New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo Resigning Over Sexual Harassment

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced his resignation Tuesday over a barrage of sexual harassment allegations in a fall from grace a year after he was widely hailed nationally for his detailed daily briefings and leadership during some of the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

https://apnews.com/article/andrew-cuomo-resigns-17161f546bb83c32a337036ecf8d2a34

At Least 304 Dead, 1,800 Hurt as Powerful Quake Slams Haiti

A powerful magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck southwestern Haiti on Saturday, killing at least 304 people and injuring at least 1,800 others as buildings tumbled into rubble. Prime Minister Ariel Henry said he was rushing aid to areas where towns were destroyed and hospitals overwhelmed with incoming patients.

https://apnews.com/article/caribbean-haiti-earthquakes-e067bc2ba933fb40c6d98d34a41a7729

Taliban Sweep into Afghan Capital after Government Collapses

The Taliban swept into Afghanistan’s capital Sunday after the government collapsed and the embattled president joined an exodus of his fellow citizens and foreigners, signaling the end of a costly two-decade U.S. campaign to remake the country.

https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-taliban-kabul-bagram-e1ed33fe0c665ee67ba132c51b8e32a5

US, Afghan Officials: At Least 72 Killed in Airport Attack

An Afghan official says at least 60 Afghans were killed and another 143 were wounded in the attack outside Kabul airport. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief media. U.S. officials say 12 military service members were also killed in the attack outside the airport.

https://apnews.com/article/europe-france-evacuations-kabul-9e457201e5bbe75a4eb1901fedeee7a1

Last Troops Exit Afghanistan, Ending America’s Longest War

The United States completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan late Monday, ending America’s longest war and closing a chapter in military history likely to be remembered for colossal failures, unfulfilled promises and a frantic final exit that cost the lives of more than 180 Afghans and 13 U.S. service members, some barely older than the war.

https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-islamic-state-group-e10e038baea732dae879c11234507f81

SpaceX Launches 4 Amateurs on Private Earth-Circling Trip

SpaceX’s first private flight blasted off Wednesday night with two contest winners, a health care worker and their rich sponsor, the most ambitious leap yet in space tourism.

It was the first time a rocket streaked toward orbit with an all-amateur crew — no professional astronauts.

https://apnews.com/article/spacex-lifestyle-health-florida-travel-31a07f6a9f35d4a33880cb971f78452f

First Confirmed US Case of Omicron Coronavirus Variant Detected in California

The United States’ first confirmed case of the Omicron coronavirus variant has been identified in California, according to a source familiar.

The World Health Organization designates Omicron a “variant of concern.” In a technical brief released this week, WHO noted that the variant poses a “very high” global risk. The variant was first identified by scientists in South Africa, and has since been detected in several countries.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/01/health/us-omicron-variant-confirmed-case/index.html

Aung San Suu Kyi: Myanmar Court Sentences Ousted Leader to Four Years Jail

Ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been sentenced to four years in prison.

She was found guilty on charges of incitement and breaking a natural disasters law.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-59544484

Dozens Killed in Mexico Road Accident

At least 49 people were killed when a trailer collided with a truck and overturned in southern Mexico on Thursday, with most of the victims believed to be migrants, according to local authorities.

The Civil Protection service of Chiapas state, which borders Guatemala, said at least 58 people were injured in the accident, three of them seriously.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/09/americas/mexico-road-accident-intl-hnk/index.html

More Than 70 Killed in Kentucky’s Worst Ever Tornadoes

The governor of the US state of Kentucky has said that more than 70 people were killed by tornadoes on Friday night.

Andy Beshear said the figure could rise to more than 100 in what he called the worst tornadoes in the state’s history.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59620091

James Webb Space Telescope Lifts Off on Historic Mission

The $10bn James Webb telescope has left Earth on its mission to image the first stars to light up the Universe.

