USA

WASHINGTON (AP) — One year ago, President Joe Biden was bracing for the worst as Russia massed troops in preparation to invade Ukraine.

As many in the West and even in Ukraine doubted Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intentions, the White House was adamant: War was coming and Kyiv was woefully outgunned.

LOWRY CITY, Mo. (AP) — At Truman Lake Manor in rural Missouri, every day begins the same way for every employee entering the nursing home’s doors — with a swab up the nose, a swirl of testing solution and a brief wait to see whether a thin red line appears indicating a positive COVID-19 case.

Only the healthy are allowed in to care for virus-free residents.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- Fire continued to burn at a waste-to-energy facility in Doral, a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, on Friday.

Miami-Dade County said in a press release that firefighters are working to put out the blaze, which broke out nearly a week ago.

"As the firefighters gain greater access to the center of the fire, we anticipate an increase in smoky conditions today," it said.

The cause of the fire is unclear. And no injuries have been reported.

WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s been called the worst job in Washington. The gatekeeper to the most powerful leader on earth. The president’s alter ego or the chief javelin catcher.

The job of White House chief of staff is at the fulcrum of the federal government, yet it’s a role that remains largely opaque outside of Washington circles. The newest person to assume the title is Jeff Zients, a longtime Washington hand with a reputation as a managerial whiz who became President Joe Biden’s second chief of staff last week.

ARKABUTLA, Miss. (AP) — A lone gunman killed six people including his ex-wife and stepfather Friday at multiple locations in a tiny rural community in northern Mississippi, the sheriff said, leaving investigators searching for clues to what motivated the rampage.

Armed with a shotgun and two handguns, 52-year-old Richard Dale Crum opened fire at about 11 a.m. and killed a man in the driver’s seat of a pickup truck parked outside a convenience store in Arkabutla, near the Tennessee state line, Tate County Sheriff Brad Lance said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision on the Second Amendment is upending gun laws across the country, dividing judges and sowing confusion over what firearm restrictions can remain on the books.

The high court’s ruling that set new standards for evaluating gun laws left open many questions, experts say, resulting in an increasing number of conflicting decisions as lower court judges struggle to figure out how to apply it.

NEW YORK (AP) — A court filing in a lawsuit against Fox News lays bare a panic at the network that it had alienated its viewers and damaged its brand by not lining up with President Donald Trump’s false claims that he had won the 2020 presidential election.

That worry — a real one, judging by Fox’s ratings in the election’s aftermath — played a key role in Fox not setting the record straight about unfounded fraud claims, the network’s accuser contends.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military said Friday that it has ended its search for airborne objects that were shot down near Deadhorse, Alaska, and over Lake Huron on Feb. 10 and 12.

The statement released late Friday came hours after officials said the U.S. has finished efforts to recover the remnants of the large balloon that was shot down Feb. 4 off the coast of South Carolina, and analysis of the debris so far reinforces conclusions that it was a Chinese spy balloon.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Nearly two weeks after a train carrying hazardous materials, including vinyl chloride, derailed in the eastern Ohio village of East Palestine and sparked a blaze, residents crowded in a high school gym in a Wednesday meeting with officials, demanding answers.

While residents are able to return to their homes after the evacuation order was lifted last week, they have reported burning eyes, ill pets, or dead fish in waterways, thus demanding answers to how the incident was handled and its impact of exposure to those chemicals.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott offered no hints about whether he might run for president in a rare primetime address Thursday night, but used it to make a case that hard-line immigration measures, tougher criminal penalties and a humming economy are a model for the rest of the U.S.

“We will ensure Texas remains the leader of this nation as an unflinching force in this world,” Abbott said during his biennial State of the State, which was broadcast across Texas.