Girding for new battle, Russia warns US to stop arming Ukraine
Stung by war losses and massing troops for a new battle in eastern Ukraine, Russia has warned the Biden administration to stop supplying advanced weapons to Ukrainian forces or face “unpredictable consequences,” U.S. officials said Friday. The Russian message — one of a series of warnings punctuated by a formal protest note, delivered Tuesday — suggested rising concerns in Moscow that the weapons were seriously hindering Russia’s combat capabilities. The existence of the message was disclosed as the Kremlin was funneling armaments to Russia’s border with eastern Ukraine for the next phase of its 2-month-old invasion of the country.
Biden plans to open more public land to drilling
The Biden administration announced Friday that it would resume selling leases for new oil and gas drilling on public lands but would raise the federal royalties that companies must pay to drill. The Interior Department said it planned next week to auction off leases to drill on 145,000 acres of public lands in nine states. The move comes as Biden seeks to show voters that he is working to increase the domestic oil supply as prices surge. But it violates a signature campaign pledge made by Biden as he sought to assure climate activists that he would prioritize reducing the use of fossil fuels.
South Carolina prisoner chooses to be executed by firing squad
A condemned South Carolina man who was directed to choose between being executed by electrocution or firing squad has chosen to be shot, setting up what would be one of the few executions by firing squad since the mid-1900s. Richard Moore, who was convicted of murder for killing a store clerk and taking a bag of cash in 1999, is set to be executed April 29. His execution would be the first under a new law, prompted by the state’s inability to find lethal injection drugs, that made electrocution the standard method but allowed prisoners to opt for a firing squad.
US offers protection to people who fled war in Cameroon
The Biden administration announced Friday that it would offer temporary protected status to nationals of Cameroon, shielding them from deportation and enabling them to obtain work permits, amid escalating armed conflict that has spawned a humanitarian crisis in the African country. Some 40,000 nationals of Cameroon, many of whom sought safe haven in the United States in recent years, are expected to be eligible. The largest communities of people from Cameroon are in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area and California. Immigrant advocates and Democratic lawmakers had been ratcheting up pressure on the Biden administration in recent months to extend the humanitarian protection to Cameroon.
World War II navy ship is tilting into the Buffalo waterfront
A warship that survived Japanese air attacks in the Pacific, a typhoon and barrages of artillery fire is sinking, tilting into the waterfront of Buffalo, New York. The USS The Sullivans suffered “a serious hull breach” Wednesday and began taking on water at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park, the park’s CEO, Paul Marzello, said at a news conference Thursday. The cause was unknown. Workers are “proceeding very cautiously,” Marzello said Friday. “We have a significant and cherished artifact that we want to save for generations to come,” he said, adding that officials were mindful of environmental concerns.
Prized Russian ship was hit by missiles, US officials say
The Moskva was the pride of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, a symbol of the country’s dominance of the region and a powerful war machine that had been used to launch cruise missiles deep inside Ukraine. Despite Russia’s claims that an accidental fire broke out on the ship, U.S. officials confirmed Friday that two Ukrainian missiles had struck the vessel, killing an unknown number of sailors and sending it to the bottom of the Black Sea. Thursday’s sinking of the Moskva was a blow to the Russian fleet and a demonstration of the current era of warfare in which missiles fired from shore can destroy even the biggest ships.
Trump endorses J.D. Vance in Republican primary for senate in Ohio
Former President Donald Trump on Friday endorsed author and venture capitalist J.D. Vance in the Republican primary election for Senate in Ohio. The move amounted to a major bet on Vance and on Trump’s own influence over Republican primary voters in conservative-leaning Ohio, where several high-profile candidates are facing off in a contentious campaign to replace retiring Sen. Rob Portman, a Republican. With the May 3 primary less than three weeks away, limited polling has shown Vance struggling to break through against rivals including Josh Mandel, a former Ohio state treasurer; Jane Timken, a former chair of the Ohio Republican Party; and Mike Gibbons, a financier.
Kim Jong Un gives North Korea’s most famous TV anchor a luxury home
When a new luxury residential district opened this week in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, said it would be reserved for his most elite supporters, those he called “true patriots.” Among them was the nation’s top state TV news anchor, Ri Chun Hee. Kim gave her a tour of her new home while holding her hand. Kim said, according to the state media, “There is nothing to spare for national treasures like Ri Chun Hee, who has led a virtuous life with the revolutionary microphone.” He also asked her to continue vigorously serving as the voice of his ruling Workers’ Party.
Faced with a changed Europe, China sticks to an old script
For Chinese leaders, Europe was supposed to be the softer wing of the Western world, with neither the military power nor the will to contest China’s rise. Now, they risk missing the potentially far-reaching implications of the war in Ukraine, as Europe reassesses its security needs and Beijing’s intentions. In Europe, “the narrative is becoming: This is what you get if you deal nicely with authoritarian regimes,” said Ivana Karásková, a researcher on Chinese foreign policy. “It’s becoming not only about Russia. It’s also about China.” Europe’s new focus on geopolitical risks and its closer ties to the United States could evolve into a more antagonistic stance toward China.
Texas halts truck inspections that caused border gridlock
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has repealed his traffic-clogging immigration order that backed up commercial trucks at the U.S.-Mexico border this week. The Republican on Friday ended a new policy that required all commercial trucks from Mexico to undergo extra inspections to stop the flow of migrants and drugs. The inspections led to delays, prompting wide backlash and fears of deep economic losses. Some truckers reported having to wait more than 30 hours to cross, and others blocked one of the world’s busiest trade bridges in protest. Abbott lifted the inspections after signing new border security agreements with neighboring Mexican states.
By wire sources