Trending
Top Biden aide says Ukraine invasion could come 'any day'
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) -- White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday that Russia could invade Ukraine "any day," launching a conflict that would come at an "enormous human cost." The senior adviser to President Joe Biden offered another stark warning the day after U.S. officials confirmed that Russia has assembled at least 70% of the military firepower it likely intends to have in place by mid-month to give President Vladimir Putin the option of launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. "If war breaks out, it will come at an enormous human cost to Ukraine, but we believe that based on our preparations and our response, it will come at a strategic cost to Russia as well," Sullivan said. Sullivan did not directly address reports that the White House has briefed lawmakers that a full Russian invasion could lead to the quick capture of Kyiv and potentially result in as many as 50,000 casualties as he made appearances on a trio of Sunday talk shows. U.S. officials, who discussed internal assessments of the Russian buildup on the condition that they not be identified, sketched out a series of indicators suggesting that Putin intends to start an invasion in the coming weeks, although the size and scale are unclear.
AP investigation: Women's prison fostered culture of abuse
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Inside one of the only federal women's prisons in the United States, inmates say they have been subjected to rampant sexual abuse by correctional officers and even the warden, and were often threatened or punished when they tried to speak up.
Prisoners and workers at the federal correctional institution in Dublin, California, even have a name for it: "The rape club." An Associated Press investigation has found a permissive and toxic culture at the Bay Area lockup, enabling years of sexual misconduct by predatory employees and cover-ups that have largely kept the abuse out of the public eye. The AP obtained internal federal Bureau of Prisons documents, statements and recordings from inmates, interviewed current and former prison employees and inmates and reviewed thousands of pages of court records from criminal and civil cases involving Dublin prison staff. Together, they detail how inmates' allegations against members of the mostly male staff were ignored or set aside, how prisoners could be sent to solitary confinement for reporting abuse and how officials in charge of preventing and investigating sexual misconduct were themselves accused of abusing inmates or neglecting their concerns.
Trump tirade on 'racist' DAs echoes other racist tropes
NEW YORK (AP) -- Looking out at a sea of faces at a Texas fairground, most of them white, former President Donald Trump seethed about his legal troubles and blamed them on malicious prosecutors. "These prosecutors are vicious, horrible people. They're racists and they're very sick, they're mentally sick," Trump said, before warning his audience: "In reality, they're not after me. They're after you." He repeated his charge of racism, but skipped over an obvious detail: Those prosecutors are Black. His diatribe left the clear impression that Trump, who rode the politics of white grievance into the White House, thinks he can't possibly be treated fairly by Black officials. The comments carry the echoes of racist messages that have proliferated in recent years -- that Black people and other minorities are taking power, and that they will exact revenge on white people, or at the very least treat white people as they have been treated.
U.S. airborne infantry troops arrive in Poland amid tensions
RZESZOW-JASIONKA, Poland (AP) -- A few dozen elite U.S troops and equipment were seen landing Sunday in southeastern Poland near the border with Ukraine, following President Joe Biden's orders to deploy 1,700 soldiers there amid fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. Hundreds more infantry troops of the 82nd Airborne Division are still expected to arrive at the Rzeszow-Jasionka airport, 90 kilometers (56 miles) from Poland's border with Ukraine. A U.S. Air Force Boeing C-17 Globemaster plane brought a few dozen troops and vehicles. Their commander is Maj. Gen. Christopher Donahue, who on Aug. 30 was the last American soldier to leave Afghanistan. "Our national contribution here in Poland shows our solidarity with all of our allies here in Europe and, obviously, during this period of uncertainty, we know that we are stronger together," Donahue said at the airport. In Warsaw, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak hailed the deployment, saying that "deterrence and solidarity are the best response to Moscow's aggressive policy, to the aggressive attempt at reconstructing the Russian empire."
Inside the Olympic bubble, looking for China -- or 'China'
BEIJING (AP) -- Explore Guangzhou's old city. Wander a historic neighborhood in Shanghai. Visit with the giant pandas out west in Sichuan province. All these experiences are available to those attending the Beijing Olympics. By videolink -- without ever leaving the press center.
