A halting Biden tries to confront Trump at debate but stirs Democratic panic about his candidacy
ATLANTA (AP) — A raspy and sometimes halting President Joe Biden repeatedly sought to confront Donald Trump in their first debate ahead of the November election. But Biden’s uneven performance crystallized the concerns of many Americans that at, age 81, he is too old to serve as president. It sparked a fresh round of calls for the Democrat to step aside. Meanwhile, the 78-year-old Trump’s rhetoric offered Americans an unwelcome reminder of the bombast he launched daily during his tumultuous four years in office, as he struggles to win over skeptical voters. He declined to clearly state he would accept the results of the November election.
FACT FOCUS: Here’s a look at some of the false claims made during Biden and Trump’s first debate
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump met for their first debate of the 2024 season, and there was no shortage of false claims. The Associated Press examined their statements during the 90-minute debate Thursday night. Trump once again falsely asserted that the U.S. had the greatest economy in history during his presidency and spread misleading claims about migrant crime. Biden overstated it when he asserted that Trump encouraged people to drink bleach to address COVID-19.
Trump and Biden mix it up over policy and each other in a debate that turns deeply personal at times
PHOENIX (AP) — President Joe Biden and Republican Donald Trump went right to mixing it up on on policy — and each other — in their first presidential debate of the 2024 campaign. Personal animosity between the two men was palpable Thursday night in Atlanta as they argued over abortion, the economy, border security and the criminal convictions of Trump and Biden’s son Hunter. Biden sometimes mumbled, got tongue-tied or lost his train of thought. It was a performance unlikely to calm anxiety among Democrats and many Americans about the 81-year-old president. The 78-year-old Trump, as he often does, spoke with force but with plentiful of falsehoods.
Despite Supreme Court ruling, the future of emergency abortions is still unclear for US women
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court did not settle the debate over whether federal law requires hospitals to stabilize pregnant patients with emergency abortions on Wednesday, despite saying Idaho hospitals can provide abortions in medical emergencies even with the state’s restrictions.  The court delivered a 6-3 procedural ruling that left key questions still lingering about whether states can ban doctors from providing emergency abortions that save a woman from serious infection or organ loss. Health and legal experts say Thursday’s ruling by a deeply divided Supreme Court does nothing to protect pregnant women in other states with strict abortion bans, and could prompt those states to push back more on the federal law.
Former Uvalde police chief indicted over response to Robb Elementary shooting
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Uvalde’s former school police chief has been booked and released from jail following a grand jury investigation into the police response during the Robb Elementary School shooting in 2022. Uvalde County Sheriff Ruben Nolasco said in a text message to The Associated Press on Thursday that Pete Arredondo was booked on 10 counts of child endangerment and released. The Uvalde Leader-News and the San Antonio Express-News reported that another former school officer, Adrian Gonzales, was also indicted by a grand jury on multiple counts of felony child endangerment and abandonment. The AP was unable to reach Arredondo and Gonzales for comment.
Bolivia’s president lambasts accusations of a self-coup as ‘lies’ as his supporters rally
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Bolivian President Luis Arce has denied being behind an attempted coup against him and said the general who apparently led it “acted on his own,” lashing out at accusations that he had asked for the mutiny in a plan to boost his popularity. In his first appearance before the press since the failed apparent coup, Arce called suggestions of a self-coup “lies,” and he added: “I am not a politician that is going to win popularity through the blood of the people.” Arce earlier said his government announced that a total of 17 people had been arrested for their alleged involvement in the attempted coup, including Gen. Juan José Zúñiga.
Oklahoma state superintendent orders schools to teach the Bible in grades 5 through 12
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma’s top education official is ordering public schools to incorporate the Bible into lessons for grades 5 through 12. State Superintendent Ryan Walters issued a memo Thursday to school superintendents across the state. The directive is the latest effort by conservatives to incorporate religion into the classroom. Walters said in the memo that his mandate is compulsory and “immediate and strict compliance is expected.” Walters was elected in 2022. He has embraced culture-war issues and fighting what he says is “woke ideology” in public schools as a central theme of his administration. The directive faced immediate criticism from civil rights groups and others who called it unconstitutional and an abuse of power.
Judge in Trump classified docs case grants his request for hearing on key evidence in indictment
WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal judge presiding over the classified documents case of Donald Trump has granted the former president’s request for a hearing on whether prosecutors were permitted to improperly breach attorney-client privilege when they obtained crucial evidence from one of his ex-lawyers. The order from U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon ensures further delays in a criminal case that’s been snarled by significant postponements. They’ve led to the indefinite postponement of a trial that had been set to begin on May 20 in Fort Pierce, Florida. Cannon will revisit a different judge’s order from last year that permitted prosecutors to get testimony and other evidence from a Trump attorney that wound up being cited in Trump’s indictment.
Ukraine is battling to preserve democratic progress during wartime. It’s not easy
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s battle to repel Russia is a fight for the country’s survival as a Western-facing democracy. To survive, it has felt compelled to temporarily suspend or restrict some democratic ideals. Elections have been postponed, a once-robust media has been restrained, corruption-fighting has slipped down the agenda, and freedom of movement and assembly have been curbed by martial law. Ukrainians are tired and traumatized by a war in which victory feels remote. But by and large they do not feel powerless to influence events, something experts say is key to the country’s resilience and its ability to build a democracy long-term.
Survivor of Parkland school massacre wins ownership of shooter’s name in lawsuit settlement
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The most severely wounded survivor of the 2018 massacre at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School now owns shooter Nikolas Cruz’s name. Under his recent lawsuit settlement with Anthony Borges, Cruz must also turn over any money he might receive as a beneficiary of a relative’s life insurance policy, participate in any scientific studies of mass shooters and donate his body to science after his death. The agreement means that Cruz cannot benefit from movies, books or other media about him. Borges’ attorney says the goal was to shut Cruz down. Borges was shot five times and has undergone more than a dozen surgeries. Now 21, he still lives in pain.
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