Civilians flee embattled town as Ukrainian pullout looms

KHROMOVE, Ukraine (AP) — Pressure from Russian forces mounted Saturday on Ukrainians hunkered down in Bakhmut, as residents attempted to flee with help from troops who Western analysts say may be preparing to withdraw from the key eastern stronghold.

A woman was killed and two men were badly wounded by shelling while trying to cross a makeshift bridge out of the city in Donetsk province, according to Ukrainian troops who were assisting them.

A Ukrainian army representative who asked not to be named for operational reasons told The Associated Press that it was now too dangerous for civilians to leave Bakhmut by vehicle and that people had to flee on foot instead.

Bakhmut has for months been a prime target of Moscow’s grinding eastern offensive in the war, with Russian troops, including forces from the private Wagner Group, inching ever closer.

An AP team near Bakhmut on Saturday saw a pontoon bridge set up by Ukrainian soldiers to help the few remaining residents reach the nearby village of Khromove. Later they saw at least five houses on fire as a result of attacks in Khromove.

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Texas congressman who broke with GOP is censured

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Republican U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas was censured Saturday in a rare move by his state party over votes that included supporting new gun safety laws after the Uvalde school shooting in his district.

The Republican Party of Texas voted 57-5 with one abstention, underlining how the two-term congressman's willingness to break with conservatives on key issues during his short time in office has caused GOP activists and some colleagues to bristle.

That independent streak includes opposing a sweeping House GOP immigration proposal over the U.S.-Mexico border, which includes a large portion of his South Texas district. He has also voted to defend same-sex marriage and was an outright "no" against a House rules package after Republican leader Kevin McCarthy became speaker.

Gonzales was defiant before the vote and did not attend the meeting of Texas GOP leaders and activists in Austin.

“We’ll see how that goes,” he told reporters in San Antonio on Thursday.

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Global race to boost electric vehicle range in cold weather

TOK, Alaska (AP) — Alaska’s rugged and frigid interior, where it can get as cold as minus 50 Fahrenheit (minus 46 Celsius), is not the place you’d expect to find an electric school bus.

But here is Bus No. 50, with a cartoon horse decal on its side, quietly traversing about 40 miles of snowy and icy roads each day in Tok, shuttling students to school not far from the Canadian border.

It works OK on the daily route. But cold temperatures rob electric vehicle batteries of traveling range, so No. 50 can’t go on longer field trips, or to Anchorage or Fairbanks.

It’s a problem that some owners of electric passenger vehicles and transit officials are finding in cold climates worldwide. At 20 degrees F (minus 7 C), electric vehicles just don’t go as far as they do at the ideal 70 degrees. Part of it is that keeping passengers warm using traditional technology drains the battery.

So longer trips can be difficult in the coldest weather. Transit authorities like Chicago’s, which has pledged to convert its whole bus fleet to electricity by 2040, have to take extraordinary steps to keep electric buses charged and on schedule.

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Marianne Williamson begins longshot 2024 challenge to Biden

WASHINGTON (AP) — Self-help author Marianne Williamson, whose 2020 White House campaign featured more quirky calls for spiritual healing than actual voter support, launched another longshot bid for the presidency on Saturday, becoming the first Democrat to formally challenge President Joe Biden for the 2024 nomination.

“We are upset about this country, we're worried about this country,” Williamson told a crowd of more than 600 at a kickoff in the nation's capital. "It is our job to create a vision of justice and love that is so powerful that it will override the forces of hatred and injustice and fear."

The 70-year-old onetime spiritual adviser to Oprah Winfrey should provide only token primary opposition — a testament to how strongly national Democrats are united behind Biden. Still, she tweaked the president, a longtime Amtrak rider, by holding her opening rally at the ornately marble-columned presidential suite at Union Station, Washington's railway hub.

Biden gave his own speech from Union Station just before last November's elections, when he led Democrats to a surprisingly strong showing, urging voters to reject political extremism and saying “democracy itself” was at stake.

Williamson, whose red, blue and black campaign signs feature the dual slogans “A New Beginning" and “Disrupt the System,” says she'll be campaigning in early-voting states on the 2024 election calendar.

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Trump pitches a sequel, but shies away from attacking rivals

OXON HILL, Md. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump cast himself Saturday as the only Republican candidate who can build on his White House legacy but shied away from directly critiquing his potential rivals, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Trump, giving the headlining address at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, told a cheering crowd that he was engaged in his “final battle” as he tries to return to the White House.

“We are going to finish what we started,” he said. “We’re going to complete the mission. We’re going to see this battle through to ultimate victory.”

Though DeSantis, seen as Trump's biggest potential rival, is frequently a subject of name-calling and other attacks in Trump's social media posts and in interviews, he wasn't mentioned directly in Trump's address before conservative activists, who earlier in the day applauded when an old video clip of the Florida governor was shown in a montage.

While CPAC was once a must-stop for candidates mulling Republican presidential runs, DeSantis and other major likely contenders skipped this year's gathering amid scandal and as the group has increasingly become aligned with Trump.