Welcome to China. But not really. The Olympics are usually a once-in-a-generation opportunity for the host country to showcase its culture. This year, however, athletes, coaches and others traveling to the Winter Games in Beijing are entirely sequestered in a bubble so complete that it even contains its own intercity trains. It's all part of the elaborate effort by China to control the spread of COVID-19 (and, some say, control the curious visitors as well). Nothing is supposed to leave this alternate universe. But what clues of China might seep in? The country is celebrating Lunar New Year. That much is clear. Traditional lantern decorations adorn the streets outside (as seen from the Olympic shuttle buses) and the venues inside. You're unlikely to participate in any actual celebrations -- but the Games' swag bag includes a small lantern decoration. If you have the souvenir, did you also have the experience?
COVID-19 robs Olympic curlers of beloved social culture
There is a photograph from the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics that captured curling fans' hearts worldwide. In it, Canadian curler John Morris and American rival Matt Hamilton sit side by side, arms draped around each others' shoulders, grinning faces inches apart, beer cans mid-clink. It was a moment that perfectly captured the spirit of curling, a sport best known for its sweeping but perhaps best loved for its socializing. Yet it is a moment that will likely be impossible to repeat in the socially distanced world of the Beijing Games. "One of the things I love about curling is being able to curl against my friends and then enjoy a weekend or a week around them, as well as playing cards and having a beer," said Morris, who won the gold medal in mixed doubles in Pyeongchang and is hoping to do the same in Beijing. "That's the best part of curling. On the ice is great, and that accomplishes my competitive drive, but the actual going to cool places, playing with and against your friends -- that's been really hard." Of all of COVID-19's cruelties, the necessity of distance has caused particular angst throughout the curling community. This is a sport built around closeness, from the pregame handshakes between opponents, to the postgame drinking sessions, in which the winners typically buy the losers a round. That tradition, dubbed "broomstacking" for the original practice of opponents stacking their brooms in front of a fire after a game and sharing a drink, all but vanished after the coronavirus emerged.
Curling competitions were canceled. Ice rinks where the athletes trained were shut down. And curlers, like much of the world, were forced into isolation.
Jackson, in high court mix, traces law interest to preschool
WASHINGTON (AP) -- When Ketanji Brown Jackson's younger daughter was 11, she drafted a letter to the president suggesting her federal judge-mom for a vacancy on the Supreme Court. "Dear Mr. President," Leila Jackson wrote. "She's determined, honest and never breaks a promise to anyone even if there are other things she'd rather do. She can demonstrate commitment and is loyal and never brags. I think she would make a great Supreme Court justice." Jackson wasn't nominated for the vacancy her daughter was writing about, one created by the 2016 death of Justice Antonin Scalia. And Republican lawmakers blocked then-President Barack Obama's ultimate nominee, Merrick Garland, who is now President Joe Biden's attorney general. But Jackson might have another shot. She is considered to be among the top prospects to replace retiring justice Stephen Breyer as Biden seeks to fulfill a campaign pledge to nominate the first Black woman to the court.
Black worker at Confederate site raises race complaint
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- Alabama welcomes visitors at the "First White House of the Confederacy," a historic home next to the state Capitol where Confederate President Jefferson Davis lived with his family in the early months of the Civil War. The museum managed by the state's Department of Finance says it hosts nearly 100,000 people a year, many of them school children on field trips to see such things as the "relic room" where Davis' slippers and pocket watch are preserved. Near the gift shop, a framed article describes Davis as an American patriot who accomplished "one of the most amazing feats in history" by keeping the "north at bay for four long years."
Evelyn England, an African-American woman who worked for 12 years as a receptionist at the historic site, said some visitors, both Black and white, were surprised to see her there. "I'm in a unique position because whites don't really want me here, and Blacks don't want to come here," England told The Associated Press. England, 62, retired this week from the $34,700 state job, and it wasn't the friendliest of departures: State records show she was suspended for three days last month for refusing to sign a performance review, and she said she filed a racial discrimination complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. A spokeswoman said the Department of Finance declined to comment on the personnel matter.
