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CHARLESTON, W.Va — Democrat Kayla Young and Republican Patricia Rucker frequently clash on abortion rights and just about everything else in West Virginia’s Legislature, but they agree on one thing: Too few of their colleagues are women, and it’s hurting the state.

“There are exceptions to every single rule, but I think in general, men do kind of see this as their field,” said Rucker, part of the GOP’s Senate supermajority that passed one of the nation’s strictest abortion bans while Young — the lone Democratic woman elected to the House — opposed it.

Nearly 130 years since the first three women were elected to state legislative offices in the U.S., women remain massively underrepresented in state legislatures.

In 10 states, women make up less than 25% of their state legislatures, according to Rutgers’ Center for American Women in Politics. West Virginia is at the very bottom of that list, having just 16 women in its 134-member Legislature, or just under 12%. That’s compared with Nevada, where women occupy just over 60% of state legislative seats. Similarly low numbers can be found in the nearby southern states of Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and Louisiana.

“It’s absolutely wild to know that more than 50 percent of the population of West Virginia are women, and sometimes I’m the only woman that’s on a committee, period,” said Young, currently the only woman on the House Artificial Intelligence Committee and was one of just two on the House Judiciary Committee when it greenlighted the state’s near total abortion ban.

The numbers of women filling legislative seats across the U.S. have remained low despite women registering and voting at higher rates than men in every presidential election since 1980 — and across virtually every demographic, including race, education level and socioeconomic status.

For the last three decades, voters have demonstrated a willingness to cast ballots for women. But they didn’t have the opportunity to do so because women weren’t running, said Jennifer Lawless, chair of the politics department at the University of Virginia.

“The gender gap in political ambition is just as large now as it was then,” said Lawless, adding that women are much less likely to get recruited to run for office or think they’re qualified to run in what they perceive as a hostile political environment.

And those running in southern, conservative states — still mostly Democratic women, data show — aren’t winning as those states continue to overwhelmingly elect Republicans.

In 2022, 39 women ran as their party’s nominee for state legislative seats in West Virginia, and 26 were Democrats. Only two of the Democratic candidates won, compared to 11 out of 13 of the Republicans.

Debbie Walsh, director of Rutgers’ Center for American Women in Politics, said there’s more money, infrastructure and support for recruiting and running Democratic female candidates. The Republican Party often shies away from talking about what is labeled or dismissed as “identity politics,'” she said.

“It’s a belief in a kind of meritocracy and, ‘the best candidate will rise. And if it’s a woman, great.’ They don’t say, ‘We don’t want women, but if it’s a man, that’s fine, too,'” she said. “There’s no sort of value in and of itself seen in the diversity.”

Larissa Martinez, founder and president of Women’s Public Leadership Network, one of only a few right-leaning U.S. organizations solely supporting female candidates, said identity politics within the GOP is a big hurdle to her work. Part of her organization’s slogan is, “we are pro-women without being anti-man.”

In 2020, small-town public school teacher Amy Grady pulled off a huge political upset when she defeated then-Senate President Mitch Carmichael in West Virginia’s Republican primary, following back-to-back years of strikes in which school employees packed into the state Capitol.

Carmichael took in more than $127,000 in contributions compared to Grady’s self-funded war chest of just over $2,000. Still, Grady won by fewer than 1,000 votes.

“It’s just you’re told constantly, ‘You can’t, you can’t, you can’t do it,'” said Grady, who has now risen through the ranks to become chair of the Senate Education Committee. “And it’s just like, why give it a shot?”

Tennessee state Sen. Charlane Oliver says she didn’t have many resources when she first raised her hand to run for political office. She had to rely on grassroots activism and organizing to win her 2022 election.

Yet securing the seat was just part of the battle. Oliver, a 41-year-old Black Democratic woman, is frequently tasked with providing the only outside perspective inside for the Republican supermajority Legislature.

“They don’t have any incentive to listen to me, but I view my seat as disruption and give you a perspective that you may not have heard before,” she said.

Many male-dominant statehouses have enacted strict abortion bans in GOP-controlled states since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. For many female lawmakers, this trend has meant sharing deeply personal stories surrounding abortion and childbirth.

In South Carolina, the abortion debate resulted in an unlikely coalition of women banding together to filibuster a near-total abortion ban. The five female senators — three Republicans, two Democrats and one independent — quickly became known as the “sister senators” as they took turns describing pregnancy complications, the dangers surrounding limited access to contraceptives and the reproductive system.

Their actions were met with praise from national leaders, but at home, the consequences have been swift. The Republican women received censures and promises of primary challenges in this year’s elections.

Women also have championed gun policy, education, health care, and housing proposals.

Recently, some states have allowed candidates to make childcare an allowable expense for campaign finance purposes. Young was the sponsor of her state’s law — one of her priorities during her first session in the Capitol in the minority party.

During Young’s first term in office, she relied on a family member who would care for her two young children while he was at the state Capitol. But she was left without a solution last year when that caregiver passed away unexpectedly days before the session. Her husband, who works in television production, had to stay home and didn’t work for two months, meaning the family lost out on his income.

Young’s bill won the vote of Rucker, the first Hispanic woman elected to the West Virginia Senate. She too has had to juggle the challenges of being a working mom. She left her job as a teacher to homeschool her five children, and the family relied on her husband’s salary as a pediatric nurse to make ends meet.

“I ran for office because I feel like having that voice is actually really important — someone who lives paycheck to paycheck,” said Rucker, a first-generation U.S. citizen who made the difficult decision to pull her kids. “I’m not here because of a title, I’m not here because of a position, I’m here to do my job, and I want to do the best I can.”
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Los Angeles — “Oppenheimer,” a solemn three-hour biopic that became an unlikely billion-dollar box-office sensation, was crowned best picture at a 96th Academy Awards that doubled as a coronation for Christopher Nolan.

After passing over arguably Hollywood’s foremost big-screen auteur for years, the Oscars made up for lost time by heaping seven awards on Nolan’s blockbuster biopic, including best actor for Cillian Murphy, best supporting actor for Robert Downey Jr. and best director for Nolan.

In anointing “Oppenheimer,” the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences did something it hasn’t done for more than a decade: hand its top prize to a widely seen, big-budget studio film. In a film industry where a cape, dinosaur or Tom Cruise has often been a requirement for such box office, “Oppenheimer” brought droves of moviegoers to theaters with a complex, fission-filled drama about J. Robert Oppenheimer and the creation of the atomic bomb.

“For better or worse, we’re all living in Robert Oppenheimer’s world,” said Murphy in his acceptance speech. “I’d like to dedicate this to the peacemakers.”

As a film heavy with unease for human capacity for mass destruction, “Oppenheimer” also emerged – even over its partner in cultural phenomenon, “Barbie” – as a fittingly foreboding film for times rife with cataclysm, man-made or not. Sunday’s Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles unfolded against the backdrop of wars in Gaza and Ukraine, and with a potentially momentous U.S. election on the horizon.

The most closely watched contest of the Academy Awards went to Emma Stone, who won best best actress for her performance as Bella Baxter in “Poor Things.”

In what was seen as the night’s most nail-biting category, Stone won over Lily Gladstone of “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Gladstone would have become the first Native American to win an Academy Award.