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China sets this year's economic growth target at 'around 5%'

BEIJING (AP) — China’s government announced plans for a consumer-led revival of the struggling economy as its legislature opened a session Sunday that will tighten President Xi Jinping’s control over business and society.

Premier Li Keqiang, the top economic official, set this year's growth target at “around 5%” following the end of anti-virus controls that kept millions of people at home and triggered protests. Last year's growth in the world's second-largest economy fell to 3%, the second-weakest level since at least the 1970s.

“We should give priority to the recovery and expansion of consumption,” Li said in a speech on government plans before the ceremonial National People’s Congress in the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing.

The full meeting of the 2,977 members of the NPC is the year’s highest-profile event but its work is limited to endorsing decisions made by the ruling Communist Party and showcasing official initiatives.

This month, the NPC is due to endorse the appointment of a government of Xi loyalists including a new premier after the 69-year-old president expanded his status as China’s most powerful figure in decades by awarding himself a third five-year term as party general secretary in October, possibly preparing to become leader for life. Li, an advocate of free enterprise, was forced out as the No. 2 party leader in October.

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Biden expected to tighten rules on US investment in China

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — The Biden administration is close to tightening rules on some overseas investments by U.S. companies in an effort to limit China's ability to acquire technologies that could improve its military prowess, according to a U.S. official familiar with the deliberations.

The soon-to-be-issued executive order from President Joe Biden will limit American investment in advanced technologies that have national security applications — such as next-generation military capabilities that could help China improve the speed and accuracy of military decision making, according to the official, who was not authorized to comment and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The expected action is the latest effort by the White House to target China's military and technology sectors at a time of increasingly fraught relations between the world's two biggest economies.

In October, the Biden administration imposed export controls to limit China’s ability to access advanced chips, which it says can be used to make weapons, commit human rights abuses and improve the speed and accuracy of its military logistics.

The complicated relationship has become further strained in recent weeks after the U.S. shot down a Chinese spy balloon last month that traversed the country. The Biden administration has also publicized U.S. intelligence findings that raise concern Beijing is weighing providing Russia weaponry for its ongoing war on Ukraine.

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Snow blankets Northeast as cleanup begins from deadly storm

Cleanup began in battered parts of the South and Midwest after a sprawling storm system produced ferocious winds and heavy snow that caused widespread damage and multiple deaths before racing through the Northeast on Saturday.

More than a foot of snow fell in parts of New York state, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine before the late-winter storm started to ebb late in the day. Driving conditions were hazardous, as dozens of cars, trucks and tractor-trailers slid off roads, police said. In New York’s capital region of Albany, crews worked to restore power to nearly 20,000 customers as heavy, damp snow snapped tree branches.

The storm’s death toll rose with additional fatalities reported in Indiana and Michigan, while Kentucky’s governor said at least five people died in that state as the system spawned straight-line winds, possible tornadoes and powerful thunderstorms in the South on Friday.

The system previously slammed California with as much as 10 feet (3 meters) of snow. Search crews have rescued several Californians stranded in the state’s mountain communities, and some residents in the mountains east of Los Angeles will likely remain trapped in their homes for at least another week after the snowfall proved too much to handle for most plows.

In Indiana, a state trooper was struck by a vehicle and killed Friday afternoon while assisting with traffic backups following weather-related crashes.

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After Murdaugh trial 'circus,' Walterboro welcomes normality

WALTERBORO, S.C. (AP) — Walterboro native Danny Murdaugh is ready for his small South Carolina town to return to normal following the double murder trial of a distant relative that drew global attention and sullied his family’s surname.

He lamented the “circus” brought to Walterboro by the six-week trial of Alex Murdaugh, which ended this week with the disgraced attorney sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of murdering his wife and son.

The spectacle altered life in Walterboro for over a month as an influx of locals, tourists and media flocked to the otherwise quiet downtown area to join the gripping trial. Teachers adjusted drop-off and pickup routines at the school down the street from the courthouse. On the other side of the street, entrepreneurs parked food trucks to cash in on the crowds. A newly opened pottery gift shop nearby set up a photo opportunity that read “I was at the Murdaugh trial.”

Walterboro Police Chief Kevin Martin said the city incurred $35,500 in overtime pay, facilities rentals and technology upgrades related to the trial — not including costs this week.

Regular appearances from elected officials like South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson and television personalities like legal analyst Nancy Grace also turned heads.

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Ja Morant says he'll get help after video shows apparent gun

Ja Morant will be away from the Memphis Grizzlies for at least their next two games, the team announced Saturday, not long after the NBA opened an investigation into a social media post by the guard, who livestreamed himself holding what appeared to be a gun at a nightclub.

Morant said in a statement distributed through the agency that represents him that he takes “full responsibility” for his actions and that he was going to “take some time away to get help.”

The video was streamed by Morant on his Instagram page early Saturday, hours after the Grizzlies played in Denver. They were flying to Los Angeles on Saturday for games against the Clippers on Sunday and the Lakers on Tuesday.

Morant will miss those two games, at minimum, the Grizzlies said, without further comment.

“We are aware of a social media post involving Ja Morant and are investigating,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said earlier Saturday.

News from © The Associated Press, 2023