AP-Newswatch

US government agrees to $138.7M settlement over FBI’s botching of Larry Nassar assault allegations

DETROIT (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department is paying a $138.7 million to settle more than 100 claims that it badly mishandled allegations of sexual assault against Larry Nassar in 2015 and 2016. It was a critical time gap that allowed the sports doctor to continue preying on victims before his arrest. Nassar worked at Michigan State University and at USA Gymnastics. He’s serving decades in prison for assaulting female athletes, including Olympians. For more than a year, FBI agents in Indianapolis and Los Angeles had knowledge of allegations against Nassar but apparently took no action.

The Latest | Tent compound rises in southern Gaza as Israel prepares for Rafah offensive

Satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press appear to show a new compound of tents being built near Khan Younis in southern the Gaza Strip as the Israeli military continues to signal it plans an offensive on the city of Rafah. Khan Younis has been targeted by repeated Israeli military operations over recent weeks. Israel says it plans to evacuate civilians from Rafah during an anticipated offensive on the southern city, where hundreds of thousands of people have taken refuge during the war, now in its seventh month. On Monday, a failed rocket strike was launched at a base housing U.S.-led coalition forces in Syria.

Protests roiling US colleges escalate with arrests, new encampments and closures

NEW YORK (AP) — The turmoil sweeping universities across the United States continued Tuesday as dozens of student protesters faced charges, new encampments arose and some colleges allowed students to stay home and learn online. Student protests against Israel’s war with Hamas had been bubbling for months but kicked into a higher gear after more than 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators who had camped out on Columbia University’s upper Manhattan campus were arrested last week. With tensions at Columbia continuing to run high and some students afraid to set foot on the campus, officials said the university will switch to hybrid learning for the rest of the semester. Protests have been spreading nationwide.

5 migrants die while crossing the English Channel hours after the UK approved a deportation bill

PARIS (AP) — French authorities say five people, including a child, died while trying to cross the English Channel. It occurred just hours after the British government approved a migrant bill to deport some of those who entered the country illegally to Rwanda. Authorities said they spotted several boats packed with migrants off the coast of Pas-de-Calais. Several French navy ships intervened. The regional prefect for the north of France says a woman, three men and a 7-year-old girl died. He says the boat carried 112 people. Human rights groups have described the British legislation as inhumane and cruel.

Modi is accused of using hate speech for calling Muslims ‘infiltrators’ at an Indian election rally

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s main opposition party has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of using hate speech after he called Muslims “infiltrators.” It was some of his most incendiary rhetoric about the minority faith and came days after the country began its weekslong general election. The remarks at a campaign rally Sunday drew fierce criticism that Modi was peddling anti-Muslim tropes. The Congress party filed a complaint Monday with the Election Commission of India, accusing him of breaking rules that bar candidates from engaging in any activity that aggravates religious tensions. Critics of the prime minister accuse his party of fostering religious intolerance and sometimes even violence. The party denies the accusation and says its policies benefit all Indians.

A Russian strike on Kharkiv’s TV tower is part of an intimidation campaign, Ukraine’s Zelenskyy says

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says a Russian missile strike that smashed a television tower in Kharkiv was part of the Kremlin’s ongoing effort to intimidate Ukraine’s second-largest city. Kharkiv has come under increasingly frequent attack. Zelenskyy said the strike sought to “make the terror visible to the whole city and to try to limit Kharkiv’s connection and access to information.” The northeastern Kharkiv region straddles the approximately 600-mile front line where Ukrainian and Russian forces have been locked in battle for more than two years since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The front line has changed little during a war of attrition, focused mostly on artillery, drones and trenches.

Pentagon set to send initial $1 billion in military aid to Ukraine once bill clears Senate and Biden

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials say the Pentagon is poised to send an initial $1 billion package of military aid to Ukraine as the Senate begins debate on long-awaited legislation to fund the weapons Kyiv needs to stall gains made by Russia. The decision Tuesday comes after months of frustration, as bitterly divided members of Congress deadlocked over the funding. House Speaker Mike Johnson was forced to cobble together a bipartisan coalition to pass the bill. The overall $95 billion foreign aid package is expected to gain Senate approval soon. About $61 billion is for Ukraine. President Joe Biden promised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy the U.S. would send air defense weapons once the Senate approves the bill.

What’s EMTALA, the patient protection law at the center of Supreme Court abortion arguments?

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday in a case that could determine whether doctors can provide abortions to pregnant women with medical emergencies in states that enact abortion bans. The Justice Department has sued Idaho over its abortion law, which only allows a woman to get an abortion when her life, not her health, is at risk. The state law has raised questions about when a doctor is able to provide the stabilizing treatment that federal law requires. The federal law, called the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, or EMTALA, requires doctors to stabilize or treat any patient who shows up at an emergency room.

United Methodists open first top-level conference since breakup over LGBTQ inclusion

Thousands of United Methodists are gathering Tuesday in Charlotte, North Carolina, to begin an 11-day denominational General Conference. Typically it is held every four years, but church leaders delayed the 2020 gathering until now due to the pandemic. Hundreds of delegates will vote on policies, though many international delegates are not confirmed as able to attend. It’s the first gathering since thousands of conservative U.S. congregations left the denomination over its failure to enforce bans on LGBTQ clergy and on same-sex marriages. Progressive delegates will attempt to overturn these bans. Other proposals include allowing regional autonomy in deciding such policies, and making it easier for international churches to disaffiliate.