The observatory was lifted skyward by an Ariane rocket from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-59782057

Betty White, TV’s Golden Girl, Dies at 99

Betty White, whose saucy, up-for-anything charm made her a television mainstay for more than 60 years, whether as a man-crazy TV hostess on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” or the loopy housemate on “The Golden Girls,” has died. She was 99.

https://apnews.com/article/betty-white-dead-golden-girls-television-5818585387f6e5b4d5ea55ac380118aa

Putin Announces Start to ‘Military Operation’ Against Ukraine

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia declared the start of a “special military operation” in Ukraine on Thursday, after months of speculation about Russia’s intentions as it massed tens of thousands of troops on Ukraine’s border.

Addressing his nation in a televised speech broadcast just before 6 a.m. Thursday, Mr. Putin said his goal was to “demilitarize” but not occupy the country.

Minutes later, large explosions were visible near Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, and blasts were reported in Kyiv, the capital, and other parts of the country.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/23/world/europe/ukraine-russia-invasion.html

Senate Confirms Ketanji Brown Jackson to Supreme Court in Historic Vote

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson became the first Black woman to be elevated to the Supreme Court when the Democratic-controlled Senate on Thursday confirmed President Joe Biden’s pick.

The final vote was 53 to 47, with all 50 Democratic caucus members supporting Jackson, joined by Republican Sens. Susan Collins, of Maine, Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska, and Mitt Romney, of Utah. Vice President Kamala Harris presided over the vote.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/senate-poised-confirm-ketanji-brown-jackson-supreme-court-rcna23283

Supreme Court Has Voted to Overturn Abortion Rights, Draft Opinion Shows

The Supreme Court has voted to strike down the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, according to an initial draft majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito circulated inside the court and obtained by POLITICO.

The draft opinion is a full-throated, unflinching repudiation of the 1973 decision which guaranteed federal constitutional protections of abortion rights and a subsequent 1992 decision – Planned Parenthood v. Casey – that largely maintained the right. “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” Alito writes.

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/02/supreme-court-abortion-draft-opinion-00029473

Black Hole: First Picture of Milky Way Monster

Known as Sagittarius A*, the object is a staggering four million times the mass of our Sun.

What you see is a central dark region where the hole resides, circled by the light coming from super-heated gas accelerated by immense gravitational forces.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-61412463

19 Children, 2 Teachers Killed in Texas Elementary School Shooting

At least 19 children and two teachers were killed Tuesday when a gunman opened fire in a Texas elementary school, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

The suspected shooter, who might have had a handgun and a rifle, was also killed when law enforcement confronted him at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, about 83 miles west of San Antonio, Gov. Greg Abbott said at a news conference.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/police-respond-active-shooter-texas-elementary-school-rcna30339

Supreme Court Overturns Roe v. Wade; States Can Ban Abortion

The Supreme Court has ended the nation’s constitutional protections for abortion that had been in place nearly 50 years in a decision by its conservative majority to overturn Roe v. Wade. Friday’s outcome is expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states.

The decision, unthinkable just a few years ago, was the culmination of decades of efforts by abortion opponents, made possible by an emboldened right side of the court that has been fortified by three appointees of former President Donald Trump.

https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0

One Scandal Too Many: British PM Boris Johnson Resigns

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his resignation Thursday amid a mass revolt by top members of his government, marking an end to three tumultuous years in power in which he brazenly bent and sometimes broke the rules of British politics.

https://apnews.com/article/boris-johnson-london-michael-gove-60da3c4b29a4e9c93c7db9f53034ad0e

Japan’s Ex-Leader Shinzo Abe Assassinated During a Speech

Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated Friday on a street in western Japan by a gunman who opened fire on him from behind as he delivered a campaign speech — an attack that stunned the nation with some of the strictest gun control laws anywhere.

https://apnews.com/article/elections-japan-shinzo-abe-22ec2248d92304deb9cc46b2142402d2

Sri Lanka President, PM to Resign After Tumultuous Protests

Sri Lanka’s president and prime minister agreed to resign Saturday after the country’s most chaotic day in months of political turmoil, with protesters storming both officials’ homes and setting fire to one of the buildings in a rage over the nation’s severe economic crisis.

https://apnews.com/article/asia-economy-sri-lanka-074d8194c64572dc80118f88a01df1c2