injured his mother when a tree fell on their house in suburban Detroit. Livonia city officials said in a post on the city’s website that the quick-developing tornado struck several neighborhoods in the city on Wednesday afternoon. Officials say a massive tree was uprooted, falling onto the family’s house and through the roof, landing on a bed where the woman and her 2-year-old were sleeping. To the east in Maryland, emergency workers were responding to reports of collapsed structures with people trapped inside after a tornado was spotted in the area during rounds of strong storms Wednesday night.
Spare a thought for weather watcher Maureen Sweeney who made the right call for D-Day
VER-SUR MER, France (AP) — The generals, paratroopers, pilots infantrymen all played their role for the D-Day invasion. But spare a thought for the young Irish woman who may have had the most important role of all in making the D-Day landings a success. Maureen Sweeney was a postal clerk at Blacksod Point on the northwest coast of Ireland. One of her duties was to record data that fed into weather forecasts for the British Isles. Sweeney sent a series of readings in early June 1944 that helped persuade Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower to delay D-Day and avoid potentially disastrous weather that could have wrecked the landings. She didn’t learn of her role in history for more than 10 years.
Climate records keep getting shattered. Here is what you need to know
WASHINGTON (AP) — Month after month, global temperatures are breaking records. Meanwhile, scientists and climate policymakers warn of the growing likelihood that the planet will soon exceed the warming limit set in the landmark Paris 2015 climate talks. With temperatures soaring across the world, it can be hard to know what each broken record means for humans. Here’s a look at what scientists are saying about the impacts of the ongoing warming.
YouTube toughens policy on gun videos and youth; critics say proof will be in enforcement
WASHINGTON (AP) — YouTube is changing its rules to protect its youngest users from potentially harmful firearm videos. The video sharing platform owned by Google says that starting later this month it will prohibit videos that demonstrate how to remove firearm safety devices. Videos showing homemade guns, automatic weapons and certain firearm accessories like silencers will be restricted to users 18 and older. Last year, researchers found YouTube was automatically recommending graphic videos of gun violence to young users, despite the platform’s own rules which ban gory content. Critics say the new rules won’t mean much if they’re not effectively enforced by YouTube.
Israeli nationalists march in Jerusalem as a far-right minister boasts of Jewish prayer at key site
JERUSALEM (AP) — Thousands of ultranationalist Israelis have marched through a sensitive Palestinian area of Jerusalem in an annual procession, chanting racist slogans. Also on Wednesday, the country’s far-right national security minister boasted that Jews had prayed at a key holy site in the city in violation of longstanding agreements. Both stoke regional tensions that are already high because of the war in Gaza. The march has in previous years ignited widespread tensions, as it did three years ago, when it helped set off an 11-day war in Gaza. The annual march commemorates “Jerusalem Day,” which marks Israel’s capture of east Jerusalem, including the Old City and its holy sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, in the 1967 Mideast war.
Pro athletes understand gambling on their games is a non-negotiable no-no. Some learned the hard way
BOSTON (AP) — Professional athletes get told at the start of every season that if they gamble on their games, the consequences are severe. This spring they’ve gotten a more personal reminder, with both the NBA and Major League Baseball banning players for life. Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano was permanently banned this week for betting on games he was involved in. The NBA banished Raptors forward Jontay Porter in April. Other players say they should have known better. 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.
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