Summary of AP news at 10:16 pm EDT | National

AP data show 600 killed in an airstrike in Mariupol on the theater

LVIV, Ukraine (AP) – Against the backdrop of all the horrors of the war against Ukraine, a Russian airstrike on a theater used as a bomb shelter in Mariupol on March 16 stands out as the single deadliest attack on civilians to date. An Associated Press investigation found evidence that the attack was far more deadly than expected and killed about 600 people. This is almost twice the current estimates. The AP recreates what happened at the theater that day, with the accounts of 23 survivors, rescuers and people familiar with the theater’s new life as a bomb shelter. The AP also built a 3D model based on witness testimony, two sets of theater plans, photos and videos taken inside before, during and after the day, and expert comments.

Ukraine: Russia uses “missile terrorism” in large-scale attacks

LVIV, Ukraine (AP) – Russia is bombing railway stations and other facilities in an attempt to cut off arms supplies to Ukrainian defenders. Russia’s defense minister has complained that the West is “filling Ukraine with weapons.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday that his country would respond on the battlefield. Air raid sirens sounded in the cities of the country. Attacks are reported near Kiev, the capital, and in the Dnieper, where the railway facility was damaged. Heavy fighting continued at the steel plant in Mariupol, the last stronghold of the Ukrainian resistance in the ruined port city. The attacks came as the European Union began to punish Moscow even more for the war by proposing to ban oil imports.

The Fed is raising the key rate by half a point to curb inflation

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Federal Reserve has stepped up its fight against the worst inflation in 40 years, raising its base interest rate by half a percent – the most aggressive step since 2000 – and signaling a further sharp rise in rates. An increase in the Fed’s key short-term rate has raised it to a range of 0.75% to 1%, the highest since a pandemic two years ago. The Fed has also said it will start cutting its huge balance sheet by $ 9 trillion, which consists mostly of treasury and mortgage bonds. Reducing these stocks will further increase the cost of borrowed funds throughout the economy.

AP sources: Donald Trump Jr. talks to the committee on January 6th

WASHINGTON (AP) – The eldest son of former President Donald Trump has met with a congressional committee to investigate the January 6, 2021 uprising in the U.S. Capitol. This is stated by two acquaintances, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed meeting. An interview with Donald Trump Jr. took place on Tuesday. He is one of nearly 1,000 witnesses interviewed by members of the House of Representatives committee as they work to draw up a protocol of the worst attack on the Capitol in more than two centuries. He is the second of Trump’s children, who is known to have addressed the committee. His sister Ivanka Trump sat with lawmakers for eight hours in early April.

Caribbean prime minister “deeply corrupt” gets bail in drug case

MIAMI (AP) – A federal judge in Miami has ruled that the Prime Minister of the British Virgin Islands could be released on $ 500,000 bail following his arrest on drug smuggling charges at a U.S. government event in South Florida. By an unexpected decision, federal judge Alicia Otaza-Reyes on Wednesday rejected prosecutors’ arguments that Andrew Fahi would flee the United States if released on trial on cocaine charges. Instead, she said he could stay in Miami, in the rented home of his two student daughters, if he and his family submit their travel documents, and he will wear a bracelet on his ankle, and pay a corporate guarantee of 500,000 dollars.

What’s next in the leak investigation in the Supreme Court?

WASHINGTON (AP) – Chief Justice John Roberts, in order to investigate the “outrageous breach of trust” of the leaked draft Supreme Court abortion order, has ordered a relatively unknown court official to conduct what could be one of the most high-profile investigations in decades. Although the Biden administration limits the government’s ability to confiscate reporters ‘records, the head of the court operates outside this chain of command, opening the door to an investigation without traditional barriers to protect journalists’ sources. Many questions remain about how the investigation will be conducted and whether a federal crime has been committed.

A Los Angeles hospital has sued racism over the death of a black mother

LOS ANGELES (AP) – A man whose black wife died shortly after the birth of his second son has filed a civil rights lawsuit against Cedars-Sinai Hospital, claiming her death was the result of a culture of racism. Charles Johnson, whose wife Kira, died in 2016 after her bladder was cut during a cesarean section, said Wednesday that he discovered unbridled racism while testifying in a lawsuit against the hospital. The hospital said it is based on the principles of diversity and health care for all, and rejects any misrepresentation of its culture and values. He also said he was working to eradicate unconscious bias in health care.

The work of the DHS disinformation council, the plans remain a mystery

WASHINGTON (AP) – The newly formed Disinformation Management Council remains closed a week after the Biden administration’s announcement of a new attempt was widely criticized. The Ministry of Internal Security has published several details on how the council will work and what powers it will have. Republican lawmakers on Wednesday stepped up calls for the group’s dissolution, and civil liberties advocates doubt the council will violate Americans’ rights to free speech. The failed deployment of the council could damage existing efforts to identify and stop foreign disinformation campaigns by Russia, China and other adversaries that have long been considered a threat to national security by both Republican and Democratic administrations.

The U.S. is quietly extending asylum restrictions in preparation for ending them

SAN DIEGO (AP) – Officials say the Biden administration has begun deporting Cubans and Nicaraguans to Mexico under pandemic powers that deny migrants the opportunity to seek asylum by expanding the use of the rule, even if it says so publicly. trying to undo it. One U.S. official told the Associated Press that up to 100 Cubans and 20 Nicaraguans are expelled from three locations daily. A Mexican official confirms these figures in at least one place. Officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not been made public.