Instead, Oscar voters couldn’t resist the full-bodied extremes of Stone’s “Poor Things” performance. The win for Stone, her second best actress Oscar following her 2019 win for “La La Land,” confirmed the 35-year-old as arguably the preeminent big-screen actress of her generation. The list of women to win best actress two or more times is illustrious, including Katherine Hepburn, Frances McDormand, Ingrid Bergman and Bette Davis.

“Oh, boy, this is really overwhelming,” said Stone.

Nolan has had many movies in the Oscar mix before, including “Inception,” “Dunkirk” and “The Dark Knight.” But his win Sunday for direction is the first Academy Award for the 53-year-old filmmaker.

In his acceptance speech, Nolan noted cinema is just over a hundred years old.

“We don’t know where this incredible journey is going from here,” said Nolan. “But to think that I’m a meaningful part of it means the world to me.”

Protest and politics intruded on an election-year Academy Awards on Sunday, where demonstrations for Gaza raged outside the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, and awards went to “Oppenheimer,” “The Zone of Interest” and “20 Days in Mariupol.”

Sunday’s broadcast, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, had plenty of razzle dazzle, including a sprawling song-and-dance rendition of the “Barbie” hit “I’m Just Ken” by Ryan Gosling, with an assist on guitar by Slash. A sea of Kens swarmed the stage.

The lead winner, as expected was “Oppenheimer,” the blockbuster biopic. Though not quite the clean sweep that some expected, “Oppenheimer” was overpowering all competition — including its release-date companion, “Barbie” — winning awards for its cinematography, editing, score and Robert Downey Jr.’s supporting performance.

Downey, nominated twice before (for “Chaplin” and “Tropic Thunder”), notched his first Oscar, crowning the illustrious second act of his up-and-down career.

“I’d like to thank my terrible childhood and the academy, in that order,” said Downey, the son of filmmaker Robert Downey Sr.

“Barbie,” last year’s biggest box-office hit with more than $1.4 billion in ticket sales, didn’t win an award until almost three hours into the ceremony. It won best song (sorry, Ken) for Billie Eilish and Finneas’ “What Was I Made For?” It’s their second Oscar, two years after winning for their James Bond theme, “No Time to Die.”

But after an awards season that stayed largely inside a Hollywood bubble, geopolitics played a prominent role. Protests over Israel’s war in Gaza snarled traffic around the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, slowing stars’ arrival on the red carpet and turning the Oscar spotlight toward the ongoing conflict. Some protesters shouted “Shame!” at those trying to reach the awards.

Jonathan Glazer, the British filmmaker whose chilling Auschwitz drama “The Zone of Interest” won best international film, drew connections between the dehumanization depicted in his film and today.

“Right now, we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has led to conflict for so many innocent people, whether the victims of October the 7th in Israel, or the the ongoing attack on Gaza, all the victims, this dehumanization, how do we resist?”

The war in Gaza was on the minds of many attendees, as was the war in Ukraine. A year after “Navalny” won the same award, Mstyslav Chernov’s “20 Days in Mariupol,” a harrowing chronicle of the early days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, won best documentary. The win, a first for The Associated Press and PBS’ “Frontline,” came as the war in Ukraine passed the two-year mark with no signs of abating.

Mstyslav Chernov, the Ukrainian filmmaker and AP journalist whose hometown was bombed the day he learned of his Oscar nomination, spoke forcefully about Russia’s invasion.

“This is the first Oscar in Ukrainian history,” said Chernov. “And I’m honored. Probably I will be the first director on this stage to say I wish I’d never made this film. I wish to be able to exchange this (for) Russia never attacking Ukraine.”

In the early going, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Frankenstein-riff “Poor Things” ran away with three prizes for its sumptuous craft, including awards for production design, makeup and hairstyling and costume design.

Kimmel, hosting the ABC telecast for the fourth time, opened the awards with a monologue that drew a few cold looks (from Downey, Sandra Hüller and Messi, the dog from best-picture nominee “Anatomy of a Fall”). But Kimmel, emphasizing Hollywood as “a union town” following 2023’s actor and writer strikes, drew a standing ovation for bringing out teamsters and behind-the-scenes workers — who are now entering their own labor negotiations.

The night’s first award was one of its most predictable: Da’Vine Joy Randolph for best supporting actress, for her performance in Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers.” An emotional Randolph was accompanied to the stage by her “Holdovers” co-star Paul Giamatti.

“For so long I’ve always wanted to be different,” said Randolph. “And now I realize I just need to be myself.”

Though Randolph’s win was widely expected, an upset quickly followed. Hayao Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Heron” won for best animated feature, a surprise over the slightly favored “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.” Miyazaki, the 83-year-old Japanese anime master who came out of retirement to make “The Boy and the Heron,” didn’t attend the ceremony. He also didn’t attend the 2003 Oscars when his “Spirited Away” won the same award.

Best original screenplay went to “Anatomy of a Fall,” which, like “Barbie,” was penned by a couple: director Justine Triet and Arthur Harari. “This will help me through my midlife crisis, I think,” said Triet.

In adapted screenplay, where “Barbie” was nominated — and where some suspected Greta Gerwig would win after being overlooked for director — the Oscar went to Cord Jefferson, who wrote and directed his feature film debut “American Fiction.” He pleaded for executives to take risks on young filmmakers like himself.

“Instead of making a $200 million movie, try making 20 $10 million movies,” said Jefferson, previously an award-winning TV writer.

The Oscars belonged largely to theatrical-first films. Though it came into the awards with 19 nominations, Netflix was a bit player. Its lone win came for live action short: Wes Anderson’s “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” based on the story by Roald Dahl.

While “Barbie” bested (and helped lift) “Oppenheimer” at the box office, it took a back seat to Nolan’s film at the Oscars. Gerwig was notably overlooked for best director, sparking an outcry that some, even Hillary Clinton, said mimicked the patriarchy parodied in the film.
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Dublin, Ireland — Irish voters’ rejection of proposals to reword constitutional clauses on family roles and the duties of women has left politicians searching for answers.

Prime Minister Leo Varadkar had presented the vote, conducted on International Women’s Day on Friday and tallied Saturday, as a chance to remove “very old-fashioned, very sexist language about women” from the constitution.

But a proposal to expand the definition of family from a relationship founded on marriage to include other “durable relationships” was rejected by 67.7% of voters, with only 32.3 voting “yes.”

A second referendum on replacing language about a woman’s supposed duties in the home with a clause recognizing the role of family members in the provision of care was rejected by 73.9% of voters.

It was the largest ever referendum defeat in Ireland’s history.

The votes came despite the government, along with most opposition parties, endorsing the proposed changes, and polls forecasting a win for the “Yes-Yes” vote.

What went wrong?

A mix of unclear messaging, a hurried and lackluster “Yes-Yes” campaign and dissatisfaction among “no” voters resulted in an increase in undecided voters leading up to the vote.

Opposition parties gave the proposals only lukewarm support, complaining that the twin questions distorted the suggested wording produced by a Citizen’s Assembly — a nationwide focus group regularly held in Ireland on public issues.

The use of the undefined phrase “durable relationships” in the first referendum was widely criticized as too vague.

The second amendment would have replaced language on “women’s role in the home” with a pledge that the government would “strive” — not be obliged — to support carers in the home.

