Russia and North Korea sign partnership deal that appears to be the strongest since Cold War
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a new partnership that includes a vow of mutual aid if either country is attacked, during a Wednesday summit that came as both face escalating standoffs with the West. The deal, which the leaders said covered areas including security, trade, cultural and humanitarian ties, could mark the strongest connection between Moscow and Pyongyang since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. Both leaders described it as a major upgrade of their ties.
How did North Korean soldiers wander across the world’s most heavily guarded border?
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The Demilitarized Zone between the two rival Koreas might be the most heavily armed place on earth. So how, on the eve of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s summit Wednesday with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, did as many as 30 North Korean soldiers wander over the line separating North from South, causing South Korea to fire warning shots before the North Koreans withdrew? The short answer appears to be shrubbery: Because of an overgrowth of foliage, the North Koreans may not have seen the signs marking the thin military demarcation line that divides the DMZ into northern and southern sides since the 1950-53 Korean War.
A US aircraft carrier and its crew have fought Houthi attacks for months. How long can it last?
ABOARD THE USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER IN THE RED SEA (AP) — Fatigue is setting in as a U.S. aircraft carrier nears its ninth month waging the most intense running sea battle since World War II. The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier, its strike group and about 7,000 sailors have been protecting commercial shipping in the Red Sea from months of attacks by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. The length of the campaign has raised difficult questions as U.S. defense leaders wrangle over how to replicate the carrier’s combat power if the ship returns home to Norfolk, Virginia. Already the carrier’s deployment has been extended twice. A decision on what’s next is expected soon.
Immigrant families rejoice over Biden’s expansive move toward citizenship, while some are left out
HOUSTON (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of immigrants had reason to rejoice when President Joe Biden unveiled a highly expansive plan to extend legal status to spouses of U.S. citizens but, inevitably, some were left out. Biden says his administration will allow spouses without legal status to apply for permanent residency without having to first depart the country. To qualify, they must have lived in the United States for 10 years and be married to a U.S. citizen, both as of Monday. Every immigration benefit _ even those as sweeping as Biden’s election-year offer _ have cutoff dates and other eligibility requirements.
Strict asylum rules and poor treatment of migrants are pushing people north to the UK
AMBLETEUSE, France (AP) — Strict asylum rules and the hostile treatment of migrants are pushing people from the Middle East, Africa and Asia out of Europe and toward the United Kingdom. The U.K. government has been hostile toward migrants, but many have family or friends there, and a perception they will have more opportunities in Great Britain. One morning last month, the rising tide crept around a group of Kurdish migrants, soaking the babies they hugged tight. Around a dozen people refused to leave the cold waters of the English Channel in a futile attempt to delay the inevitable: French police had just foiled their latest attempt to reach the United Kingdom by boat.
Willie Mays, Giants’ electrifying ‘Say Hey Kid,’ has died at 93
Willie Mays, baseball’s exuberant and electrifying ‘Say Hey Kid,’ has died at 93. The Giants and Mays’ family jointly announced his death. The Giants center fielder, with his signature basket catch, was one of the game’s greatest and most beloved players. He hit more than 600 home runs, totaled more than 3,000 hits and was a joy to behold in the outfield. His over-the shoulder catch of a long drive in the 1954 World Series is baseball’s most celebrated defensive feat. He had been baseball’s oldest living Hall of Famer.
Cooler temps and rain could help corral blazes that forced thousands to flee New Mexico village
ROSWELL, N.M. (AP) — Moist air from the Gulf of Mexico could bring some relief to firefighters battling a pair of wildfires in southern New Mexico. More than 500 structures have been damaged or destroyed in the mountain village of Ruidoso, and at least one person has died as a result of fire. Thousands of people fled with little notice as wind drove flames into the community of about 7,000 that expands with tourists in the warmer months. The National Weather Service says moisture from a tropical wave in the Gulf could bring rain to the area by Wednesday afternoon.
Early blast of heat and humidity leaves millions sweltering across the US
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — A blast of heat and humidity in the Midwest and Northeast days before the official start of summer has put a wet blanket on outdoor activities from festivals to sports camps as officials urge people to take precautions. Cities that opened cooling centers this week advised that Wednesday’s Juneteenth holiday means some public libraries, senior centers and pools where residents could beat the heat will be closed. The dangerous temperatures are expected to peak in the eastern Great Lakes and New England on Wednesday and Thursday, and in the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic on Friday and Saturday.
With pardons in Maryland, 2.5 million Americans will have marijuana convictions cleared or forgiven
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is pardoning 175,000 people with cannabis convictions. That brings to more than 2.5 million people across the U.S. people whose convictions have been cleared or forgiven in recent years. Advocates say it’s an important way to redress the damage done by the nation’s long war on drugs. But they note that many people are still suffering legal consequences for past use of a drug that’s now allowed in most states. More than 30 million people have been convicted of marijuana convictions over the last 50 years. Black people are disproportionately charged and convicted of the offenses.
Caitlin Clark and the WNBA are getting a lot of attention. It’s about far more than basketball
NEW YORK (AP) — Not even a WNBA basketball game is an escape from the arguments and polarization that are so common in American life these days. Some of the atmosphere in the public and media that has swirled around the professional women’s league since the season started last month has been less fun time and more culture war. Rookie Caitlin Clark is the eye of the storm. The white, 22-year-old number one draft pick has become a canvas for all sorts of projections in her debut season with the Indiana Fever. She, and the predominantly Black and brown women in the league, have become proxies for longstanding American issues including race, gender, who’s in the spotlight and who is ignored.
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