AP-Newswatch

As electric vehicle sales slow, US relaxes plans for stricter auto emissions standards for a while

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration this week is expected to announce new automobile emissions standards that relax proposed limits for three years but eventually reach the same strict standards proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency. The changes come as sales of zero-tailpipe emissions electric vehicles, needed to meet the standards, have started to slow. The auto industry has cited lower sales growth in objecting to the EPA’s preferred standards unveiled last April as part of the most ambitious plan ever to cut planet-warming emissions from passenger vehicles. The changes appear aimed at addressing strong industry opposition to the accelerated ramp-up of EVs, along with public reluctance to fully embrace the new technology.

Trump is making the Jan. 6 attack a cornerstone of his bid for the White House

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump is making the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol a cornerstone of his bid to return to the White House. Trump opened his first rally as the presumed Republican Party presidential nominee standing in salute with a recorded chorus of Jan. 6 prisoners singing the national anthem. It’s not just rewriting the violent siege of the Capitol and the effort to overturn the 2020 election. It’s an attempt to normalize their behavior — and his — as the indicted Trump faces charges stemming from Jan. 6. Those who study authoritarian regimes say voters should pay attention as Trump vows to pardon Jan. 6 offenders.

The Latest | Netanyahu remains set on Rafah ground invasion despite US misgivings

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he remains determined to carry out a ground invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah, despite U.S. President Joe Biden’s misgivings. Earlier, Qatari officials said they were “cautiously optimistic” after talks with Israel’s intelligence chief in Doha aimed at trying to reach a cease-fire. Fighting in Gaza has killed more than 31,800 Palestinians, and a United Nations food agency has warned that “famine is imminent” in northern Gaza. Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people in the surprise Oct. 7 attack out of Gaza that triggered the war, and abducted another 250 people. Hamas is still believed to be holding some 100 people hostage.

Biden heads West to court Latino voters and secure his standing in Nevada and Arizona

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is embarking on a three-day campaign swing this week in the Sun Belt geared largely toward courting the Latino voters who helped power his coalition in 2020. His trip, which includes stops in Nevada, Arizona and Texas, coincides Tuesday with campaign ads in English, Spanish and “Spanglish,” as well as two Spanish-language radio interviews. The trip is also emphasizing his pro-union, pro-abortion rights message. The Democratic campaign’s focus on the Latino community is part of its broader efforts to establish the infrastructure to reengage various constituencies key to Biden’s reelection campaign.

Mississippi ex-deputy gets 20-year sentence in racist torture of 2 Black men

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A former Mississippi sheriff’s deputy has been sentenced to about 20 years in prison for his part in torturing two Black men after a neighbor complained that the men were staying in a home with a white woman. Hunter Elward was sentenced Tuesday by a federal judge. Five other former law enforcement officers are set for sentencing this week. All six of the former officers pleaded guilty to several federal charges in August. They admitted subjecting Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker to numerous acts of racist torture last year. Elward admitted to shoving a gun into Jenkins’ mouth and firing in a “mock execution” that went awry.

Russia says it will evacuate 9,000 children from a border region being targeted by Ukraine

Officials say Russia plans to evacuate about 9,000 children from a border region because it is being continuously shelled from the Ukrainian side. Kyiv’s forces have been increasingly striking at targets behind the front line that has moved little after more than two years of war. Authorities said Tuesday that the children are to be moved to areas farther east, away from the Ukraine border. The announcement came a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Kremlin wants to create a buffer zone to help protect border regions from long-range Ukrainian strikes and cross-border raids.

Ex-Trump White House official Navarro reports to prison to serve contempt of Congress sentence

MIAMI (AP) — Former Trump White House official Peter Navarro has reported to prison to begin serving his sentence for refusing to cooperate with a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Navarro was defiant in remarks to reporters near the prison complex in Miami on Tuesday, where he will serve a four-month sentence after being found guilty of contempt of Congress charges. Navarro has maintained that he couldn’t cooperate with the committee because former President Donald Trump had invoked executive privilege. Courts have rejected that argument, finding he couldn’t prove Trump had actually invoked it.

US defense chief vows continued aid to Ukraine, even as Congress is stalled on funding bill

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin vows the U.S. will continue to support Ukraine’s war effort against Russia, even as the U.S. Congress remains stalled over funding for additional weapons. Austin and other defense leaders are meeting in Germany to discuss aid for Ukraine. The meeting comes a week after U.S. defense officials found and used $300 million in contract savings to fund a new package of military aid for Ukraine, pulling weapons from Pentagon stocks. It was the first tranche of weapons sent since December, even as battlefield conditions in Ukraine have been getting increasingly dire. Germany says it’ll provide $542 millions worth of ammunition and armored and transport vehicles to help Ukraine “against Russian aggression.”

Brazil’s Bolsonaro is indicted for 1st time over alleged falsification of his vaccination status

SAO PAULO (AP) — Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been formally accused of falsifying his COVID-19 vaccination status, marking the first indictment for the embattled far-right leader, with more allegations potentially in store. The federal police indictment released Tuesday by the Supreme Court alleged that Bolsonaro and 16 others inserted false information into a public health database to make it appear as though the then-president, his 12-year-old daughter and several others in his circle had received the COVID-19 vaccine. Police detective Fábio Alvarez Shor, who signed the indictment, said in his report that Bolsonaro and his aides changed their vaccination records in order to cheat health restrictions.

Purdue’s Edey, Tennessee’s Knecht, UNC’s Davis headline the AP men’s college All-America teams

Purdue big man Zach Edey is an unanimous first-team All-American for The Associated Press for the second straight season. The 7-foot-4 senior topped all 62 ballots from AP Top 25 poll voters in results released Tuesday. Edey was joined on the first team by Tennessee’s Dalton Knecht, North Carolina’s RJ Davis, Houston’s Jamal Shead and Connecticut’s Tristen Newton. Marquette’s Tyler Kolek, Dayton’s DaRon Holmes II, Alabama’s Mark Sears, Duke’s Kyle Filipowski and Kansas’ Hunter Dickinson were second-team picks. San Diego State’s Jaedon LeDee, Auburn’s Johni Broome, Arizona’s Caleb Love, Creighton’s Baylor Scheierman and Illinois’ Terrence Shannon Jr. were third-team picks.