It failed to mention care outside of the home.

“The government went on a solo run,” said Mary Lou McDonald, leader of the leftist-nationalist Sinn Fein, the largest opposition party which grudgingly backed a “Yes-Yes” vote.

“There is little point in having a Citizens Assembly if the government are then going to ignore the outcome,” she said.

Who voted no and why?

Turnout at less than 50% was lower than in previous referendums, like one on same-sex marriage equality in 2015 and an abortion ban repeal that captured the public attention in 2018.

Only one of 39 constituencies — an affluent area near Dublin — returned a “yes” vote in the family referendum and all 39 voted “no” in the home care referendum.

While “yes” voters failed to turn out in numbers, a disparate coalition of “no” voters angry for different reasons — both progressive and conservative — were energized.   

“When a government doesn’t have all its own side on board and has split its liberal vote, it’s in trouble,” David Quinn, head of the conservative Iona Institute, told AFP.

The care amendment proposal was fiercely criticized by disability rights activists and carers who expressed relief at the result.

“They wanted people and families just to care for people at home, but we need the support of the government too,” Susan Bowles, a 39-year-old care assistant, told AFP in Dublin after the vote. 

An anti-government right-wing protest vote was also a factor, according to analysts. 

“No” campaigners warned against “woke” liberals and “cancelling” the words “women” and “mother” from the constitution.

The result was “a significant victory for the people against the political establishment,” Peadar Toibin, leader of the conservative Aontu, the only parliamentary party to back a No-No vote, told AFP.

Setback for women’s rights?

The ballots had been framed by some on the “Yes-Yes” side as the latest effort to mirror the evolving identity of Ireland, a member of the European Union.

It would also signify the diminishing influence of the once-dominant Catholic Church after the successful 2015 and 2018 referendums.

But holding the referendums on International Women’s Day — reportedly Varadkar’s idea — was a “hammy gesture,” according to Pat Leahy, a journalist with the Irish Times.

“There was an unavoidable sense of people being taken for granted in this,” he said. 

Orla O’Connor, head of the National Women’s Council of Ireland which led the “Yes-Yes” campaign, cautioned against interpreting the result as Ireland voting to keep “life within the home” language for women in the constitution.

“It is more nuanced than that… We will go back and we will fight for those things and continue to fight for equality for families and equality for women,” she told local media.

What is the political fallout?

In the aftermath a visibly shaken Varadkar, who heads up a center-right-green coalition, admitted that the government had received “two wallops” from the public.

With a general election looming within the next 12 months, the defeat poses questions about Varadkar’s and other party leaders’ judgement.

The result “does not mean that general trend of society has lurched permanently to a conservative one,” wrote Leahy. 

“But it definitely means that future governments will not assume that similar constitutional changes are a foregone conclusion,” he said.

Political scientist Eoin O’Malley of Dublin City University called it “a poorly executed referendum that nobody needed or wanted.”

“It was politically designed to secure a liberal legacy for Leo Varadkar, but it makes that legacy look opportunistic,” he told AFP.
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Geneva — The “major rescue operation” aimed at finding six Swiss ski hikers wanted since Saturday in the Swiss Alps must continue overnight, but the danger of avalanches is complicating operations, police said Sunday. 

The six people are aged 21 to 58 and five of them are members of the same family.  

They are “actively sought on the Zermatt-Arolla hiking route,” which is in the canton of Valais (southwest), the police said in a news release. 

The group left Zermatt on Saturday with the aim of reaching Arolla the same day.  

Saturday around 4 p.m. (3 p.m. GMT), a member of the family who came to pick up the group in Arolla contacted the cantonal police and the cantonal Valais emergency organization (OCVS), worried about not seeing their loved ones arrive. 

A little over an hour later, the hikers were located in the Col de Tete Blanche area, at approximately 3,500 meters above sea level, because a member of the group managed to contact emergency services. 

As soon as the alert was received, all emergency resources were mobilized on both sides of the route and numerous technical resources were deployed to find the hikers, the police said. 

But the weather conditions, which were very bad over the weekend, made the emergency response very difficult. 

The storm which raged in the south of the Swiss Alps as well as the danger of avalanches prevented helicopters and rescue columns from being able to approach the area. 

An attempt to approach by land from Zermatt was undertaken during the night from Saturday to Sunday by “5 experienced rescuers” from the OCVS but they had to give up more than 3,000 meters of altitude due to the very bad weather conditions and the risks involved. 

All day Sunday, the various specialized units of the cantonal police, in particular the mountain group as well as the technical and telecommunications officers, were engaged alongside the OCVS rescuers and the army air forces. 

Operations will continue overnight. 

In a separate news release published in the evening, the Valais police announced that an avalanche had carried away a skier traveling off-piste in Val Ferret on Sunday: “Freed from the snow mass, he was taken to hospital of Zion where he died. 

Other avalanches and heavy snowfall in the region have also buried roads, blocking traffic. 

Great caution is required over the coming days, when “the situation will be critical on the avalanche front,” warns the cantonal police. 
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Beijing, China — Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries, or ZPMC, said on Sunday its cranes do not pose a cybersecurity threat, after U.S. congressional committees questioned the Chinese state-owned company’s work on cranes bound for the United States.

The House of Representatives’ security panels, scrutinizing ZPMC’s installation of Swiss engineering group ABB’s equipment onto U.S.-bound ship-to-shore cranes, in January invited ABB executives to public hearings to clarify its relationship with ZPMC, which they said raised “significant concerns.”

“ZPMC takes the U.S. concerns seriously and believes that these reports can easily mislead the public without sufficient factual review,” it said in a filing, referring to the probe by the Homeland Security and Strategic Competition committees.

“The cranes provided by ZPMC do not pose a cybersecurity risk to any ports,” it said.

ABB has said it sold its control and electrification equipment to many crane manufacturers, including Chinese companies, which in turn sold cranes directly to U.S. ports.

The U.S. and China, the world’s biggest economies, frequently accuse each other of cyberattacks and industrial espionage. Washington this year said it had disrupted a Chinese cyber-spying operation targeting U.S. infrastructure and was investigating Chinese vehicle imports for national security risks. It previously barred Chinese telecom companies.

ZPMC said the cranes it supplies are used in ports around the world, including the United States, and comply with international standards and applicable laws and regulations.

Listed on the Shanghai stock exchange, ZPMC is one of the largest port machinery manufacturers in the world, owning a fleet of more than 20 transportation vessels, according to its website.

ABB generates 16% of its sales from China, second only to the U.S. market at 24%.
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Kansas City, Missouri — Some of the people who attended the near-record cold Kansas City Chiefs playoff game in January had to undergo amputations after suffering frostbite, a Missouri hospital said Friday.

Research Medical Center didn’t provide exact numbers but said in a statement that it treated dozens of people who had experienced frostbite during an 11-day cold snap in January. Twelve of those people — including some who were at the Jan. 13 game — had to undergo amputations involving mostly fingers and toes. And the hospital said more surgeries are expected over the next two to four weeks as “injuries evolve.”

The University of Kansas hospital said it also treated frostbite victims after the game but didn’t report any amputations.

