More classified documents found at Biden’s home by lawyers
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says lawyers for President Joe Biden found more classified documents at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, than previously known. White House lawyer Richard Sauber says in a statement that a total of six pages of classified documents were found during a search of Biden’s private library. The White House had said previously that only a single page was found there. The latest disclosure is in addition to the discovery of documents found in December in Biden’s garage and in November at his former offices at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, from his time as vice president.
UK to supply tanks; Russian missiles hit across Ukraine
LONDON (AP) — U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has promised to provide tanks and artillery systems to Ukraine amid renewed missile attacks by Moscow targeting multiple Ukrainian cities for the first time in nearly two weeks. Nine people were killed and 64 wounded in the southeastern city of Dnipro when a Russian missile strike destroyed a section of an apartment building. Photos showed a large gap in the nine-story building. Infrastructure facilities were also hit in the western Lviv region and northeastern Kharkiv. Kyiv was also targeted. The British leader’s Downing Street office said in a statement on Saturday that Sunak made the pledge to provide Challenger 2 tanks and other artillery systems after speaking to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
China reports 60,000 COVID-related deaths, says peak passed
BEIJING (AP) — China has reported nearly 60,000 deaths in people who had COVID-19 since early December following complaints it was failing to release data about the status of the pandemic. Those numbers may still underestimate the toll, though the government said the “emergency peak” of its latest surge appears to have passed. The death toll included 5,503 deaths due to respiratory failure caused by COVID-19 and 54,435 fatalities from other ailments combined with COVID-19. The National Health Commission said Saturday that those deaths occurred in hospitals, which left open the possibility more people also might have died at home.
Violence soars in Mali in the year after Russians arrive
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Western officials say violence against civilians in Mali has risen in the year since hundreds of Russian mercenaries have started working alongside the West African country’s armed forces to stem a decade-long insurgency by Islamic extremists. Diplomats, analysts and human rights groups say extremists linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group have only gotten stronger and there’s concern the Russian presence will further destabilize the already troubled region. One report says more than 2,000 civilians have been killed since December 2021, compared with about 500 in the previous 12 months, with at least a third of those deaths last year stemming from attacks involving Russia’s shadowy Wagner Group of military contractors.
Buttigieg finds himself in the spotlight for better or worse
WASHINGTON (AP) — Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has been in the national spotlight a lot lately, and not always for positive reasons. The 2020 Democratic presidential candidate and onetime mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has been the public face of a string of transportation-related mishaps, including this past week’s temporary ground of air traffic in the United States. All that increased scrutiny has come amid rising speculation about his political prospects. During his tenure as transportation chief, there have been widespread global supply chain issues and logjams at major ports as well as multiple instances of mass flight cancellations by airlines. Also, a nationwide strike by railroad workers was only averted by an eleventh-hour intervention from Congress.
Iran hangs former defense ministry official over spy claim
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran says it has executed a dual Iranian-British national who once worked for its defense ministry. That’s despite an international outcry over his death sentence and those of others held amid nationwide protests. Iran’s Mizan news agency, associated with the country’s judiciary, announced Ali Reza Akbari’s hanging on Saturday. It didn’t say when it happened. However, there are rumors he had been executed days ago. Iran accused Akbari, without offering evidence, of being a spy for Britain’s MI6 intelligence agency. It aired a highly edited video of Akbari discussing the allegations resembling others that activists have described as coerced confessions. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called the execution “a callous and cowardly act carried out by a barbaric regime.”
Prince Harry: Memoir is about saving royals from themselves
LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry has said he had enough material for two memoirs. But Harry said in an interview published in British newspaper The Telegraph on Saturday that he held back because he didn’t think his father and brother would “ever forgive him.” He said that releasing his memoir wasn’t “trying to collapse the monarchy. This is about trying to save them from themselves.” Harry also revealed that he worries about Prince William’s children. He said he felt “a responsibility knowing that out of those three children at least one will end up like me. The spare.” Harry’s candid autobiography “Spare” sold 1.4 million English-language copies on the first day it was published this week.
AP source: Hamlin visits teammates for 1st time since injury
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Damar Hamlin visited with teammates at the Bills facility on Saturday for the first time since being discharged from a Buffalo hospital, and about two weeks after the Bills safety went into cardiac arrest and needed to be resuscitated on the field during a game in Cincinnati. Bills linebacker Matt Milano posted a photo on his Instagram account of a smiling Hamlin shaking hands with a teammate. A person with direct knowledge of Hamlin’s schedule confirmed to The Associated Press the player’s visit. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because Hamlin has kept his schedule and recovery private.
India’s ‘RRR’ an unlikely underdog in Hollywood awards race
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hollywood’s awards season has found an unlikely underdog in “RRR.” S.S. Rajamouli’s three-hour maximalist action epic is one of India’s most expensive and top-grossing films of all time. It pairs two of the country’s biggest stars, N.T. Rama Rao Jr. and Ram Charan, topping Netflix streaming charts over the summer. But the Academy Awards generally shun foreign films and over-the-top action movies in prestige categories. To give their film a final push, Rama Rao Jr. and Charan traveled to Los Angeles to attend the Golden Globes, mingle with the likes of Cate Blanchett at parties, and attend packed screenings like the one that featured a riotous dance party at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
Lisa Marie carved her musical path as she bore Elvis’ legacy
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Lisa Marie Presley may have been dubbed a “rock princess,” but she staked her claim as a singer-songwriter, even as she bore the legacy of her father. Presley, who died Thursday at the age of 54, was the daughter of musical royalty and the face of the Elvis estate. But through her own songwriting and singing, her own truth came out in dark and honest lyrics. Over three albums, she worked with a variety of co-writers and collaborators, proving that she could do more than replicate Elvis. Her music even foretold what would her happen when she died — she will be buried at Graceland, her father’s mansion in Memphis, Tennessee.
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