North America

BOSTON (AP) — The credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s has downgraded its assessment of Russia’s ability to repay foreign debt, signaling rising prospects that Moscow will soon default on external loans for the first time in more than a century.

S&P Global Ratings issued the downgrade to “selective default” late Friday after Russia arranged to make foreign bond payments in rubles on Monday when they were due in dollars. It said it didn’t expect Russia to be able to convert the rubles into dollars within the 30-day grace period allowed.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A small archipelago off Mexico’s Pacific coast that had been home to an island prison colony is now ready to receive tourists.

Getting to Islas Marias, however, will be a challenge for even the sturdiest tourist: a five-hour boat ride in often choppy waters.

But some people, like Beatriz Maldonado, are already imagining the voyage. When Maldonado was imprisoned between those “walls of water” — as a Mexican writer also confined there described it — she thought she would never see her mother again.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A government watchdog has found a “substantial likelihood” the federal Bureau of Prisons committed wrongdoing when it ignored complaints and failed to address asbestos and mold contamination at a federal women’s prison in California that has already been under scrutiny for rampant sexual abuse of inmates.

GRANTVILLE, Ga. (AP) — Police are searching for at least one armed suspect in connection with the killing of the owner of a gun range in Georgia and his wife and grandson, authorities said Saturday.

The Grantville Police Department said via Facebook that the robbery occurred Friday evening. When officers arrived at the scene around 8 p.m., they discovered the owner of Lock Stock & Barrel Shooting Range had been killed, along with his wife and grandson.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A milestone Supreme Court confirmation that endured a flawed process. The collapse of a bipartisan compromise for more pandemic funds. The departure of a stalwart of the dwindling band of moderate House Republicans.

Party-line fights on Capitol Hill are as old as the republic, and they routinely escalate as elections approach. Yet three events from a notable week illustrate how Congress’ near- and long-term paths point toward intensifying partisanship.

THE SENATE’S SUPREME COURT BATTLE

WASHINGTON (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin may use the Biden administration’s support for Ukraine as a pretext to order a new campaign to interfere in American politics, U.S. intelligence officials have assessed.

Intelligence agencies have so far not found any evidence that Putin has authorized measures like the ones Russia is believed to have undertaken in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections in support of former President Donald Trump, according to several people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive findings.

Washington, Apr 8 (AP-PTI) Congress voted overwhelmingly Thursday to suspend normal trade relations with Russia and ban the importation of its oil, ratcheting up the US response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine amid reports of atrocities.

House action came after the Senate approved the two bills with 100-0 votes. The measures now go to President Joe Biden to be signed into law.

SAN JOSE, April 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A cargo plane carrying mail and packages skidded off the runway and broke in two during an emergency landing in Costa Rica on Thursday, causing the temporary closure of the international airport in San Jose.

Smoke was billowing from the bright yellow plane of German logistics giant DHL as it ground to a halt, having slid off the runway when it spun and broke up around the rear wheels.

Two crew members aboard were “in good health,” said Costa Rica’s firefighters chief, Hector Chaves.

April 8 (Reuters) - Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) said on Friday it was recalling 764,900 doses of its COVID-19 vaccine made by its contract manufacturer Rovi (ROVI.MC) after a vial was found contaminated by a foreign body.

No safety issues have been identified, Moderna said about the lots that were distributed in Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden in January.

The drugmaker said the contamination was found in just one vial, and it was recalling the whole lot out of "an abundance of caution". It did not disclose what was found in the vial.

WASHINGTON, April 8 (Reuters) - The United States expressed concern on Friday about reports of ethnically motivated atrocities in Ethiopia's Tigray region and called for an end to unlawful detentions based on ethnicity.

State Department spokesman Ned Price cited a report by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.

"In particular, we are deeply troubled by the report’s finding that these acts amount to ethnic cleansing," he said in a statement.