The temperature for the Dolphins-Chiefs wild-card playoff game was minus 20 Celsius, and wind gusts made for a windchill of minus 33 C. That shattered the record for the coldest game in Arrowhead Stadium history, which had been minus 17 C, set in a 1983 game against Denver and matched in 2016 against Tennessee.

The wild-card game was played the same day the Buffalo Bills were supposed to host the Pittsburgh Steelers, but that game was pushed back a day because a blizzard dumped more than half a meter of snow in New York and made traveling to the game too dangerous.

The game in Kansas City went on as scheduled because the frigid weather didn’t present similar problems getting to Arrowhead Stadium, even though the National Weather Service warned of “dangerously cold” windchills.

Frostbite can occur on exposed skin within 30 minutes, Dr. Megan Garcia, the medical director of the Grossman Burn Center at Research, said in a statement that answered one of the top questions she is asked. The timing can be even shorter if there is a windchill, she said.

Fans were allowed to bring heated blankets into the stadium and small pieces of cardboard to place under their feet on the cold concrete.

The coldest game in NFL history remains minus 25 C for the 1967 NFL championship, when the Packers beat the Cowboys at Lambeau Field in a game that came to be known as the Ice Bowl. The windchill that day was minus minus 44 C.

The Chiefs didn’t immediately respond to email messages from The Associated Press seeking comment.
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As U.S. voters prepare for a new round of primaries Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden and his Republican political rival Donald Trump traveled to the swing state of Georgia over the weekend to hold parallel campaign events. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias has a recap of the main arguments made by each candidate, who are closer than ever to becoming their respective parties’ 2024 presidential nominees.
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The United States Army deployed a massive ship from Virginia to the eastern Mediterranean. It’s loaded with gear to begin construction of a floating pier to deliver aid to Gaza amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has more.
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Los Angeles — Hollywood’s glitterati gather on Sunday to celebrate the best performances in film at the annual Academy Awards, a ceremony expected to turn into a toast to blockbuster atomic bomb drama “Oppenheimer.”

Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel returns for the fourth time to emcee the film industry’s highest honors from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

“Oppenheimer,” the three-hour drama directed by Christopher Nolan, leads the field with 13 nominations. The movie is the frontrunner to win the prestigious best picture prize, capping its sweep of other major awards this year.

“If the best picture isn’t ‘Oppenheimer,’ it will be one of the biggest upsets, if not the biggest upset, in the history of the Oscars,” said Scott Feinberg, executive editor for awards at The Hollywood Reporter.

After 2023 was marred by actors and writers strikes, the Oscars give Hollywood a chance to celebrate two global hits. “Oppenheimer” and feminist doll adventure “Barbie,” another best picture nominee, brought in a combined $2.4 billion in a summer box office battle dubbed “Barbenheimer.”

Oscar producers said they have planned unannounced cameos and other surprises to entertain audiences at home.

“My biggest hope is that they go through a range of emotions with us, that they feel happiness and joy, that we maybe make them shed a tear,” Executive Producer Raj Kapoor said. “And then they somehow feel connected and inspired to also live their dreams.”

Supporting actor nominee Ryan Gosling will sing the ’80s-style rock anthem “I’m Just Ken” from “Barbie.” Members of the Osage Nation will perform the nominated “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)” from “Killers of the Flower Moon.”

Cillian Murphy, the Irish actor who played physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer as he led the race to build the first atomic bomb, is considered the favorite for best actor. Murphy’s main competition, according to awards pundits, is “The Holdovers” star Paul Giamatti.

Best actress may go to Lily Gladstone of “Killers of the Flower Moon,” the real-life story about a murder plot to take over lucrative Osage oil rights in 1920s Oklahoma. If she prevails, Gladstone would be the first Native American actress to win an acting Oscar.

Gladstone’s rivals include previous Oscar winner Emma Stone, nominated this year for playing a woman revived from the dead in the dark and wacky comedy “Poor Things.”

The supporting actor race features “Oppenheimer” star Robert Downey Jr., who played the scientist’s professional nemesis, and Sterling K. Brown from “American Fiction.”

Da’Vine Joy Randolph, praised for her role as a grieving mother in “The Holdovers,” vies for best supporting actress against Danielle Brooks from “The Color Purple” and others.

“Barbie,” last year’s No. 1 film with $1.4 billion in global ticket sales, may be shut out of the top awards. Billie Eilish’s “Barbie” ballad “What Was I Made For?” is likely to win the original song prize, Feinberg said, and could snag the awards for costumes and production design.

For Nolan, the night could bring his first directing Oscar, as well as the award for adapted screenplay. The director of “The Dark Knight” trilogy, “Inception” and other acclaimed films has never had a movie win best picture.

The ceremony may end with “the industry-wide coronation for Christopher Nolan,” Feinberg said. With “Oppenheimer,” “he has he has made his best possible argument yet for why he is worthy of this recognition.”
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Washington — The U.S. military said on Sunday it has carried out an operation in Haiti to airlift non-essential embassy personnel from the country and added U.S. forces bolster embassy security, as Caribbean nation reels under a state of emergency.

The operation was the latest sign of Haiti’s troubles as gang violence threatens to bring down the government and has led thousands to flee their homes.

“This airlift of personnel into and out of the embassy is consistent with our standard practice for embassy security augmentation worldwide, and no Haitians were on board the military aircraft,” the U.S. military’s Southern Command said in a statement.

Haiti entered a state of emergency last Sunday after fighting escalated while Prime Minister Ariel Henry was in Nairobi seeking a deal for the long-delayed U.N.-backed mission.

Kenya announced last year it would lead the force but months of domestic legal wrangling have effectively placed the mission on hold.

On Saturday, the U.S. State Department said Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Kenyan President William Ruto about the Haiti crisis and the two men underscored their commitment to a multinational security mission to restore order.

In Southern Command’s statement, it said Washington remained committed to those goals.

“Our embassy remains focused on advancing U.S. government efforts to support the Haitian people, including mobilizing support for the Haitian National Police, expediting the deployment of the United Nations-authorized Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission and accelerating a peaceful transition of power via free and fair elections,” it said.
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AMSTERDAM — The Netherlands’s National Holocaust Museum is opening on Sunday in a ceremony presided over by the Dutch king as well as Israeli President Isaac Herzog, whose presence is prompting protest because of Israel’s deadly offensive against Palestinians in Gaza.

The museum in Amsterdam tells the stories of some of the 102,000 Jews who were deported from the Netherlands and murdered in Nazi camps, as well as the history of their structural persecution under German World War II occupation before the deportations began.

Three-quarters of Dutch Jews were among the 6 million Jews murdered by the Nazis, the largest proportion of any country in Europe.

Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Herzog will visit a synagogue and open the museum against a backdrop of Israel’s devastating attacks on Gaza that followed the deadly incursions by Hamas in southern Israel on Oct. 7. Both pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protests are planned outside the events.

Herzog was among Israeli leaders cited in an order issued in January by the top United Nations court for Israel to do all it can to prevent death, destruction and any acts of genocide in Gaza. He accused the International Court of Justice of misrepresenting his comments in the ruling. Israel strongly rejected allegations leveled by South Africa in the court case that the military campaign in Gaza breaches the Genocide Convention.

