Manhattan court must find a dozen jurors to hear first-ever criminal case against a former president
NEW YORK (AP) — A dozen Manhattan residents are soon to become the first Americans ever to sit in judgment of a former president charged with a crime. Jury selection is set to start Monday in former President Donald Trump’s hush-money trial. The presumptive Republican nominee has pleaded not guilty. The proceedings present a historic challenge for the court, the lawyers and the everyday citizens who find themselves in the jury pool. Those problems include finding people who can be impartial about one of the most polarizing figures in American life and detecting any bias among prospective jurors without invading the privacy of the ballot box.
Russian soldiers who quit Putin's war get no hero’s welcome abroad as asylum claims surge
ASTANA, Kazakhstan (AP) — Growing numbers of Russian soldiers are trying to get out of the war in Ukraine. Overall asylum claims from Russians have surged in the U.S., France and Germany since Russia's full-scale invasion two years ago, but few are getting in. Russian soldiers present particular concern: Are they spies? War criminals? Or heroes? The Associated Press spoke with five officers and one soldier who deserted, some through underground networks of Russian activists who guided them on secret escape routes. Facing criminal charges in Russia, all but one live in hiding as they wait for a welcome from the West that hasn't arrived. They argue that helping deserters is in the West's own interest and less costly than shipping weapons to Ukraine.
The Latest | 2 Palestinians killed and 3 injured in confrontations with Israeli forces in West Bank
Two Palestinians have been killed early Friday in confrontations with Israeli forces in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The Palestine Red Crescent Society confirmed the two deaths and said three people were wounded. The Islamic militant group Hamas says one of those killed was a local commander. Palestinian health officials say 460 Palestinians, including several dozen children and teens, have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The war started Oct. 7, when Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis in a surprise attack, mostly civilians. Palestinian militants took around 250 people hostage. Gaza's Health Ministry says Israeli bombardments and ground offensives have killed more than 33,300 Palestinians in the territory.
20 years later, Abu Ghraib detainees get their day in US court
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — Twenty years ago this month, photos of abused prisoners and smiling U.S. soldiers guarding them at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison were released, shocking the world. Now, three survivors of Abu Ghraib will finally get their day in U.S. court against the military contractor they hold responsible for their mistreatment. A trial scheduled to begin Monday in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, will be the first time that Abu Ghraib survivors have been able to bring their claims of torture to a U.S. jury. The defendant in the civil suit, CACI, supplied the interrogators who worked at the prison. The Virginia-based contractor denies any wrongdoing.
'I'm dying, you're not': Those terminally ill ask more states to legalize physician-assisted death
DENVER (AP) — Lawmakers in at least 12 states are debating bills that would legalize physician-assisted death. The laws would allow terminally ill patients under specified conditions to end their lives with a doctor’s help. Physician-assisted death is contentious and only 10 states and Washington, D.C., allow it. Patients must be at least 18 years old, within six months of death and be assessed by doctors to ensure they are capable of making an informed decision. Two states have gone in the opposite direction. Kansas has a bill to further criminalize those who help someone with their physician-assisted death. West Virginia is asking voters to enshrine its current ban into the state constitution.
A healthy US economy's secret ingredient: Immigrant workers, eager to fill jobs
MIAMI (AP) — Millions of jobs that new immigrants have been filling in the United States appear to solve a riddle that has confounded economists for at least a year: How has the U.S. economy managed to prosper, adding hundreds of thousands of jobs, month after month, at a time when the Federal Reserve has aggressively raised interest rates — normally a recipe for a recession? It turns out that the influx of foreign-born adults vastly raised the supply of available workers at a time when a labor shortage had left many companies unable to fill jobs. Over the past year, in fact, immigrants have accounted for all the growth in U.S. employment.
Teaching refugee women to drive goes farther than their destination
STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. (AP) — A greater Atlanta program called Women Behind the Wheel offers 14 hours of free drivers’ education to mostly refugee and immigrant women. Many of the women who enroll come from countries that discourage women from driving or working outside their home. However, the women and their families learn how access to their own transportation can help them build a future in the U.S. Women Behind the Wheel is unique to Georgia, but similar programs exist across the country. So far, there have been 230 graduates of the Atlanta-area program, including a few men. The driving program typically has a three-to-four-month waitlist because of the demand.
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