By Lorne Cook | Associated Press BRUSSELS — European Union countries possessing Patriot air defense systems gave no clear signal on Monday whether they might be willing to supply them to Ukraine, which is desperately seeking at least seven of the missile batteries to help fend off Russian air attacks. Russia’s air force is vastly more powerful than Ukraine’s, but sophisticated missile systems provided by Kyiv’s Western partners can pose a major threat as the Kremlin’s forces slowly push forward along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line in the war. Only Germany has come forward wi ..read more

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN WASHINGTON — A Kentucky man who stormed the U.S. Capitol while carrying a Confederate battle flag was sentenced on Monday to more than two years in prison for pepper spraying two police officers in the face, partially blinding them for hours during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot. Isreal Easterday was 19 years old when he joined a mob of Donald Trump supporters in invading the Capitol. He used pepper spray to assault two Capitol police officers who were separately guarding the East Rotunda Doors. Chief Judge James Boasberg cited Easterday’s youth as a reason for handing down a pris ..read more

By ALEXA ST. JOHN and WILL WEISSERT  TRIANGLE, Virginia — President Joe Biden marked Earth Day by announcing $7 billion in federal grants for residential solar projects serving 900,000-plus households in low- and middle-income communities — while criticizing Republicans who want to gut his policies to address climate change. The Democrat seeking reelection this year took aim at the supporters of former President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement. “My MAGA Republican friends don’t seem to think it’s a crisis,” Biden said Monday at the Prince William Forest Park in Triangle ..read more

By Nick Perry and Dave Collins Columbia University canceled in-person classes on Monday and new demonstrations broke out on other U.S. college campuses as tensions continue to grow over Israel’s war in Gaza. Protesters rallied throughout the weekend at the Ivy League school’s New York City campus, where police last week arrested more than 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators who had set up an encampment. Since those arrests, pro-Palestinian demonstrators have set up encampments on other campuses around the country, including at the University of Michigan, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ..read more

By Alan Crawford, Bloomberg News In a year of elections, populist leaders from Europe to the Americas are pushing a narrative that migration is out of control. Yet for all the hysteria, the number of international migrants worldwide according to the latest United Nations estimate remains a small minority of the total population. Movement within national borders is still “overwhelmingly the norm,” it says. The real change of recent years, says the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM), is that the core drivers of displacement — geopolitics, technology and climate change — are inte ..read more

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST and CLAIRE RUSH WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court wrestled with major questions about the growing issue of homelessness on Monday as it considered whether cities can ban people from sleeping outside when shelter space is lacking. The case is considered the most significant to come before the high court in decades on the issue as record numbers of people are without a permanent place to live in the United States. In California and other Western states, courts have ruled that it’s unconstitutional to fine and arrest people sleeping in homeless encampments if shelter space ..read more

The richest man in the world says and does what he wants. And often, it’s contentious and provocative. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has attacked U.S. election integrity, embraced White-supremacist propaganda and accused President Joe Biden of treason. He even smoked pot on Joe Rogan’s provocative podcast. Today, the pioneering electric-car company Musk built in Silicon Valley — headquartered in Texas after he moved it from Palo Alto — is struggling. This month, Tesla posted its first drop in car deliveries in four years, and Musk told employees that more than 10% of them would be laid off. Two key exec ..read more

By CHRISTINE FERNANDO (Associated Press) CHICAGO (AP) — As President Joe Biden and Donald Trump step up their campaigning in swing states, a quieter battle is taking place in the shadows of their White House rematch. The Republican National Committee, newly reconstituted under Trump, has filed election-related lawsuits in nearly half the states. Recent lawsuits over voter roll maintenance in Michigan and Nevada are part of a larger strategy targeting various aspects of voting and election administration. It’s not a new strategy. But with recent internal changes at the RNC and added pressure fr ..read more

By CHRISTINA A. CASSIDY (Associated Press) TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — The group gathered inside the conference room, mostly women, fell silent as the audio recording began to play. The male voice, clearly agitated, railed against what he thought had been fraud that cost former President Donald Trump reelection four years ago. “You’re gonna pay for it,” said the man, filling his message with expletives and suggesting his target’s throat be slashed with a knife. “We will … take you out. Your family, your life. “Watch your … back.” The call had been directed at one of their own, a city clerk who ..read more

By CHRIS MEGERIAN (Associated Press) WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s no simple matter to move the commander in chief from point A to B, and it’s even more complicated when the president is seeking a second term. President Joe Biden recently spent three days in Pennsylvania, a pivotal state in the 2024 campaign, and he plans to be in Virginia and Florida this coming week. The Democratic incumbent is seeking an edge over Republican Donald Trump as he ramps up his travels around the country. Here’s a look at how much it costs and who pays the bill during the campaign season. HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? It’s no ..read more