“I was disgusted by the way they twisted my words, using very, very partial and fragmented quotes, with the intention of supporting an unfounded legal contention,” Herzog said, days after the ruling.

A pro-Palestinian Dutch organization, The Rights Forum, called Herzog’s presence “a slap in the face of the Palestinians who can only helplessly watch how Israel murders their loved ones and destroys their land.”

In a statement issued ahead of Sunday’s opening, the Jewish Cultural Quarter that runs the museum said it is “profoundly concerned by the war and the consequences this conflict has had, first and foremost for the citizens of Israel, Gaza and the West Bank.”

It said that it is “all the more troubling that the National Holocaust Museum is opening while war continues to rage. It makes our mission all the more urgent.”

The museum is housed in a former teacher training college that was used as a covert escape route to help some 600 Jewish children to escape from the clutches of the Nazis.

Exhibits include a prominent photo of a boy walking past bodies in Bergen-Belsen after the liberation of the concentration camp, and mementos of lives lost: a doll, an orange dress made from parachute material and a collection of 10 buttons excavated from the grounds of the Sobibor camp.

The walls of one room are covered with the texts of hundreds of laws discriminating against Jews enacted by the German occupiers of the Netherlands, to show how the Nazi regime, assisted by Dutch civil servants, dehumanized Jews ahead of operations to round them up.
…

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — A U.S. Army vessel carrying equipment for building a temporary pier in Gaza was on its way to the Mediterranean on Sunday, three days after U.S. President Joe Biden announced plans to ramp up aid deliveries by sea to the besieged enclave where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been going hungry.

The opening of the sea corridor, along with airdrops by the U.S., Jordan and others, showed increasing alarm over Gaza’s humanitarian crisis and a new willingness to bypass Israeli control over land shipments.

Israel said it welcomed the sea deliveries and would inspect Gaza-bound cargo before it leaves a staging area in nearby Cyprus. The daily number of aid trucks entering Gaza by land over the past five months has been far below the 500 that entered before the war because of Israeli restrictions and security issues.

Meanwhile, Biden stepped up his public criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Biden said he believes Netanyahu is “hurting Israel more than helping Israel” in how he is approaching its war against Hamas in Gaza, now in its sixth month.

Speaking Saturday to MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart, the president expressed support for Israel’s right to pursue Hamas after the militants’ October 7 attack on southern Israel but said that Netanyahu “must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequence of the actions taken.” He added that “you cannot have 30,000 more Palestinians dead.”

In Gaza, Palestinian casualties continued to rise.

The Civil Defense Department said at least nine Palestinians, including children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza City late Saturday.

Footage shared by the civil defense showed first responders pulling out the dead and injured trapped in the collapsed house. One rescuer was seen holding a dead infant, before placing the limp body on a sofa amid the wreckage.

Elsewhere, the bodies of 13 people, including women and children, were taken to the main hospital in the central town of Deir al-Balah on Sunday, according to an Associated Press journalist. Relatives said the 13 were killed by Israeli artillery fire toward a large tent camp for displaced Palestinians in the coastal area east of the southern city of Khan Younis.

Israel rarely comments on specific incidents during the war. It has held that Hamas is responsible for civilian casualties because the militant group operates from within civilian areas.

The Health Ministry in Gaza said Saturday that at least 30,960 Palestinians have been killed since the war began. It doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government, and its figures from previous wars have largely matched those of the U.N. and independent experts.

Meanwhile, U.S. efforts got under way to set up the temporary pier in Gaza for the sea deliveries. U.S. Central Command said a first U.S. Army vessel, the General Frank S. Besson, left a base in Virginia on Saturday and was on its way to the Eastern Mediterranean with equipment for pier construction.

United States officials said it will likely be weeks before the pier is operational.

The sea corridor is backed by the EU together with the United States, the United Arab Emirates and other countries. The European Commission has said that U.N. agencies and the Red Cross will also play a role.

A ship belonging to Spain’s Open Arms aid group was expected to make a pilot voyage to test the corridor as early as this weekend. The ship has been waiting at Cyprus’s port of Larnaca.

Open Arms founder Oscar Camps has said the ship, which is pulling a barge with 200 tons of rice and flour, would take two to three days to arrive at an undisclosed location.

A member of the charity World Central Kitchen, which is also involved in the test run, said in a post on X that once the barge reaches Gaza, the aid would be off-loaded by a crane, be placed on trucks and driven to northern Gaza, which has been largely cut off from aid shipments.

Senior aid officials have warned that air and sea deliveries can’t make up for a shortage of supply routes on land.

The new push for getting more aid in came on the eve of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which follows a lunar calendar and could start as early as Sunday evening, depending on the sighting of a crescent moon.

Israel declared war on October 7 after Hamas militants attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians and taking 250 hostages. Israel’s blistering air and ground offensive has devastated large parts of Gaza, displaced about 80% of the population of 2.3 million and set off a worsening humanitarian crisis.

The U.S. and regional mediators Egypt and Qatar had hoped to have a six-week cease-fire in place by the start of Ramadan, but talks appeared to be stalled, with Hamas holding out for assurances that a temporary truce will lead to an end of hostilities.

Mediators had hoped to alleviate some of the immediate crisis with the temporary cease-fire, which would have seen Hamas release some of the Israeli hostages it’s holding, Israel release some Palestinian prisoners and aid groups be given access for a major influx of assistance into Gaza.
…

NEW YORK — Fear of crime on subways and buses is back as a top concern in some U.S. cities, and so are efforts to persuade the public officials take the issue seriously.

New York’s governor said Wednesday she would task 750 members of the National Guard with helping patrol the nation’s busiest subway system, saying she felt New York City police needed reinforcements after a shooting on a train platform and a conductor getting slashed in the neck.

In Pennsylvania, legislators created a special prosecutor to go after crimes committed in the transit system that serves the southeast of the state. Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker on Thursday promised to beef up police patrols and use “every legal and constitutional tool” after a spate of transit-related shootings left three dead and 12 wounded, many of them schoolchildren.

“Enough is enough,” she said on WURD radio.

It remains to be seen whether such moves will have any effect on reducing crime in these massive public transit systems.

At least in New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul acknowledged that calling in the National Guard was as much about soothing fears and making a political statement as it was about making mass transit safer. The city’s subways, the Democrat said, were quite safe already. And felony crime hasn’t risen significantly. But a show of force might help dispel anxieties more than any statistic, she reasoned.

“If you feel better walking past someone in a uniform to make sure that someone doesn’t bring a knife or a gun on the subway, then that’s exactly why I did it. I want to change the psychology around crime in New York City,” Hochul said Thursday on MSNBC. “It is safe. But I’m going to make sure people feel safe.”

“I’m also going to demonstrate that Democrats fight crime as well,” she added. “So this narrative that Republicans have said that we’re soft on crime, that we defund the police — no.”

Major crimes in the New York City transit system dropped nearly 3% from 2022 to 2023 — with five killings last year, down from 10 the year prior, according to police. Overall, violent crime in the subway system is rare, with train cars and stations being generally as safe as any other public place.

In Pennsylvania, overall crime has declined on the transit system in recent years, though the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, or SEPTA, reported six killings in 2023, up from a total of seven during the previous three years.

