U.S. submarine pulls into Guantanamo Bay a day after Russian warships arrive in Cuba
WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. Navy submarine has arrived in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in a show of force as a fleet of Russian warships gather for planned military exercises in the Caribbean.
U.S. Southern Command said the USS Helena, a nuclear-powered fast attack submarine, pulled into the waters near the U.S. base in Cuba on Thursday, just a day after a Russian frigate, a nuclear-powered submarine, an oil tanker and a rescue tug crossed into Havana Bay after drills in the Atlantic Ocean.
The stop is part of a “routine port visit” as the submarine travels through Southern Command’s region, it said in a social media post.
Other U.S. ships also have been tracking and monitoring the Russian drills, which Pentagon officials say do not represent a threat to the United States.
“This is not a surprise. We’ve seen them do these type of port calls before,” Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said Wednesday when asked about the Russian drills. “We of course take it seriously, but these exercises don’t pose a threat to the United States.”
The exercises, however, come less than two weeks after President Joe Biden authorized Ukraine to use U.S.-provided weapons to strike inside Russia to protect Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. Russian President Vladimir Putin then suggested his military could respond with “asymmetrical steps” elsewhere in the world.
Unanimous Supreme Court preserves access to widely used abortion medication
By: Mark Sherman
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously preserved access to a medication that was used in nearly two-thirds of all abortions in the U.S. last year, in the court’s first abortion decision since conservative justices overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago.
The nine justices ruled that abortion opponents lacked the legal right to sue over the federal Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the medication, mifepristone, and the FDA’s subsequent actions to ease access to it. The case had threatened to restrict access to mifepristone across the country, including in states where abortion remains legal.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was part of the majority to overturn Roe, wrote for the court on Thursday that “federal courts are the wrong forum for addressing the plaintiffs’ concerns about FDA’s actions.”
The decision could lessen the intensity of the abortion issue in the November elections, with Democrats already energized and voting against restrictions on reproductive rights.
But the high court is separately considering another abortion case, about whether a federal law on emergency treatment at hospitals overrides state abortion bans in rare emergency cases in which a pregnant patient’s health is at serious risk.
Associated Press writer Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this report.
Murder suspect killed, 2 police officers wounded in shootout at New Jersey hotel
By: Bruce Shipkowski
A shootout at a New Jersey hotel ended with a murder suspect dead and two police officers wounded, authorities said.
The shooting occurred late Wednesday at a complex in Woodbridge that houses the Raritan Hotel and the Royal Albert’s Palace Banquet Hall, the state Attorney General’s Office said.
The suspect, whose name was not released, was staying at the hotel. He was being sought by New York City police in connection with a killing in the city last week.
A Woodbridge officer and a New York City officer were wounded and were being treated at a hospital for injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening. One of the officers was shot in the foot, while the other was struck in the back. Their names and further information about them have not been released.
After rare flash flood emergency, Florida prepares for more heavy rainfall in coming days
By: Freida Frisaro And Curt Anderson
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A tropical disturbance has brought a rare flash flood emergency to much of southern Florida as residents prepared to weather more heavy rainfall on Thursday and Friday.
Wednesday’s downpours and subsequent flooding blocked roads, floated vehicles and delayed the Florida Panthers on their way to Stanley Cup games in Canada against the Edmonton Oilers.
The disorganized storm system was pushing across Florida from the Gulf of Mexico at roughly the same time as the early June start of hurricane season, which this year is forecast to be among the most active in recent memory amid concerns that climate change is increasing storm intensity.
The disturbance has not reached cyclone status and was given only a slight chance to form into a tropical system once it emerges into the Atlantic Ocean after crossing Florida, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The National Weather Service in Miami noted in a post on the social media platform X early Thursday that a band of heavy rainfall was expected to fall over the region for a third day in a row.
U.S. reporter Evan Gershkovich, jailed in Russia on espionage charges, to stand trial, officials say
MOSCOW (AP) — U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich, who has been jailed for over a year in Russia on espionage charges, will stand trial in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg, where he was detained, authorities said Thursday.
