Russian mercenaries' revolt undermines Putin and could lead to further challenges to his rule

For the first time in his more than 20-year rule, President Vladimir Putin’s power appeared to hang in the balance this weekend.

And even though the rebellious Russian mercenary forces who descended on Moscow have turned back, Putin will struggle to project the image of a man in total control that he once did. That could set the stage for further challenges to his rule at home and could weaken Russia's hand in the war in Ukraine.

With spectacular ease and a stated aim of ousting Russia's defense minister, Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner troops swept into Rostov-on-Don, a city of 1.1 million people, and seized the military headquarters there. They then continued hundreds of kilometers (miles) north on a lightning march toward the capital without meeting any serious resistance.

Some were even cheered — a sign that Prigozhin's positioning of himself as an enemy of a corrupt and incompetent elite resonated and a detail that will not be lost on those surrounding Putin in the coming days.

“This whole episode has sowed really profound anxiety across Russia’s elites,” said Nigel Gould-Davies, a senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia at the Institute for Strategic Studies. The actions of the Russian leader's one-time protégé “severely shake confidence in Putin among those around him who matter.”

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When wealthy adventurers take huge risks, who should foot the bill for rescue attempts?

When millionaire Steve Fossett’s plane went missing over the Nevada range in 2007, the swashbuckling adventurer had already been the subject of two prior emergency rescue operations thousands of miles apart.

And that prompted a prickly question: After a sweeping search for the wealthy risktaker ended, who should foot the bill?

In recent days, the massive hunt for a submersible vehicle lost during a north Atlantic descent to explore the wreckage of the Titanic has refocused attention on that conundrum. And with rescuers and the public fixated first on saving and then on mourning those aboard, it has again made for uneasy conversation.

“Five people have just lost their lives and to start talking about insurance, all the rescue efforts and the cost can seem pretty heartless — but the thing is, at the end of the day, there are costs,” said Arun Upneja, dean of Boston University’s School of Hospitality Administration and a researcher on tourism.

“There are many people who are going to say, ‘Why should the society spend money on the rescue effort if (these people) are wealthy enough to be able to ... engage in these risky activities?’”

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US Coast Guard will lead investigation of Titan implosion with help from Canada, France, UK

The U.S. Coast Guard said Sunday it is leading an investigation into the loss of the Titan submersible that was carrying five people to the Titanic, to determine what caused it to implode.

Capt. Jason Neubauer, chief investigator, said the salvage operations from the sea floor are ongoing, and they have mapped the accident site. He did not give a timeline for the investigation. The convening of a Marine Board of Investigation is the highest level of investigation conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard, Neubauer said.

Investigators are working closely with other national and international investigative authorities, including the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, Transportation Safety Board of Canada, the French marine casualties investigation board and the United Kingdom Marine Accident Investigation Branch, Neubauer added. Evidence is being collected in the port of St. John's, Newfoundland, in coordination with Canadian authorities.

The Coast Guard board can make recommendations to prosecutors to pursue civil or criminal sanctions as necessary.

“My primary goal is to prevent a similar occurrence by making the necessary recommendations to advance the safety of the maritime domain worldwide,” Neubauer said.

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As fuel taxes plummet, states weigh charging by the mile instead of the tank

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Evan Burroughs has spent eight years touting the virtues of an Oregon pilot program charging motorists by the distance their vehicle travels rather than the gas it guzzles, yet his own mother still hasn't bought in.

Margaret Burroughs, 85, said she has no intention of inserting a tracking device on her Nissan Murano to record the miles she drives to get groceries or attend needlepoint meetings. She figures it's far less hassle to just pay at the pump, as Americans have done for more than a century.

“It’s probably a good thing, but on top of everybody else’s stress today, it’s just one more thing,” she said of Oregon's first-in-the-nation initiative, which is run by the state transportation department where her son serves as a survey analyst.

Burroughs’ reluctance exemplifies the myriad hurdles U.S. states face as they experiment with road usage charging programs aimed at one day replacing motor fuel taxes, which are generating less each year, in part due to fuel efficiency and the rise of electric cars.

The federal government is about to pilot its own such program, funded by $125 million from the infrastructure measure President Biden signed in November 2021.

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No more needles? A daily pill may work as well as Wegovy shots to treat obesity

What if treating obesity could be as easy as popping an effective pill?

That's a notion that has long fueled hope for many of the more than 40% of Americans who are considered obese — and fueled criticism by those who advocate for wider weight acceptance. Soon, it may be a reality.

High-dose oral versions of the medication in the weight-loss drug Wegovy may work as well as the popular injections when it comes to paring pounds and improving health, according to final results of two studies released Sunday night. The potent tablets also appear to work for people with diabetes, who notoriously struggle to lose weight.

Drugmaker Novo Nordisk plans to ask the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve the pills later this year.

“If you ask people a random question, ‘Would you rather take a pill or an injection?’ People overwhelmingly prefer a pill,” said Dr. Daniel Bessesen, chief of endocrinology at Denver Health, who treats patients with obesity but was not involved in the new research.

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Trump returns to Michigan with hopes of repeating the battleground success he found in 2016

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Donald Trump appeared in Michigan on Sunday as he looks to reclaim territory that helped propel him to the White House but slipped from his grasp four years later.

