AP-Newswatch

Biden says he never meant to keep classified documents. Hur stands by report on president’s memory

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican congressman Jim Jordan says at the start of a hearing with the special counsel who investigated Joe Biden that the Democratic president “failed to properly secure classified information.” Biden repeatedly told the special counsel he never meant to retain classified information after he left the vice presidency but was at times fuzzy about dates and the paper trail for sensitive documents. That’s from a transcript of Biden’s interviews with special counsel Robert Hur made public Tuesday. Hur is testifying before the House Judiciary Committee about his investigation into the handling of classified documents by the Democratic president. Hur concluded in his report Biden should not face criminal charges.

An aid ship sets sail to Gaza, where hundreds of thousands face starvation 5 months into war

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An aid ship loaded with some 200 tons of food has set sail for Gaza. It’s a pilot program for the opening of a sea corridor to the territory, where the Israel-Hamas war has driven hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to the brink of starvation. The food was gathered by World Central Kitchen, the charity founded by celebrity chef José Andrés. It’s being transported by the Spanish aid group Open Arms. The ship left the Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus and is expected to arrive in Gaza in two to three days. The U.S. separately plans to construct a sea bridge near Gaza in order to deliver aid, but it will likely be several weeks before that’s operational.

A Gaza family uprooted by war and grieving their losses shares a somber Ramadan meal in a tent

MUWASI, Gaza Strip (AP) — For Muslims around the world, Ramadan combines religious reflection and charity with festive celebrations as families gather for the evening meal breaking the fast. In Gaza, ravaged by war, this Ramadan’s first iftar was a somber affair, particularly for people displaced by the fighting. A widow living in a tent camp said Ramadan this year is marked by starvation, pain and loss. Randa Baker used to serve elaborate iftar meals in her home in a upper middle-class area of Gaza City. This year, she fed her children rice, peas and potatoes from charity and aid groups as the family sat on the floor of a tent.

Haiti’s prime minister says he’ll resign as violent gangs rampage. It’s not clear who leads next

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry has announced he will resign once a transitional presidential council is created, bowing to international pressure that seeks to save the country overwhelmed by violent gangs that some experts say have unleashed a low-scale civil war. Henry served the longest single term as prime minister since Haiti’s 1987 constitution was approved. Henry made the announcement early Tuesday, hours after officials including Caribbean leaders and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met in Jamaica to urgently discuss a solution to halt Haiti’s spiraling crisis. Henry has been unable to enter Haiti because the violence closed its main international airports.

Biden and Trump could clinch nominations in Tuesday’s contests, ushering in general election

NEW YORK (AP) — Joe Biden and Donald Trump hope to clinch their parties’ presidential nominations with dominant victories in a slate of low-profile state primaries as the 2024 fight for the White House lurches into a new phase. Biden, a Democrat, and Trump, a Republican, don’t face any significant opposition in Tuesday’s primary contests across Georgia, Washington State, Mississippi and Hawaii. The question is whether they will earn the necessary delegates in each state to hit the 50% national threshold necessary to become their party’s presumptive nominees. Whether it happens Tuesday night or later, the 2024 presidential contest is on the verge of a crystallizing moment as it becomes clear that a general election rematch between Biden and Trump is happening.

Purple Ohio? Parties in the former bellwether state take lessons from 2023 abortion, marijuana votes

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Academics, politicos and Republicans caution not to read too much into 2023’s election outcomes in Ohio. Ohio’s political pendulum swung left last year as voters in the one-time bellwether state overwhelmingly supported enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution and voted to legalize recreational marijuana. But the victories have been encouraging for Democrats, who are defending a pivotal U.S. Senate seat in a state that’s twice supported Republican Donald Trump by wide margins. Democratic Chair Elizabeth Walters says Republican politicians showed voters last year they “were not on their side.” Ohio’s Republican chairman says he likes Republicans’ chances in 2024 but the party cannot be overconfident.

Russia reports Ukrainian drone strikes on targets deep inside its territory and a border incursion

Russian officials say Ukrainian long-range drones have smashed into two oil facilities deep inside Russia. At the same time, an armed incursion claimed by Ukraine-based Russian opponents of the Kremlin unnerved a border region just days before Russia’s presidential election. The attack by waves of drones across eight regions of Russia displayed Kyiv’s expanding technological capacity as the war extends into its third year. The cross-border ground assault also weakened President Vladimir Putin’s argument that life in Russia has been unaffected by the war, though he remains all but certain to win another six-year term by a landslide.

US inflation up again in February in latest sign that price pressures remain elevated

WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumer prices in the United States picked up last month, a sign that inflation remains a persistent challenge for the Federal Reserve and for President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign, both of which are counting on a steady easing of price pressures this year. Prices rose 0.4% from January to February, a pickup from the previous month’s figure of 0.3%. Compared with 12 months earlier, consumer prices rose 3.2% last month, faster than January’s 3.1% annual pace. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so called “core” prices also climbed 0.4% from January to February, matching the previous month’s increase and a faster pace than is consistent with the Fed’s 2% target.

Kate’s ‘photogate’ scandal shows that relations between royals and the press rarely run smoothly

LONDON (AP) — The scandal over Kate, Princess of Wales’ family snapshot is a new chapter in the thorny relationship between the media and Britain’s royal family. It’s also a sign of how hard it is for the monarchy to control its own narrative in the social-media era. U.K. newspapers were dominated Tuesday by what the Daily Mirror called the “Picture of Chaos” and the Daily Mail labeled a “PR disaster” for the royals. It follows the retraction by the AP and other news agencies of a photo of Kate and her children over concerns it had been manipulated. Kate apologized, but that has not stopped the flood of rumors and conspiracy on social media.

Girls are falling in love with wrestling, the nation’s fastest-growing high school sport

MECHANICSBURG, Pa. (AP) — Girls’ wrestling has become the fastest-growing high school sport in the country, sanctioned by a surging number of states and bolstered by a movement of medal-winning female wrestlers, parents and the male-dominated ranks of coaches and administrators who saw it as a necessity and a matter of equality. Where once girls wrestled on boys teams and against boys, increasingly they are wrestling on girls teams and against girls. And now that they are wrestling in sanctioned and official tournaments against girls, their names are going onto plaques on their high schools’ walls and into state record books.