USA

MIAMI (AP) — For years after leaving Cuba, the mother of two tried to get her children and parents into the U.S. through legal channels.

Finally, she decided she wouldn’t wait any longer: She paid more than $40,000 dollars to someone to help them sneak in through Mexico.

“I said to myself, `Enough. I am going to risk everything,’” said the 30-year-old woman, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals from U.S. authorities.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is filing an appeal seeking to overturn a judge’s order that voided the federal mask mandate on planes and trains and in travel hubs, officials said.

The notice came minutes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asked the Justice Department to appeal the decision handed down by a federal judge in Florida earlier this week.

A notice of appeal was filed Wednesday in federal court in Tampa.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Many Americans still question whether President Joe Biden is showing enough strength in response to Russia’s war against Ukraine, even as most approve of steps the U.S. is already taking and few want U.S. troops to get involved in the conflict.

A poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows 54% of Americans think Biden has been “not tough enough” in his response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Thirty-six percent think his approach has been about right, while 8% say he’s been too tough.

WASHINGTON, April 20 (Reuters) - The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on dozens of people and entities, including a Russian commercial bank and a virtual currency mining company, hoping to target Moscow's evasion of existing sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The U.S. Treasury Department said it designated a virtual currency mining company for the first time, alongside more than 40 people and entities led by U.S.-designated Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev.

UNITED NATIONS, April 20 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday called for a four-day humanitarian pause in fighting in Ukraine to allow for the opening of humanitarian aid corridors during the Orthodox Christian Holy Week.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Secret Service officers shot and killed an intruder who was smashing windows at the residence of the Peruvian ambassador to the United States on Wednesday, authorities said.

The ambassador and his family were inside the residence in the Forest Hills neighborhood of northwest Washington when they heard several windows being smashed just before 8 a.m. and called the Secret Service. The agency is responsible for protecting foreign dignitaries and missions in the U.S., including embassies and diplomatic residences.

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — Actor Johnny Depp scoffed at the notion during court testimony Wednesday that his constant quarrels with ex-wife Amber Heard would ever prompt him to hit her.

“Violence isn’t necessary,” he said from the stand during his libel lawsuit against Heard. “Why would you hit someone to make them agree with you?

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Wednesday spoke with his Chinese counterpart for the first time since becoming Pentagon chief more than a year ago, breaking a communications impasse that American officials saw as increasingly dangerous amid concern that Beijing might provide military support for Russia’s war in Ukraine.

WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 50 Republicans who once joined a lawsuit claiming the House’s pandemic-era proxy voting was unconstitutional have themselves voted by proxy this year, remotely without showing up.

Across the aisle, Rep. Kai Kahele, a Hawaiian Airlines pilot as well as a Hawaii congressman, has used proxy votes on all but five of this year’s 125 roll calls. Three of his Democratic colleagues have used the proxy procedure for every vote.

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Heavy winds kicked up a towering wall of flames outside a northern Arizona tourist town Tuesday, ripping through two-dozen structures and sending residents of more than 700 homes scrambling to flee.

Flames as high as 100 feet (30 meters) raced through an area of scattered homes, dry grass and Ponderosa pine trees on the outskirts of Flagstaff as wind gusts of up to 50 mph (80 kph) pushed the blaze over a major highway.