AP-Newswatch

Trump and Zelenskyy trade barbs as US-Ukraine relations sour over the war with Russia

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Relations between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump are deteriorating rapidly. Zelenskyy said Wednesday that Trump was living in a Russian-made “disinformation space,” and Trump called Zelenskyy “a dictator without elections” in comments that were sure to complicate efforts to end the war. Zelenskyy also said he would like Trump’s team “to be more truthful” as he offered his first response to a series of striking claims that Trump made a day earlier, including falsely suggesting that Kyiv was to blame for the war, which enters its fourth year next week.

Italian Premier Meloni visits Pope Francis in hospital and says he’s in good spirits, responsive

ROME (AP) — Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni has visited Pope Francis in the hospital and says he’s “alert and responsive” and full of good humor despite his pneumonia. In a statement issued by her office, Meloni said: ”We joked around as always. He has not lost his proverbial sense of humor.” Her visit marked the first confirmed outside visitor known to have called on the pope, beyond his secretaries and medical team, since his hospitalization Friday. The Vatican has said Francis, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, was up, eating and had gotten out of bed after a tranquil night, a day after tests confirmed he had pneumonia in both lungs on top of asthmatic bronchitis.

Thousands of Palestinian families flee West Bank homes as Israel confronts militants

FAR’A REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank (AP) — Tens of thousands of Palestinians have fled home following recent Israeli military operations across the northern West Bank. They have traveled by car and on foot, through muddy olive groves and snipers’ sight lines, in the occupied territory’s largest displacement since the 1967 Mideast war. After announcing a widespread crackdown against West Bank militants on Jan. 21, Israeli forces descended on the city of Jenin, as they have dozens of times since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Soldiers then pushed deeper and more forcefully into several other nearby towns, scattering families and stirring bitter memories of the 1948 war over Israel’s creation. During that war, 700,000 Palestinians fled or were forced from their homes in what Palestinians call the Nakba, or “catastrophe.”

Trump administration labels 8 Latin American cartels as ‘foreign terrorist organizations’

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has designated eight Latin American crime organizations as “foreign terrorist organizations,” upping its pressure on cartels operating in the U.S. and on anyone aiding them. The move carries out a Jan. 20 executive order by President Donald Trump and names Tren de Aragua in Venezuela, MS-13 in El Salvador and others. The designation will be published in Thursday’s edition of the Federal Register, according to a notice Wednesday. The Republican president has made securing the U.S.-Mexico among his top priorities. The “foreign terrorist organization” label is unusual because it deploys a terrorist designation normally reserved for groups that use violence for political ends, not for money-focused crime rings.

Trump moves swiftly on his agenda in a departure from his first-term stumbles

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is going further than ever before to enforce his decisions. While orders were sometimes softened or even ignored during his first term, this time he’s unwilling to let things slide. The White House summarizes Trump’s approach with the mantra “promises made, promises kept.” Administration officials also say Trump is entitled to impose his vision on the government that he was elected to lead. Others see something darker and more menacing for the country and accuse the Republican president of hollowing out institutions that have defied him in the past.

Justice Department and New York Mayor Adams face judge’s scrutiny in bid to drop corruption charges

NEW YORK (AP) — Justice Department lawyers and New York City Mayor Eric Adams are set to face a federal judge who’s signaling that he’s unlikely to rubber stamp their request to drop corruption charges weeks before an April trial. Judge Dale E. Ho scheduled Wednesday’s hearing after three government lawyers from Washington made the dismissal request on Friday. Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor resigned after she refused an order to do so. Ho already indicated the hearing was unlikely to resolve the issue. He wrote in an order Tuesday that one subject on the agenda will be a discussion of “procedure for resolution of the motion.”

Winter’s next wave of storms takes aim at the East Coast

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — The latest in a repeated pattern of winter storms is taking direct aim at the East Coast where heavy snow and some ice is forecast in several states. The storm that dropped snow in the Midwest promised to bring more misery to some places just starting to clean up from deadly weekend floods. The National Weather Service says up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) of snow is possible along the Atlantic Coast in Virginia, and significant ice accumulations are forecast in eastern North Carolina. Weekend storms that pummeled the eastern U.S. killed at least 17 people, including 14 in Kentucky, where a half-foot or more of snow was expected.

Trump officials want to ban junk food from SNAP. Past efforts show it’s not easy to do

A push to ban sugary drinks, candy and more from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program may soon get a boost from new Trump Administration officials. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the new health secretary, and Brooke Rollins, the new agriculture secretary, favor stripping such treats from the program previously known as food stamps. The $113 billion SNAP program helps about 42 million low-income Americans pay for nutritious food. Such changes have been proposed many times in past decades, but never approved. But policy experts say this moment could be different. Excluding any foods would require Congress to change the law — or for states to win waivers.

A$AP Rocky dives into Rihanna’s arms as not guilty verdict is read at felony assault trial

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jurors have found rapper A$AP Rocky not guilty of firing a handgun at a former friend on a Hollywood street in 2021. The Los Angeles jury deliberated for about three hours before clearing the hip-hop star on Tuesday of two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm. The 36-year-old Rocky could’ve legally gotten up to 24 years in prison with guilty verdicts. He took a major gamble when he turned down a plea deal that could have meant just six months in jail. The singing superstar Rihanna is his longtime partner and the mother of his two toddler sons. He dove into her arms when the verdict was read.

Learn a few laundry secrets from the baseball pros — the clubhouse staffers who wash MLB uniforms

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — From the pinstripes of New York to the Dodger blues of Los Angeles, there is a strong connection among the clubhouse staffers who wash the uniforms of the major leagues. Just like the players who wear the jerseys. Riley Halpin, a clubhouse attendant for the San Francisco Giants, says the clubhouse community is really close. When it comes to washing the jerseys of your favorite baseball players at home, clubhouse workers emphasize the importance of pretreating and patience.