Biden steps to State of the Union lectern at fraught moment

By ZEKE MILLER and COLLEEN LONG The chamber of the House of Representatives is seen at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Feb. 28, 2022, where President Joe Biden will deliver his State of the Union speech Tuesday night to a joint session of Congress and the nation. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) Facing disquiet at home and danger abroad, President Joe Biden will deliver his first State of the Union address

Russia pummels Ukraine’s No. 2 city and convoy nears Kyiv

By YURAS KARMANAU, JIM HEINTZ, VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV and DASHA LITVINOVA Ukrainian servicemen and volunteers of Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces stand behind a damaged car at a checkpoint in Brovary, outside Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 1, 2022. Russian shelling pounded civilian targets in Ukraine's second-largest city Tuesday and a 40-mile convoy of tanks and other vehicles threatened the capital — tactics Ukraine's embattled president said were designed to force him into

AP Source: Biden taps Ketanji Brown Jackson for high court

By COLLEEN LONG, MICHAEL BALSAMO and ZEKE MILLER Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, a U.S. Circuit Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, poses for a portrait, Friday, Feb., 18, 2022, in her office at the court in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) President Joe Biden on Friday will nominate federal appeals court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, according to a person familiar with the

Putin waves nuclear sword in confrontation with the West

By JOHN DANISZEWSKI In this image made from video released by the Russian Presidential Press Service, Russian President Vladimir Putin addressees the nation in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. Russian troops launched their anticipated attack on Ukraine on Thursday, as Putin cast aside international condemnation and sanctions and warned other countries that any attempt to interfere would lead to "consequences you have never seen." (Russian Presidential Press Service via

Landlords finding ways to evict after getting rental aid

By MICHAEL CASEY Prince Beatty is photographed on Monday, Jan. 10, 2022, in East Point, Ga. Beatty, a 47-year-old Navy veteran, faces eviction this month for unpaid rent despite his landlord getting more than $20,000 in federal rental assistance. (AP Photo/Hakim Wright Sr.) A day before she was due to be evicted in November from her Atlanta home, Shanelle King heard that she had been awarded about $15,000 in rental

A Black Woman Won’t Change Biden’s History

Appointing a Black woman to the U.S. Supreme Court will change little about Black America’s perception of President Joe Biden. This nomination will not compensate for his blatant bigotry, discriminatory vaccine mandates, and history of opposing minorities – namely Black women – to serve on the federal bench. The Biden team will try and fail in this latest attempt at pandering for the Black vote. Democrats knew Biden was in

Russia attacks Ukraine; conflict reverberates around globe

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV, DASHA LITVINOVA, YURAS KARMANAU and JIM HEINTZ A woman with her daughter waits for a train as they try to leave Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. Russian troops have launched their anticipated attack on Ukraine. Big explosions were heard before dawn in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa as world leaders decried the start of an Russian invasion that could cause massive casualties and topple Ukraine's democratically elected

NC judges uphold legislative maps, change Congress lines

By GARY D. ROBERTSON From left, Superior Court Judges Nathaniel Poovey, Graham Shirley and Dawn Layton listen to testimony during a partisan gerrymandering trial over North Carolina's new political maps, Jan. 3, 2022 at a courtroom at Campbell University School of Law in Raleigh, N.C. The panel of trial judges made additional changes to North Carolina's congressional district map Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022 declaring that the latest U.S. House redistricting

COVID vaccine ban bill headed to South Carolina Senate floor

 A bill to fine businesses that fire workers who refuse to get vaccinated against COVID-19 is headed to the South Carolina Senate floor. Lawmakers on the Senate Finance committee voted 14-9 Tuesday to advance the measure, which would also prevent public employers from requiring the vaccine and ban places of public accommodation, such as restaurants, hospitals and hotels, from denying people services because of their vaccination status. The vote comes

Abolition newspaper revived for nation grappling with racism

By PHILIP MARCELO Amber Payne, left, and Deborah Douglas co-editors-in-chief of the new online publication of "The Emancipator" pose at their office inside the Boston Globe, Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022, in Boston. Boston University's Center for Antiracist Research and The Boston Globe's Opinion team are collaborating to resurrect and reimagine The Emancipator, the first abolitionist newspaper in the United States, which was founded more than 200 years ago. The new