Campaigning for a return to the presidency while facing a federal indictment for allegedly mishandling classified documents, Trump spoke in suburban Detroit, where he lost ground between 2016 and 2020 and would need to win it back if he becomes the 2024 Republican nominee. He would have to reverse the recent trend in Michigan that has seen Democrats make some of their biggest gains nationally since Trump's reelection loss.

Trump spoke at Oakland County GOP’s Lincoln Day Dinner, where he was honored by the party as its “Man of the Decade." Trump frequently attacked President Joe Biden throughout his speech Sunday, saying Biden was a “catastrophe” for Michigan and auto production in the state. Trump also criticized Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a co-chair of Biden’s reelection campaign, for approving state funds for a foreign company.

It was his first campaign appearance in Michigan, one of three states, along with Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, that flipped in 2016 to put Trump in the White House and Biden, a Democrat, four years later.

Trump’s popularity in Michigan has taken a hit since 2016.

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BET Awards host party-like tribute to hip-hop, performance honoring legends like Takeoff, Markie

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The 2023 BET Awards celebrated 50 years of hip-hop with tributes to the genre’s earliest voices, late legends, and new talent during a performance-packed show that consistently felt like a party.

Sunday's biggest surprise was a rare public performance by Quavo and Offset, the surviving members of Migos, who did a rendition of “Bad and Boujee” in front of an image of Takeoff, who died in a shooting last December. He was 28.

Throughout the show, whether it was Tupac, Warren G, Notorious B.I.G., Biz Markie or Pop Smoke, performers and emcee Kid Capri paid homage to late hip-hop stars, often by quickly highlighting a taste of their best-known hits. In a show where the awards are few and far between, Capri and BET kept the emphasis on the music.

Old school hip-hop heroes and modern stars mixed it up onstage, performing tracks celebrating rap’s most influential cities and innovation. For Miami, Trick Daddy and Trina rocked through “Nann” and Uncle Luke took on “I Wanna Rock (Doo Doo Brown).” For Atlanta, Jeezy ripped through “They Know”, T.I. hit “24’s,” and Master P did “No Limit Soldiers” into “Make ‘Em Say Ugh.” And for hip-hop’s reggae influence, Jamaica’s Doug E. Fresh and Lil ’Vicious did an acapella version of “Freaks,” Mad Lion performed “Take It Easy,” and PATRA nailed “Romantic Call.”

Capri spun some of Tupac’s “Hail Marry” to tease a crash course on West Coast rap: Warren G’s “Regulate,” Yo-Yo’s “You Can’t Play With My Yo-Yo,” Tyga’s “Rack City”, and E-40’s “Tell Me When To Go.”

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Riders plunge from a derailed roller coaster in Sweden, killing one and injuring several others

STOCKHOLM (AP) — A roller coaster train derailed in Stockholm on Sunday, sending some passengers plunging to the ground in an amusement park accident that left one dead and nine injured, police and park officials said.

Witnesses described a chaotic scene at the Gröna Lund park as the front of the train appeared to jump off the tracks before coming to a stop, with one car tilted toward the ground.

“The front of the train partly derailed and stopped on the track at a height of between 6 and 8 meters (between 20 and 25 feet),” park chief executive Jan Eriksson said. “A total of 14 people were on board, of which one person has died and several are injured.”

The regional government said nine people were taken to a hospital, one of them in serious condition. Three of the injured were children, all of them with minor injuries, it said.

Witness Ziba Assadi told Swedish broadcaster TV4 that she was standing just below the Jetline roller coaster when she saw the wheel assembly of one of the cars crashing to the ground.

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Civil rights icon James Meredith, 90, falls at Mississippi event but has no visible injuries

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Civil rights icon James Meredith fell outside the Mississippi Capitol on Sunday at an event marking his 90th birthday, but he suffered no visible injuries and was resting comfortably at home later.

Meredith leaned onto an unsecured portable lectern as he stood to speak to about 200 people. The lectern toppled forward, and he fell on top of it. Those around him quickly scrambled to stand Meredith up upright, and they helped him back into the wheelchair he had been using. People also gave him ice packs and cold water as the temperature hovered at about 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius).

Meredith remained at the event until it ended about 45 minutes later. An ambulance crew checked him afterward, and Meredith then left in a sport utility vehicle with friends and family.

His wife, Judy Alsobrooks Meredith, said in a text message to The Associated Press hours later that he was at home with family.

“He's enjoying his birthday cake now,” she said. “He's tougher than anybody I've ever known.”

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LGBTQ+ Pride Month reaches its grand crescendo on city streets from New York to San Francisco

NEW YORK (AP) — Thousands of effusive marchers danced to club music in New York City streets Sunday as bubbles and confetti rained down, and fellow revelers from Toronto to San Francisco cheered through Pride Month's grand crescendo.

New York's boisterous throng strolled and danced down Fifth Avenue to Greenwich Village, cheering and waving rainbow flags to commemorate the 1969 Stonewall uprising, where a police raid on a gay bar triggered days of protests and launched the modern movement for LGBTQ+ rights.

While some people whooped it up in celebration, many were mindful of the growing conservative countermovement, including new laws banning gender-affirming care for transgender children.

“I’m trying not to be very heavily political, but when it does target my community, I get very, very annoyed and very hurt,” said Ve Cinder, a 22-year-old transgender woman who traveled from Pennsylvania to take part in the country's largest Pride event.

“I’m just, like, scared for my future and for my trans siblings. I’m frightened of how this country has looked at human rights, basic human rights,” she said. “It's crazy.”

News from © The Associated Press, 2023