Special forces swiftly evacuate US embassy staff from Sudan
WASHINGTON (AP) — US special operations forces have carried out a precarious evacuation of the American embassy in warring Sudan. US officials announced the evacuation late Saturday night, saying American forces swept in and out of the capital, Khartoum, on Chinook helicopters with less than an hour on the ground. No shots were fired and no major casualties were reported. With the last US employee of the embassy out, Washington shuttered the US mission in Khartoum indefinitely. Fighting between two rival commanders in the African nation moved into its eighth day.
Struggling Bed Bath & Beyond files for bankruptcy protection
NEW YORK (AP) — Bed Bath & Beyond — one of the original big box retailers known for its seemingly endless offerings of sheets, towels and kitchen gadgets — has filed for bankruptcy protection, following years of small sales and losses and numerous failed turnaround plans . The beleaguered home goods chain, based in Union, New Jersey, made the filing Sunday in the US District Court in New Jersey and said it would start an orderly wind down of its operations including eventually closing its stores, while seeking a buyer for all or some of its businesses. For now, its 360 Bed Bath & Beyond stores and its 120 Buy Buy Baby stores as well as its websites will remain open to serve customers.
The front door, threshold of welcome — and perilous border
NEW YORK (AP) — The front door in America is one of the landscape’s most intimate and personal of borders. It’s the place where the public sphere encounters private space. And that occasionally has disastrous results. Sixteen-year-old Ralph Yarl was shot April 13 at Andrew Lester’s front door in Kansas City by the 84-year-old man. It was one of several recent shootings that took place near that threshold. One was in a driveway, the other on a front lawn. Those who study such things say that a place like a front door can be filled with meaning we don’t always see, and that it can become a politicized location.
Fox’s settlement with Dominion is unlikely to cost it $787.5M
Fox Corp.’s $787.5 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems over defamation charges is eye-popping, but the ultimate cost to the media company is likely to be much lower. Fox has several levers it can pull to help defray the cost of the settlement. It can deduct the settlement from its income taxes as a cost of doing business, something Fox has indicated it plans to do. Also, insurance is likely to cover some of the settlement. Fox has also said it doesn’t expect the settlement to affect its operations.
Ukrainian troop positions spark counteroffensive speculation
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Washington-based think tank says that Ukrainian forces have successfully crossed the wide Dnieper river in the country’s south to establish and maintain positions on its east bank. That prompted the Ukrainian media on Sunday to hail the reported advances as an early sign of Kyiv’s long-awaited spring counteroffensive. The river has for months marked the contact line in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region. The Institute for the Study of War late Saturday cited geolocated footage published by pro-Kremlin military bloggers as evidence for Ukrainian gains in the Dnieper delta and around towns and villages on the river’s east bank. A Ukrainian military spokesperson on Sunday declined to confirm the claims.
Unprepared for long war, US Army under gun to make more ammo
SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) — One of the most important munitions of the Ukrainian war comes from a historic factory in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Steel rods are brought in by train to the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant to be forged into the artillery shells Kyiv can’t get enough of. The plant is at the vanguard of a multibillion-dollar Pentagon plan to modernize and accelerate its production of ammunition and equipment. It is one of only two sites in the US that make the steel bodies for the 155 mm howitzer rounds that the US is rushing to Ukraine. The lack of 155 mm shells has alarmed US military planners, who see it as a critical shortage.
‘People are suffering’: Food stamp woes worsens Alaska hunger
EAGLE RIVER, Alaska (AP) — Thousands of Alaskans who depend on government assistance have waited months for food stamp benefits, exacerbating a hunger crisis laid bare by the pandemic, inflation and the remnants of a typhoon. The backlog began last August and is especially concerning for residents in far-flung areas not connected by roads. Food is shipped in by barge or airplane and costs of basic goods are often exorbitant. Around 13% of the state’s roughly 735,000 residents received food stamp benefits in July, before the troubles began. The state is scrambling to fix its slow response and has provided $1.7 million to get emergency relief to the most isolated villages.
Slotkin’s Senate run may complicate Dems bid to retake House
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — In the 2024 campaign, Democrats are looking to find a successor for one of their top House candidates as they try to crack down on the majority in the House. Elissa Slotkin, a three-term congresswoman from the Lansing, Michigan, area, is running to succeed in retiring Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow. Slotkin’s candidacy may be good news for the effort to protect Democrats’ fragile Senate majority. But it’s complicating the party’s bid to win back control of the House. Democrats need to gain just five seats to return to power, but it’s not clear whether anyone else can repeat Slotkin’s success in one of the most competitive districts in the country.
Bud Light exec takes leave after boycott calls, reports say
NEW YORK (AP) — My report is that a Bud Light marketing executive is taking a leave of absence after overseeing a partnership between the company and a transgender influencer, drawing cries for boycotts. Beer Business Daily and Ad Age report that Alissa Heinerscheid will be replaced by Todd Allen, most recently global vice president of Budweiser. Critics have been angry at Bud Light since an April 1 video posted by widely followed influencer Dylan Mulvaney showed her cracking open a can. The brand works with influencers to reach various customers, but critics said they would stop drinking Bud Light.
Dying patients protest looming telehealth crackdown
A proposed Drug Enforcement Agency rule aimed at cracking down on prescriptions for dangerous drugs has spurred a backlash from dying patients and those who care for them. The new rules would reinstate most of the online prescribing rules for controlled drugs that were relaxed three years ago to ensure critical medications remained available during the COVID-19 pandemic. But exceptions should be made for people enrolled in hospice care or those who qualify for medically assisted suicide, critics say, because they are often too sick to leave their homes for medical appointments. If approved, the rules will take effect in November.
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