Still, the issue of safety on buses and trains is one that keeps resonating with voters — particularly as some systems recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, when passengers stayed away.

“Recently yeah, it’s been a little unsafe. So I think they should kind of, like, control it before it gets out of hand,” said New York City resident Alan Uloa, 43. “Just people, the way people react to stuff. People just fighting over seats. The other day they slashed the conductor, and that’s not cool.”

In New York, Republicans hammered Democrats on crime during the 2022 midterms, a message that helped the GOP capture suburban congressional seats.

Alex Piquero, a criminology professor at the University of Miami and the former director of the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics, said the heightened law enforcement presence can be a double-edged sword.

“For some people, they’d like to see the added security. They feel safer simply because there’s an officer there,” he said. “And for other people, they’ll say we’re overreacting.”

Vincent Del Castillo, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a former chief of New York City’s transit police, said the political tough talk glosses over the reality that transit crime accounts for just a tiny percentage of all crime.

“You can have 10 to 12 murders in the system when there are literally hundreds across the city, but because it’s so rare, it gets a lot of attention,” he said.

The four shootings on or linked to public transit facilities in Philadelphia began Sunday, when a man was fatally shot by another passenger shortly after they got off a bus. The next day, a teenager was killed and four people injured in gunfire at a bus stop. On Tuesday, police said, someone who had gotten off a bus fired back inside, killing a man.

And on Wednesday, eight teenagers waiting to take a city bus home after school were shot in an attack that also riddled a bus with bullet holes.

SEPTA police Chief Charles Lawson has promised transit officers will take an aggressive approach, using “every criminal code on the book” in order to crackdown on illegal gun possession on the transit system.

“We’re going to target individuals concealing their identity. We’re going to target fare evasion. We’re going to target open drug use,” he said this week.

The National Guard troops in New York City won’t be that active. They have been tasked with helping police conduct random searches of people’s bags as they enter the subway system, a practice in place for nearly two decades.

Passengers have the right to refuse the search, though if they do they are asked to leave the subway system.

The National Guard troops can’t make arrests, but if they witness a crime, they can detain someone until police arrive, just as any civilian can do.

Even though the Guard troops were deployed Thursday, New York City transit passengers might not have noticed. The troops weren’t widely visible at stations or in trains, though some were seen patrolling major hubs including Grand Central Terminal and Penn Station, where they have been a regular presence since the September 11, 2001, terror attacks.

Riders have long been split over the police bag checks, which are infrequent, but can hold someone up as they race for the train. They have also long been a subject of concerns about racial profiling, though the NYPD says it takes steps to avoid it.

“Sometimes when I’m in a hurry and I have a bag, I don’t like to be stopped,” said Jerome Brooks Jr., 44, an actor and musician. “So then I try to see, do they stop me if they’re going to stop somebody else that doesn’t look like me? But in general, I hope they do what’s right.”

Cheryl Ann Harper, 46, said she welcomed the precaution.

“Yes, it is random and we need it,” she said, noting that similar checks are common at theaters. “I do it all the time. OK? Not a big deal. You know, if you don’t have anything to hide, why you can’t open up your bag?”
…

istanbul — Muhterem Evcil was stabbed to death by her estranged husband at her workplace in Istanbul, where he had repeatedly harassed her in breach of a restraining order. The day before, authorities detained him for violating the order but let him go free after questioning. 

More than a decade later, her sister believes Evcil would still be alive if authorities had enforced laws on protecting women and jailed him. 

“As long as justice is not served and men are always put on the forefront, women in this country will always cry,” Cigdem Kuzey said. 

Evcil’s murder in 2013 became a rallying call for greater protection for women in Turkey, but activists say the country has made little progress in keeping women from being killed. They say laws to safeguard women are not sufficiently enforced and abusers are not prosecuted. 

At least 403 women were killed in Turkey last year, most of them by current or former spouses and other men close to them, according to the We Will Stop Femicides Platform, a group that tracks gender-related killings and provides support to victims of violence. 

So far this year, 71 women have been killed in Turkey, including seven on February 27 — the highest known number of such killings there on a single day. 

The WWSF secretary-general, Fidan Ataselim, attributed the killings to deeply patriarchal traditions in the majority Muslim country and to a greater number of women wishing to leave troubled relationships. Others want to work outside the home. 

“Women in Turkey want to live more freely and more equally. Women have changed and progressed a lot in a positive sense,” Ataselim said. “Men cannot accept this, and they are violently trying to suppress the progress of women.” 

Turkey was the first country to sign and ratify a European treaty on preventing violence against women — known as the Istanbul Convention — in 2011. But President Recep Tayyip Erdogan withdrew Turkey from it 10 years later, sparking protests. 

The president’s decision came after pressure from Islamic groups and some officials from Erdogan’s Islam-oriented party. They argued that the treaty was inconsistent with conservative values, eroded the traditional family unit and encouraged divorce. 

Erdogan has said he believes that men and women were not biologically created as equals and that a woman’s priority should be her family and motherhood. 

The president insists that Turkey does not need the Istanbul Convention, and he has vowed to “constantly raise the bar” in preventing violence against women. Last year, his government strengthened legislation by making persistent stalking a crime punishable by up to two years in prison. 

Mahinur Ozdemir Goktas, the minister for family affairs, says she has made protecting women a priority and personally follows trials. 

“Even if the victims have given up on their complaints, we continue to follow them,” she said. “Every case is one too many for us.” 

Ataselim said the Istanbul Convention was an additional layer of protection for women and is pressing for a return to the treaty. Her group is also calling for the establishment of a telephone hotline for women facing violence and for the opening of more women’s shelters, saying the current number is far from meeting demand. 

Most of all, existing measures should be adequately enforced, Ataselim said. 

Activists allege that courts are lenient toward male abusers who claim they were provoked, express remorse or show good behavior during trials. Activists say restraining orders are often too short and those who violate them are not detained, putting women at risk. 

“We believe that each of the femicide cases were preventable deaths,” Ataselim said. 

Each year, women’s activists in Turkey take to the streets on International Women’s Day on March 8 and on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on November 25, demanding greater protection for women and Turkey’s return to the treaty. 

Turkish authorities regularly ban such rallies on security and public order grounds. 

Demonstrators often carry signs that read, “I don’t want to die” – the last words uttered by Emine Bulut, who died in a cafe in Kirikkale in central Turkey after her husband slit her throat in front of her 10-year-old daughter. Her death in 2019 shocked the nation. 

Evcil, killed in a salon where she worked as a manicurist, suffered physical and mental abuse after eloping at 18 to marry her husband, who is currently serving a life sentence in prison, her sister Kuzey said. Evcil decided to leave him after 13 years of marriage. 

Kuzey described her sister as a kind woman who “smiled even when she was crying inside.” 

Authorities have named a park in Istanbul in Evcil’s memory. 

“My hope is that our daughters don’t experience what we have experienced and justice comes to this country,” Kuzey said.
…

Brussels — Right-wingers pushing nationalist and Euroskeptic policies are rubbing their hands ahead of EU elections in June.

Voter surveys show growing support for their platforms, which will likely translate into bigger influence over the bloc’s political agenda.

However, a closer look reveals deep splits in the right-wing camp — especially over attitudes toward Russia — that would prevent a united front.