18 stranded on Lake Erie ice floe rescued
PORT CLINTON, Ohio (AP) -- Coast Guard authorities say 18 people were rescued from an ice floe that broke away in Lake Erie over the weekend. Officials said an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Air Station Detroit noticed a group of people on the floe near Catawba Island at about 1 p.m. Sunday with several all-terrain vehicles seeking a route back to land. The helicopter lowered a rescue swimmer and began hoisting operations while an airboat got underway from the nearby Marblehead station, the Coast Guard said. The helicopter lifted seven people from the floe and the airboat rescued four others, officials said. The other seven people were picked up and taken to shore by a good Samaritan who also had an airboat at the scene. Emergency medical services were standing by, but no one required medical attention, the Coast Guard said. Authorities earlier urged people to "stay off the ice on Lake Erie as there is the possibility that the ice will drift away from shore." Last week, crews from the two Coast Guard stations were also called in to aid Catawba Island volunteer firefighters in rescuing seven people from another floe west of the peninsula jutting out into the Great Lake.
Report: Blocked intake may have led to hotel CO emergency
MARYSVILLE, Ohio (AP) -- A blocked fresh-air intake at a hotel pool equipment room may have been to blame for a carbon monoxide buildup that sent more than a dozen people to hospitals more than a week ago, authorities said. A report by the Ohio state fire marshal's office said a plastic bag was found over the intake at the Hampton Inn in Marysville during an inspection two days after the Jan. 29 emergency, the Columbus Dispatch reported. Inspector Bradley Merillat said the blocked intake could create a critical carbon monoxide problem for a natural-gas pool heater or any other device with combustible fuel. He also noted that a carbon monoxide detector wasn't functioning. Fire department responders found carbon monoxide levels at or about 1,100 to 1,300 parts per million in the pool area and on the first floor, and concentrations of 600 parts per million on the second floor and 500 parts per million on the third floor, the report said. Carbon monoxide concentration at such levels "can be lethal if you're in that setting for too long," according to Battalion Chief Cole Tomlin with the Marysville Fire Division. He said the situation could have been worse if the leak hadn't been reported that afternoon and people had gone to sleep for the night. Memorial Health officials said 11 people -- five adults and six children -- came to the hospital, two in critical but stable condition and five considered serious but stable. Three other people were taken to OhioHealth Grady Memorial Hospital in Delaware. A representative of the Hampton Inn Marysville said last weekend that officials were "fully cooperating with the local authorities as they investigate this incident."
Marysville is about 30 miles northwest of Columbus.
Rogan's use of racial slurs adds to pressure on Spotify
(AP) -- Joe Rogan's mouth has put Spotify in a tough spot. Anti-coronavirus vaccine comments and racial slurs on some episodes of his popular podcast are forcing the streaming service to weigh difficult choices. Spotify must decide where it stands on race relations and vaccine misinformation in a society with heightened sensitivity to both issues. Then there's the business decision about what to do with Rogan's $100 million podcast, which threatens the bottom line but is also a key part of the company's strategy to be a one-stop shop for audio. Neither the streaming service nor Rogan was talking Sunday. But experts say Spotify's management team has to choose whether to sever ties with Rogan as it risks more musicians yanking their work in protest. Or is there some middle ground that might be acceptable to artists and subscribers? Whatever decision emerges won't sit well with one side or the other in an increasingly polarized country. On race, the choice is between keeping Rogan and sending a message that society has become too "woke" or showing that Spotify is more attuned to a multiracial society, said Adia Harvey Wingfield, a sociology professor at Washington University in St. Louis. "If Spotify says 'We can't drop him. He has the right to say what he wants,' that continues on the line where there is this implicit support to say racist things on these platforms," she said. The streaming site also has to decide whether offensive words are allowable elsewhere on its app, where songs with racist, homophobic and anti-immigrant messages are available, said John Wihbey, a Northeastern University professor and specialist in emerging technologies.