AP National News

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin announced plans on Saturday to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus, a warning to the West as it steps up military support for Ukraine. Putin said the move was triggered by Britain’s decision this past week to provide Ukraine with armor-piercing rounds containing depleted uranium. Tactical nuclear

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The top commander of Ukraine’s military said Saturday that his forces were pushing back against Russian troops in the long and grinding battle for the town of Bakhmut, and British military intelligence says Russia appears to be moving to a defensive strategy in eastern Ukraine. “The Bakhmut direction is the most

By MICHAEL RUBINKAM and RON TODT Associated Press WEST READING, Pa. (AP) — An explosion at a chocolate factory in Pennsylvania on Friday killed two people and left five people missing, authorities said. One person was pulled from the rubble overnight. Rescue crews using dogs and imaging equipment continued to search through the rubble Saturday

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has canceled his trip to China after contracting pneumonia, the presidential palace said on Saturday. Lula, 77, was admitted to a hospital in the capital of Brasilia with flu-like symptoms and was diagnosed with “bacterial and viral bronchopneumonia due to influenza A,” the

By SAMY MAGDY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — U.N. inspectors visiting southern Libya found drums containing natural uranium reported missing earlier this month in the chaos-stricken country, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Saturday. The International Atomic Energy Agency said earlier this month that some 2.5 tons of natural uranium stored at a site in the

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Xavier López, a Mexican children’s comic better known by his stage name “Chabelo,” has died at 88, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador wrote Saturday. López’s best-known work, the Sunday variety show “En Familia con Chabelo”, ran for an astonishing 48 years from 1967 to 2015, Mexico’s longest-running TV show. The Mexican

By JOHN FLESHER AP Environmental Writer TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Canada has pledged to step up spending to improve water quality in the Great Lakes. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the announcement Friday after meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden. Some members of the U.S. Congress and advocacy groups had complained that Canada has

By GARY FIELDS and MICHAEL TARM Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — The voting precinct could have been any one of hundreds throughout Chicago, except that these voters in the first round of the mayoral election were all wearing the same beige smocks. And the security at this polling place wasn’t intended to keep disrupters and

By MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The West’s steady criticism of Hungary on democratic and cultural issues makes the small European country’s right-wing government reluctant to offer support on practical matters, specifically NATO’s buildup against Russia, Hungary’s foreign minister said. In an interview with The Associated Press, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Germany have held a memorial service for the six people killed during a mass shooting at a religious service in Hamburg this month. A 35-year-old German man who opened fire during the March 9 service killed himself as police arrived. Officials

By ELÉONORE HUGHES Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Retired Formula One champion Nelson Piquet has been ordered to pay $950,000 in “moral damages” for making racist and homophobic comments about Lewis Hamilton. The 70-year-old Brazilian had referred to seven-time champion Hamilton as “neguinho,” a racially offensive term which means “little Black guy,” in

By GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina State Treasurer Dale Folwell says he’ll run for governor in 2024. He’ll likely be required to best Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson to earn the Republican nomination. Folwell announced his decision at Saturday’s Republican Party convention for Forsyth County. He told The Associated Press

JALALABAD, Afghanistan (AP) — Snowfall and heavy rain killed at least three people in Afghanistan, including a child, a government spokesman said Saturday. The severe weather hit nine provinces in different parts of the country on Friday and Saturday: Balkh, Zabul, Faryab, Uruzgan, Nimroz, Nangarhar, Kunar, Nuristan, and Laghman. The snow and rain injured seven

By JONATHAN J. COOPER Associated Press TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Recent moves by President Joe Biden to pressure TikTok over its Chinese ownership and approve oil drilling in an untapped area of Alaska are testing the loyalty of young voters, a group that’s largely been in his corner. Youth turnout surged in the three elections

WEST READING, Pa. (AP) — An explosion at a chocolate factory in Pennsylvania on Friday killed five people and left six people missing, authorities said. The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency confirmed the increase in the number of fatalities Saturday morning after the blast just before 5 p.m. Friday at the R.M. Palmer Co. plant in

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A spokesman for the Taliban administration says it is trying to take charge of more Afghan embassies and consulates abroad. More than 18 months after the Taliban took power, they remain isolated on the international stage. But dozens of their embassies and consulates remain active. The Taliban’s main spokesman said Saturday the

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Pope Francis on Saturday accepted a resignation request from a German bishop who asked to step down because of his mistakes in handling sexual abuse cases.  Franz-Josef Bode became the bishop of Osnabrueck, Germany, in 1995. He said in a personal statement that his decision to resign

WEST READING, Pa. (AP) — An explosion at a chocolate factory in Pennsylvania on Friday killed five people and left six people missing, authorities said. The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency confirmed the increase in the number of fatalities Saturday morning after the blast just before 5 p.m. Friday at the R.M. Palmer Co. plant in

By KAWEEWIT KAEWJINDA Associated Press NONTHABURI, Thailand (AP) — Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has officially accepted his party’s nomination as its main candidate to keep the job in the upcoming general election, promising to build a new political climate that does away with decades of conflict. The 69-year-old former general led a military coup