May 12, 2022 4:22 am
CHICAGO (AP) – President Joe Biden is calling his predecessor, Donald Trump, “the great MAGA king” and continuing sharp criticism against Republicans ahead of midterm elections that could be bruising for Democrats. Biden says, “I think it’s important that, as we go forward, you’re gonna hear me talking more about not only what we’ve done, but what they’re trying to do.” The president spoke Wednesday to a Democratic fundraiser crowd of about 40 in Chicago. Biden has in recent days begun decrying “ultra-MAGA” Republicans – a reference to Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan. He says the Democratic National Committee is devoting more time and money to promoting the contrasts between parties.
May 12, 2022 4:19 am
More people in northern New Mexico are being warned they might have to flee as the largest wildfire burning in the United States heads toward mountain resort towns. Fire officials said at a briefing Wednesday night that the fastest moving flames were heading further northeast, away from the area’s biggest population center in Taos. But evacuations continued to expand southeast of there and officials warned another windy day was forecast Thursday before weather conditions are expected to improve. In Southern California, a wildfire erupted Wednesday in the coastal community of Laguna Niguel and burned more than 20 homes, many of them multimillion-dollar mansions. No injuries were reported.
May 12, 2022 4:18 am
BEIJING (AP) – China’s leaders are struggling to reverse a deepening economic slump without giving up a “zero-COVID” strategy that shut down Shanghai and other cities. That adds to challenges for President Xi Jinping in a year when he is expected to try to extend his time in power. The ruling Communist Party has declared containing outbreaks takes priority over the economy. That is despite warnings its goal of no cases may be impossible. Anti-virus rules keep most of Shanghai’s 25 million people at home and have closed parts of Beijing and other cities. The country’s No. 2 leader has warned the employment situation is “complex and grim.” The government is promising tax refunds and other aid to struggling entrepreneurs.
May 12, 2022 4:17 am
Ukraine’s military says Russian forces are continuing airstrikes on the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol and pressing their advance on towns in eastern Ukraine. In its operational statement for Day 78 of the war, the Ukrainian military’s General Staff says Russian forces have also fired artillery and grenade launchers at Ukrainian troops in the direction of Zaporizhzhia, which has been a refuge for civilians fleeing Mariupol. It did not elaborate on the latest action around Azovstal. The military says Russian forces also fired artillery at Ukrainian units north of the city of Kharkiv and reported Russian strikes in the Chernihiv and Sumy regions to the north. Across the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine, the military noted “partial success” in Russia’s advance.
May 12, 2022 4:15 am
HELSINKI (AP) – Finland’s president and prime minister say they’re in favor of applying for NATO membership. The announcement by President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin on Thursday paves the way for the alliance to expand amid Russia’s war in Ukraine. It means Finland is virtually certain to seek NATO membership though a few steps remain before the application process can begin. Neighboring Sweden is expected to decide on joining NATO in coming days.
May 12, 2022 4:13 am
Washington City Police are investigating the death of a Washington woman late Wednesday afternoon. The Washington County Coroner’s Office says 58 year old Kristin Barfield was shot in an incident on Ridge Avenue just after 5 p.m. The incident was reported to 9-1-1. She was transported to Washington Hospital and pronounced dead about thirty minutes later. The Coroner’s office says a cause and manner of death are pending. No other information is being released at this time.
May 12, 2022 4:06 am
The Ringgold School Board approved their preliminary budget for the 2022-2023 school year on Wednesday night. The budget amount adopted is $51,537,045. That amount will include a 4/10 mill increase in taxes for the residents of the Ringgold School District. What that means is that the average home assessed at $111,000 in the district will pay an additional $44.50 per year in taxes. Superintendent Randall Skrinjorich pointed to rising costs of energy as a big culprit in the increase of taxes. He also pointed out that they are one of the few school districts that do everything in house and those contractual obligations contributed as well. Skrinjorich also called out the commonwealth for being one of the states with the lowest dollar contribution per student causing the local school boards to force local residents to be the ones to foot the largest portion of the budget. The final budget will be approved at the June school board meeting.
May 11, 2022 5:22 pm
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) – U.S. coronavirus cases are up, leading a smattering of school districts, especially in the Northeast, to bring back mask recommendations and requirements. Their return comes for the first time since the omicron winter surge ebbed and as the United States approaches 1 million deaths from the virus. Districts in Maine, New Jersey and Pennsylvania have brought masks back in schools, with a few in Massachusetts also recommending them. The uptick in cases is a vast undercount because testing has dropped considerably and most tests are being taken at home and are not reported to health departments.
May 11, 2022 3:53 pm
(AP) – A veteran Al Jazeera correspondent who was shot dead while reporting on an Israeli raid in the West Bank was a highly respected and familiar face in the Middle East. Shireen Abu Akleh’s death reverberated across the region and set social media alight. Her unflinching coverage of the harsh realities of Israel’s military occupation was inextricably linked with her own identity as a Palestinian journalist on the front lines. Since 1997, the 51-year-old journalist had reported on forced home evictions, the killings of unarmed Palestinian youth, hundreds of Palestinians held without charge in Israeli prisons and expansion of Jewish settlements. Her death Wednesday underscores the heavy price the conflict continues to exact on Palestinians.
May 11, 2022 2:48 pm
FLORENCE, Ariz. (AP) – An Arizona man convicted of killing a college student in 1978 has been executed after a nearly eight-year hiatus in the state’s use of the death penalty brought on by a previous execution critics say was botched and the difficulty officials faced in finding lethal injection drugs. Officials say Clarence Dixon died by lethal injection Wednesday at the state prison in Florence for his murder conviction in the killing of Arizona State University student Deana Bowdoin. He was the the sixth person to be executed in the United States in 2022. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a last-minute delay of Dixon’s execution less than an hour before he was killed.