An indictment of The Wall Street Journal reporter has been finalized and his case was filed to the Sverdlovsky Regional Court in the city about 1,400 kilometres (870 miles) east of Moscow, according to Russia’s Prosecutor General’s office.
Gershkovich, 32, is accused of “gathering secret information” on orders from the CIA about Uralvagonzavod, a facility in the Sverdlovsk region that produces and repairs military equipment, the Prosecutor General’s office said in a statement, revealing for the first time the details of the accusations against him.
The officials did not provide any evidence to back up the accusations. There was no word on when the trial would begin.
The Biden administration has sought to negotiate his release, but Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Moscow would consider a prisoner swap only after a verdict in his trial.
Gershkovich was detained while on a reporting trip to Yekaterinburg in March 2023 and accused of spying for the United States. The reporter, his employer and the U.S. government denied the allegations, and Washington designated him as wrongfully detained.
Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB, alleged at the time that he was acting on U.S. orders to collect state secrets but also provided no evidence.
Suspected attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels sees missiles strike ship in Gulf of Aden, sparking blaze
By: Jon Gambrell
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A suspected attack Thursday by Yemen’s Houthi rebels saw missiles strike a ship in the Gulf of Aden, authorities said, setting the vessel ablaze in what would be the latest such assault in their campaign over the Israel-Hamas war.
The attack happened in the Gulf of Aden off Yemen, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said. It said the vessel caught fire in the attack.
The private security firm Ambrey said a merchant vessel made a radio distress call saying it had been struck by a missile.
The ship “was en route from Malaysia to Venice, Italy,” Ambrey said. It added that the ship was “aligned with the Houthi target profile,” without elaborating.
Later on Thursday, the UKMTO reported a second suspected attack off Yemen’s port city of Hodeida, but said the blast happened away from the vessel and did not damage it.
The Houthis did not immediately acknowledge Thursday’s attacks, but it typically takes the rebels hours or even days to claim them. The attack follows the Houthis launching a boat-borne bomb attack against a commercial ship in the Red Sea on Wednesday.
Unusually heavy monsoon rains in Pakistan will affect 200,000 people, a top UN official warns
By: Munir Ahmed
ISLAMABAD (AP) — An estimated 200,000 people in Pakistan could be affected by the upcoming monsoon season, which is expected to bring heavier rains than usual, a top UN official warned on Thursday.
The United Nations, with help from local authorities, has prepared a contingency plan, with $40 million set aside to respond to any emergencies, said Mohamed Yahya, the newly appointed Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Pakistan.
Yahya told journalists in Islamabad that the weather forecasters in Pakistan are projecting above-normal rainfall in the coming weeks. However, the rains would not be as heavy as in 2022 when devastating floods killed 1,739 people, destroyed 2 million homes, and covered as much as one-third of the country at one point.
Pakistan is one of the countries in the world most vulnerable to climate change, in part because of its immense northern glaciers, which are now melting as air temperatures rise. Warmer air can also hold more moisture, intensifying the rains of the monsoon.
Pro-Palestinian protesters take over Cal State L.A. building, leaving damage and graffiti
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A takeover of a building at California State University, Los Angeles, by demonstrators protesting Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, leaving the facility trashed and covered with graffiti, TV news reports showed.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators barricaded the multistory Student Services Building on Wednesday and workers inside were told to shelter in place, but it was empty by Thursday morning, said university spokesperson Erik Frost Hollins.
“What I can tell you, at the moment, is that the building is clear of employees and protesters and the building is secure,” said Frost Hollins, who did not immediately offer details on what occurred overnight.
The university posted a “protest action alert” on its website announcing that all main campus classes and operations would be remote until further notice and asking people to stay away.
Images from the scene showed graffiti on the building, furniture blocking doorways and overturned golf carts, picnic tables and umbrellas barricading the plaza out front.