In the European Parliament, far-right forces are settled into two political groups which are mostly rivals and have failed at attempts to join together.

One is the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR). The other is the Identity and Democracy group (ID).

“ECR is pro-Ukraine, pro-enlargement, pro-NATO. ID is ambivalent about Russia, anti-Atlanticist, anti-enlargement,” explained Peggy Corlin, analyst at the Robert Schuman Foundation.

ECR counts Brothers of Italy, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s far-right party, in its ranks, along with Spain’s Vox, Poland’s populist Law and Justice (PiS), and France’s Reconquete!.

ID is made up of France’s National Rally (RN) whose face is Marine Le Pen, as well as Italy’s League party, Germany’s anti-immigrant AfD, Austria’s FPO and Geert Wilders’ PVV Freedom Party from the Netherlands.

“ECR is more integrated into the EU political game and in the institutional game,” Corlin said. It has two main figureheads: Meloni and Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala.

ID, in contrast, has up to now been treated as something of a political pariah by the other parliamentary groupings.

“The group will take on more importance, to such an extent that I think they can no longer cut us out as they have done since 2019,” predicted one of its EU lawmakers, Jean-Paul Garraud of France’s RN.

Political alliances

However, even within ID there are tensions between those wanting it to appeal more to mainstream voters, as the RN is striving to do, and the likes of AfD — which is suspected of harboring neo-Nazi sympathizers.

Those tensions were laid bare recently when Le Pen publicly distanced herself from the AfD after reports that several of its leaders held a meeting with extremists in which they discussed massively deporting immigrants or Germans of foreign backgrounds.

“We want clarification about what happened, and especially the policies held by the AfD,” Garraud said. “We want to be in agreement with our allies.”

The likely bigger ECR and ID footprints in the parliament could create difficulties for the legislature’s three main groups: the conservative European People’s Party (EPP), from which European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen hails; the leftist Socialists & Democrats (S&D); and the centrist Renew Europe.

The majority decisions those three managed to work out in the past could be upset on certain issues.

The EPP has not ruled out working with ECR — although von der Leyen recently warned she would never cooperate with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “friends” or enemies of “the rule of law.”

That is an allusion to Fidesz, the party of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who maintains close ties to the Kremlin and has put obstacles in the path of EU aid for Ukraine. Fidesz is in talks to join ECR.

“Let’s see what that brings,” said Akos Bence Gat, an expert at the think tank MCC Brussels that is backed by Hungary’s government.

“For me, what’s important is for the sovereignist right wing to be able to come together and form effective cooperation,” he said, adding that he saw scope for areas of agreement to defend “a Europe of nations” that upholds “traditional values” and battles “massive immigration.”

Internal rifts

But if Fidesz does join the ECR, that could prompt other parties in the group, such as Finland’s Finns Party, or the Sweden Democrats, “to reconsider their position,” noted Sanna Salo, a researcher at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs.

But, beyond the internecine rifts, “if there is a shift to the right … they can influence the agenda in other ways,” she said, for instance by pushing governments toward their restrictive migration and climate policies.

Already on migration, the EPP seems ready to embrace the far right’s stance: its latest manifesto vows to have asylum-seekers sent to “safe” countries outside the EU.

That echoes what Britain is trying to do under a deal with Rwanda, which has already run afoul of the European Convention on Human Rights, on which EU law in this area is based.
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MUMBAI, India — Krystyna Pyszková of the Czech Republic was crowned Miss World at a glittering contest held in India on Saturday night.

Yasmina Zaytoun of Lebanon was the first runner-up among 112 contestants in the competition held in Mumbai, India’s financial and entertainment capital.

“Being crowned Miss World is a dream come true. I am deeply honored to represent my country and the values of ‘beauty with a purpose’ on a global platform,” Pyszkova said.

After the reigning Miss World, Karoline Bielawska of Poland, passed the crown to her, Pyszková waved to the large crowd at the Jio World Convention Center and hugged some of the other contestants.

The event showcased the rich tapestry of India’s culture, traditions, heritage, arts and crafts, and textiles to a massive global audience. The participants wore heavily embroidered skirts and blouses and danced to popular Bollywood songs.

The beauty competition returned to India for the first time in 28 years.

India’s Sini Shetty exited after making it to the final eight. Six Indian women have won the title, including Reita Faria (1966), Aishwarya Rai (1994), Diana Hayden (1997), Yukta Mookhey (1999), Priyanka Chopra (2000) and Manushi Chillar (2017).

The 71st Miss World beauty pageant was hosted by Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar and Miss World 2013 Megan Young from the Philippines.
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Wilmington, delaware — U.S. President Joe Biden said Saturday that he believes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “hurting Israel more than helping Israel” in how he is approaching its war against Hamas in Gaza.

Biden expressed support for Israel’s right to pursue Hamas after the October 7 terror attack but said Netanyahu “must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequence of the actions taken.”

For months, Biden has warned that Israel risks losing international support over mounting civilian casualties in Gaza, and the latest remarks in an interview with MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart pointed to the increasingly strained relationship between the two leaders.

Biden said of the death toll in Gaza, “it’s contrary to what Israel stands for. And I think it’s a big mistake.”

Biden said a potential Israeli invasion of the Gaza city of Rafah, where more than 1.3 million Palestinians are sheltering, is “a red line” for him, but said he would not cut off weapons such as the Iron Dome missile interceptors which protect the Israeli civilian populace from rocket attacks in the region.

“It is a red line,” he said, when asked about Rafah, “but I’m never going to leave Israel. The defense of Israel is still critical, so there’s no red line I’m going to cut off all weapons, so they don’t have the Iron Dome to protect them.”

Biden said he was willing to make his case directly to the Israeli Knesset, its parliament, including by making another trip to the country. He traveled to Israel weeks after the October 7 attack. He declined to elaborate on how or whether such a trip might materialize.

The U.S. leader had hoped to secure a temporary cease-fire before Ramadan begins this week, though that appears increasingly unlikely as Hamas has balked at a deal pushed by the U.S. and its allies that would have seen fighting pause for about six weeks, the release of additional hostages held by Hamas and Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, and a surge in humanitarian aid into Gaza. Biden noted CIA Director Bill Burns is in the region currently trying to resurrect the deal.
…

atlanta, georgia — U.S. President Joe Biden said Saturday that he regretted using the term “illegal” during his State of the Union address to describe the suspected killer of Laken Riley. His all-but-certain 2024 GOP rival, Donald Trump, blasted the Democrat’s immigration policies and blamed them for her death at a rally attended by the Georgia nursing student’s family and friends. 

Biden expressed remorse for the use of the term to describe people who arrived or are living in the U.S. illegally. 

“I shouldn’t have used illegal, it’s undocumented,” he said in an interview with MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart taped in Atlanta, Georgia, where the president was meeting with small business owners and holding a campaign rally. 

Trump, campaigning in Rome, Georgia, at the same time, blasted Biden for the comments. 

“Joe Biden went on television and apologized for calling Laken’s murderer an illegal,” he said to jeers and boos. “Biden should be apologizing for apologizing to this killer.” 

