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Russia says it wants to end Ukraine's `unacceptable regime'

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia’s top diplomat says Moscow’s overarching goal in Ukraine is to free its people from its “unacceptable regime,” expressing the Kremlin’s war aims in some of the bluntest terms yet. Moscow's forces, meanwhile, continue to pummel the country with artillery barrages and airstrikes. The remark from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov comes amid Ukraine’s efforts to resume grain exports from its Black Sea ports, something that would help ease global food shortages, under a new deal tested by a Russian strike on Odesa over the weekend.

'The money is gone': Evacuated Ukrainians forced to return

POKROVSK, Ukraine (AP) — Tens of thousands of people who evacuated from Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region are returning to homes close to the front line because they can’t afford to live in safer places. They are risking their lives. One woman was killed by a missile outside her home just two days after returning. Ukrainian authorities are frustrated as some civilians remain in the path of war, but the region's residents are frustrated, too. Some described feeling unwelcome as Russian speakers among Ukrainian speakers in some parts of the country. But more often, the problem is the lack of money to start anew. The mayor's office in one small Donetsk city estimates that 70% of evacuated residents have come back.

AP-NORC poll: 2 in 3 in US favor term limits for justices

WASHINGTON (AP) — About 2 in 3 Americans say they favor term limits or a mandatory retirement age for Supreme Court justices. That's according to a new poll that finds a sharp increase in the percentage of Americans saying they have “hardly any” confidence in the court. The poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds 67% of Americans support a proposal to set a specific number of years that justices serve instead of life terms, including 82% of Democrats and 57% of Republicans. The poll was conducted just weeks after the high court issued high-profile rulings stripping away women’s constitutional protections for abortion and expanding gun rights.

Pope set for historic apology for school abuses in Canada

MASKWACIS, Alberta (AP) — A day after arriving in Canada, Pope Francis is scheduled to go to the small Alberta prairie town of Maskwacis to deliver a historic apology. He'll apologize for abuses and cultural repression of Indigenous children at Catholic-run residential schools across Canada in the 19th and 20th centuries. The Canadian government coordinated the schools in a policy to weaken Indigenous people's identity and resistance to land grabs. Catholics ran most of the schools, and Protestants operated others. Thousands of school survivors and their supporters are expected at the ceremony. Francis arrived Sunday in Edmonton for a week-long trip that will also take him to Quebec City and the far-north territory of Nunavut.

How an AP reporter broke the Tuskegee syphilis story

SOUTHPORT, N.C. (AP) — For four decades, the United States government enrolled hundreds of Black men in Alabama in a study on syphilis, just so they could document the disease’s ravages on the human body. On July 25, 1972, Jean Heller, a then 29-year-old investigative reporter at The Associated Press shocked the world with a story of what is now known as the “Tuskegee Study.” Within four months, the U.S. Public Health Service would end the study, but dozens had already died. Even now, 50 years after it was revealed, the study casts a long shadow over the nation, as some African Americans cite Tuskegee in refusing to seek medical treatment or participate in clinical trials.

Myanmar executes ex-lawmaker, 3 other political prisoners

BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar has carried out its first executions in nearly 50 years, hanging a former lawmaker, a democracy activist and two other political prisoners who had been accused of a targeted killing after the country’s military takeover last year. The executions announced Monday were carried out despite worldwide pleas for clemency for the four men. State media said the four planned, directed and organized terrorist killings. Opposition figures and rights activists say their convictions were politically motivated and condemned the executions while Myanmar rejected all criticism. The wife of one of the prisoners urged the world to hold Myanmar's military leadership accountable. U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said she was dismayed by “this cruel and regressive step.”

Is $790 million worth a $2 Mega Millions ticket? It depends

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Is $790 million worth $2? That’s a good question, given it costs $2 to buy a Mega Millions lottery ticket that could pay off with an estimated $790 million prize, the nation’s fourth-largest jackpot. The game’s next drawing is Tuesday night. Before plunking down $2 for a ticket, it's good to remember your chance of winning the grand prize is minuscule, at one in 302.5 million. And keep in mind that the $790 million prize is for those who take the annuity option, paid over 30 annual payments. Winners nearly always opt for cash, which for this drawing would pay out an estimated $464.4 million. Also, there are taxes to consider.

Rents spike as big-pocketed investors buy mobile home parks

LOCKPORT, N.Y. (AP) — Investors are buying up mobile home parks across the country, leading to significant rent increases and complaints of neglect from residents. The parks, which for decades were mostly owned and operated like small businesses, have proven an attractive investment for private equity firms and large real estate companies. They offer some of the best returns in the property sector, money that is made by raising rent and saddling tenants with a myriad of fees. The industry argues these investments are making parks more livable, but residents, many on fixed incomes, say they can't afford the rent increases and improvements often don't come.

Chinatown fears community, business loss in 76ers arena plan

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Organizers and members of Philadelphia's Chinatown say they were surprised by the 76ers' announcement that they hope to build a $1.3 billion arena just a block from the community’s gateway arch. They say no one reached out for community input before the announcement. Now, they fear that they'll be merely a stepping stone for people visiting the arena and that real estate values will price out older and immigrant residents. Chinatowns throughout the U.S. have been under threat from gentrification or development over the years. A spokesperson for the arena development company says that the process is in its infancy and that they planned to work with the community.

For once, Cherokee actor Wes Studi cast as romantic co-star

NEW YORK (AP) — In Wes Studi’s potent and pioneering acting career, he has played vengeful warriors, dying prisoners and impassioned resistance leaders. For three decades, he has arrestingly crafted wide-ranging portraits of the Native American experience. But one thing he had never done in a movie is give someone a kiss. In “A Love Song,” a tender indie film starring Dale Dickey, Studi is for the first time cast as a romantic co-star. For Studi, the standout of “The Last of the Mohicans," it was a long overdue deviation to rom-com territory. “A Love Song” opens in select theaters Friday.

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