AP News Summary at 11:59 p.m. EDT (2024)

Blinken visits Ukraine to tout US support for Kyiv's fight against Russia's advances

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Kyiv on an unannounced diplomatic mission to reassure Ukraine that it has American support as it struggles to defend against increasingly intense Russian attacks. The two-day visit starting Tuesday comes less than a month after Congress approved a long-delayed foreign assistance package that sets aside $60 billion in aid for Ukraine, much of which will go toward replenishing badly depleted artillery and air defense systems. It's Blinken's fourth trip to Kyiv since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. U.S. officials say Blinken will underscore the Biden administration’s commitment to Ukraine’s defense and long-term security.

What to know about Trump fixer-turned-foe Michael Cohen's pivotal testimony in the hush money trial

NEW YORK (AP) — The prosecution’s case in Donald Trump’s hush money trial is entering its final stretch with his former attorney and fixer, Michael Cohen, on the witness stand. Cohen on Monday provided jurors with an insider’s account of payments to silence women’s claims of sexual encounters with Trump. He says the payments were directed by Trump to fend off damage to his 2016 White House bid. While prosecutors’ most important witness, Cohen is also their most vulnerable to attack — having served time in federal prison and built his persona in recent years around being a thorn in Trump’s side. Trump has denied any wrongdoing in the case.

Misery deepens in Gaza's Rafah as Israeli troops press operation

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Aid workers are struggling to distribute dwindling food to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced by what Israel says is a limited operation in Rafah. The two main crossings near the southern Gaza city have been closed for over a week. The U.N. says 360,000 Palestinians have fled Rafah over the past week, out of 1.3 million who were sheltering there before the operation began. Most had already fled fighting elsewhere. Israel has portrayed Rafah as the last stronghold of the militant group, even as Hamas regroups in some of the most devastated parts of Gaza that Israel had claimed to have cleared.

Collapsed Baltimore bridge span comes down with a boom after crews set off chain of explosives

BALTIMORE (AP) — Crews have set off a chain of explosives to break down the largest remaining span of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge. The demolition Monday marks a major step in freeing the grounded Dali container ship. The span landed on the ship’s bow after the Dali lost power and crashed into one of the bridge’s support columns shortly after leaving Baltimore on March 26. Since then, the ship has been stuck amid the wreckage and Baltimore’s busy port has been closed to most maritime traffic. The controlled demolition will allow the Dali to be refloated and restore traffic through the port.

A town in western Canada prepares for a possible 'last stand' as wildfires rage in British Columbia

FORT NELSON, British Columbia (AP) — Fire experts and officials are warning that an intense wildfire could reach a town in western Canada this week. There are forecasts of strong winds that have fueled the out-of-control blaze approaching Fort Nelson in British Columbia. Thousands of people have evacuated. A local official said Monday that emergency crews are preparing for a “last stand” as dozens of remaining residents are urged to leave. The blaze is one of several out-of-control wildfires in western Canada threatening communities in provinces such as Alberta and Manitoba. Drought has made the fires worse.

Questions and grief linger at the apartment door where a deputy killed a US airman

WASHINGTON (AP) — At the apartment door where a Florida deputy shot and killed Senior Airman Roger Fortson, a small shrine is growing with the tributes from an Air Force unit grappling with his loss. There is a long wooden plank, anchored by two sets of aviator wings, and a black marker for mourners to leave their remembrances of the 23-year-old. Sitting at the door are an open Stella Artois beer, bouquets of flowers, combat boots and an American flag. As the unit took Monday to grieve and prepare for Fortson's funeral later this week, questions are swirling about shooting.

UNC board slashes diversity program funding to divert money to public safety resources

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Board of Trustees voted to cut diversity program funding for next year's budget starting July 1. The board voted during a special meeting on Monday to discuss budget changes. The funding will be diverted to public safety and policing instead. Trustee Marty Kotis says the cut is much needed as the university has become the center of pro-Palestinian campus protests in North Carolina. The UNC Board of Governors is expected to vote on a diversity policy change that would potentially eliminate DEI jobs across the university system next week.

Ron DeSantis is planning to raise money for Donald Trump in Florida and Texas, AP sources say

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is planning to raise money for former President Donald Trump in his home state as well as Texas and possibly other large states in the coming weeks. The planning was disclosed by people with knowledge of the plans taking shape who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the details have not been set. DeSantis is taking concrete steps toward a political reconciliation with Trump, who for months taunted his GOP opponent as “DeSanctimonious” as the Florida governor argued Trump’s time had come and gone.

Illness took away her voice. AI created a replica she carries in her phone

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Artificial intelligence voice-cloning technology carries so many risks of harmful impersonation that major technology companies are wary of letting people use it. But a team of Rhode Island doctors and their 21-year-old patient found that it can also hold tremendous benefits. Alexis Bogan felt she lost a part of her identity last year when she emerged from brain surgery unable to speak fluently. So doctors working with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI created a synthetic version of her old voice based on a 15-second video clip she recorded in high school. She can make it say whatever she wants in a voice that sounds like her own.

Are US interest rates high enough to beat inflation? The Fed will take its time to find out

WASHINGTON (AP) — The sharp interest rate hikes of the past two years will likely take longer than previously expected to bring down inflation, several Federal Reserve officials have said in recent comments, suggesting there may be few, if any, rate cuts this year. A major concern expressed by both Fed policymakers and some economists is that higher borrowing costs aren’t having as much of an impact as economics textbooks would suggest. Americans, for example, aren’t spending much more of their incomes on interest than they were a few years ago, despite the Fed’s rate increases. That means higher rates may not be doing much to limit Americans’ spending, or cool inflation.

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