Death becomes rallying cry

The back-and-forth underscored how Riley’s killing has become a flashpoint in the 2024 campaign and a rallying cry for Republicans who blame the Biden administration’s handling of the U.S-Mexico border for a record number of migrants entering the country. An immigrant from Venezuela who entered the U.S. illegally has been arrested and charged with Riley’s murder. 

Trump was joined at his rally by Riley’s parents, sister and friends and met with them before he took the stage.  

Trump, in a speech that lasted nearly two hours, hammered Biden on the border and for mispronouncing Riley’s name during his State of the Union address this past week. 

“What Joe Biden has done on our border is a crime against humanity and the people of this nation for which he will never be forgiven,” Trump charged, alleging that Riley “would be alive today if Joe Biden had not willfully and maliciously eviscerated the borders of the United States and set loose thousands and thousands of dangerous criminals into our country.” 

Biden earlier this year bucked activists within his party by agreeing to make changes to U.S. immigration law that would have limited some migration. The deal that emerged would have overhauled the asylum system to provide faster and tougher enforcement, as well as given presidents new powers to immediately expel migrants if authorities become overwhelmed. It also would have added $20 billion in funding, a huge influx of cash. 

The changes became part of a short-lived bipartisan compromise in the Senate that was quickly killed by Republican lawmakers after Trump made his opposition known. 

Since then, Biden has insisted that Congress take up the measure again, arguing Republicans are more interested in being able to talk about the issue in an election year than taking action to fix it. 

Georgia considered pivotal again

Earlier Saturday, both Biden and Trump warned of dire consequences for the country if the other wins another term in the White House as the pair held dueling rallies in Georgia. 

The state was a pivotal 2020 battleground — so close four years ago that Trump has been indicted here for asking election officials to “find 11,780 votes” and overturn Biden’s victory. Both parties are preparing for another closely contested race in the state this year.  

Biden opened his speech at a rally in Atlanta by noting that Trump hosted Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban — who has rolled back democracy in his country — at his Florida club the day before.  

“When he says he wants to be a dictator, I believe him,” Biden said of Trump. “Our freedoms are literally on the ballot this November.”  

Biden hosted the rally at Pullman Yards, a 27-acre arts and entertainment venue in Atlanta, and received the endorsement of Collective PAC, Latino Victory Fund and AAPI Victory Fund, a trio of political groups representing, respectively, Black, Latino, and Asian Americans and Pacific Island voters. The groups were announcing a $30 million commitment to mobilize voters on Biden’s behalf.  

Crowd shows support for Jan. 6 insurrection

Trump’s rally opened by asking attendees to rise to support the hundreds of people serving jail time for their roles in the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, when thousands of pro-Trump supporters tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election by halting the counting of Electoral College votes.  

The intensity of the rhetoric presaged a grueling eight months of campaigning ahead in the state.  

“We’re a true battleground state now,” said U.S. Representative Nikema Williams, an Atlanta Democrat who doubles as state party chairwoman.  

Once a Republican stronghold, Georgia is now competitive with a path to victory for both Biden and Trump. 
…

…

CAIRO — U.S., French and British forces downed dozens of drones in the Red Sea area overnight and Saturday after Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis targeted bulk carrier Propel Fortune and U.S. destroyers in the region, the U.S. military said in a statement. 

The Houthis have been attacking ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November in what they say is a campaign of solidarity with Palestinians during Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.  

The group’s military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a televised speech Saturday they had targeted the cargo vessel and “a number of U.S. war destroyers at the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden with 37 drones.”  

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said the U.S. military and coalition forces had downed at least 28 uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) over the Red Sea in the early hours of Saturday. 

“No U.S. or Coalition Navy vessels were damaged in the attack and there were also no reports by commercial ships of damage,” CENTCOM said in a statement. 

Earlier on Saturday, CENTCOM said the military was responding to a large-scale attack on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden between 4 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. (0100-0330 GMT).  

The UAVs were intended to present “an imminent threat to merchant vessels, U.S. Navy, and coalition ships in the region,” it said in a post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.  

A French warship and fighter jets also shot down four combat drones that were advancing toward naval vessels belonging to the European Aspides mission in the region, a French army statement said. 

“This defensive action directly contributed to the protection of the cargo ship True Confidence, under the Barbados flag, which was struck on March 6 and is being towed, as well as other commercial vessels transiting in the area,” it said. 

France has a warship in the area as well as warplanes at its bases in Djibouti and the United Arab Emirates. 

Drone attack  

Britain’s Ministry of Defense said its warship HMS Richmond had joined international allies in repelling a Houthi drone attack overnight, saying no injuries or damage were sustained. 

“Last night, HMS Richmond used its Sea Ceptor missiles to shoot down two attack drones — successfully repelling yet another illegal attack by the Iranian-backed Houthis,” defense minister Grant Shapps said on X. 

“The U.K. and our allies will continue to take the action necessary to save lives and protect freedom of navigation.” 

On Wednesday, three seafarers were killed in a missile strike by the Houthis on the Greek-operated True Confidence, the first civilian casualties since the group started its attacks on the key shipping route.  

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) also confirmed there had been an attempted attack on the Singapore-flagged Propel Fortune. 

It said the shipping company reported two explosions in close vicinity of the bulk carrier, but all crew on board were safe and the vessel was proceeding to its next port of call.  

“Based on sources, Propel Fortune was likely targeted due to outdated U.S. ownership data,” UKMTO said in a statement. 

Sarea said the Houthis would continue their attacks “until the aggression stops and the siege on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is lifted.” 
…

Dallas, Texas — Once again, most Americans will set their clocks forward by one hour this weekend, losing perhaps a bit of sleep but gaining more glorious sunlight in the evenings as the days warm into summer.

Where did this all come from, though?

How we came to move the clock forward in the spring, and then push it back in the fall, is a tale that spans over more than a century — one that’s driven by two world wars, mass confusion at times and a human desire to bask in the sun for as long as possible.

There’s been plenty of debate over the practice, but about 70 countries — about 40% of those across the globe — currently use what Americans call daylight saving time.

World wars

Germany began using daylight saving time during World War I with the thought that it would save energy. Other countries, including the United States, soon followed. During World War II, the U.S. once again instituted what was dubbed “war time” nationwide, this time year-round.

After World War II, a patchwork of timekeeping emerged across the United States, with some areas keeping daylight saving time and others ditching it.

To stem the confusion, in 1966 the U.S. Congress passed the Uniform Time Act, which says states can either implement daylight saving time or not, but it has to be statewide. The act also mandates the day that daylight saving time starts and ends across the country.

In the United States today, every state except Hawaii and Arizona observes daylight saving time. Around the world, Europe, much of Canada and part of Australia also implement it, while Russia and Asia don’t.

Switching and grumbling

Changing the clocks twice a year leads to a lot of grumbling, and pushes to either use standard time all year, or stick to daylight saving time all year often crop up.

During the 1970s energy crisis, the U.S. started doing daylight saving time all year long, and Americans didn’t like it.

With the sun not rising in the winter in some areas until around 9 a.m. or later, people were waking up in the dark, going to work in the dark and sending their children to school in the dark, said David Prerau, author of the book “Seize the Daylight: The Curious and Contentious Story of Daylight Saving Time.”

“It became very unpopular very quickly,” he added.

He noted that using standard time all year would mean losing that extra hour of daylight for eight months in the evenings in the United States.
…