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Ukraine’s president has made his third visit in two days to areas that have felt the brunt of Russia’s invasion. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a trip on Thursday to the southern Kherson region which was mostly retaken from the Kremlin’s forces. It came as a senior Kyiv commander hinted that a brewing Ukrainian counteroffensive could come “very soon.” Zelenskyy visited Kharkiv on Wednesday. Kharkiv is the country’s second-largest city in northeastern Ukraine. It was recaptured from the Russians last September as part of the same monthslong counteroffensive that won back most of Kherson. Zelenskyy met with troops Wednesday in the eastern Donetsk region. He gave state awards to the defenders of Bakhmut. The wrecked city is now a symbol of Ukraine’s dogged resistance.

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South Carolina's embattled top accountant will resign next month after a $3.5 billion accounting error in the year-end financial report he oversaw. A copy of the resignation letter from Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom indicates he'll leave the post on April 30. The letter was dated Thursday and obtained by The Associated Press. Revelation of the blunder last month brought mounting scrutiny to Eckstrom, who has held the job for 20 years. House lawmakers called for an impeachment inquiry. The Senate panel investigating the error issued a damning report last week that suggested Eckstrom resign or face removal “for willful neglect of duty.”

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is walking back his characterization of Russia's war on Ukraine as a “territorial dispute." The reversal follows criticism from a number of fellow Republicans who expressed concern about the potential 2024 presidential candidate’s dismissive description of the conflict. In excerpts of an interview with Piers Morgan set to air Thursday, DeSantis said his earlier written statement had been “mischaracterized” and that he didn't think Russia had a right to take Ukrainian territory. In the latest interview, he also sought to toughen his position toward Russia, calling President Vladimir Putin as a “war criminal.”

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The Manhattan district attorney investigating Donald Trump has rebuffed House Republicans’ request to turn over documents. The office called the effort an “unprecedented inquiry” into an ongoing probe. In a letter obtained by The Associated Press, the general counsel for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg admonished the congressional requests as “an unlawful incursion into New York’s sovereignty.” The response from Bragg’s office comes days after the Republican chairmen of three House committees sent a letter to him, seeking information about his actions in the Trump case, which they characterized as an “unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority.”

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COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II, whose half-century reign makes her Europe’s longest-serving monarch, is expected to resume most of her official duties on her 83rd birthday next month, the palace said Thursday.

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The African Union is appealing for nearly $90 million for its peacekeeping force in Somalia as it provides support to the country's military forces battling al-Shabab extremists. The AU commissioner for political affairs, peace and security, Ambassador Bankole Adeoye, says the more than 19,600-strong AU force won’t be able to function properly and help the Somalis unless that funding gap is filled. The AU force is supposed to hand over full responsibility for Somalia's security to its military at the end of 2024. Adeoye says that if the AU force doesn’t have sufficient funds to operate effectively before the handover, “it may mean that al-Shabab will eventually take over the responsibilities of a state in Somalia.”

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The Arizona Supreme Court has declined to hear most of Republican Kari Lake’s appeal in a challenge of her defeat in the governor’s race, but revived a claim that was dismissed by a trial court. The state’s highest court said a lower-court had erroneously dismissed Lake’s claim challenging the application of signature verification procedures on early ballots in Maricopa County. The court sent the claim back to a trial court to consider. Lake, who lost to Democrat Katie Hobbs by just over 17,000 votes, was among the most vocal 2022 Republican candidates promoting former President Donald Trump’s election lies, which she made the centerpiece of her campaign.

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A lawyer for one of the former Proud Boys leaders charged with seditious conspiracy says federal prosecutors have revealed that a defense witness was secretly acting as a government informant for nearly two years after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Defense attorney Carmen Hernandez on Wednesday asked a judge to schedule an emergency hearing so the defense can learn more about the prosecutors' use of the informant. The judge ordered prosecutors to file a response to the defense filing by Thursday afternoon and scheduled a hearing for the same day, putting testimony in the case on hold until Friday. The U.S. attorney’s office did not immediately comment on the filing.

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Proposals in several states would allow or require schools to deadname transgender students or out them to their parents without consent. Transgender kids and their families say the proposals could eliminate K-12 public schools as one of the last remaining havens to explore their identities. The stated aim of the bills is to give parents greater control over their childrens' education. Some parents and teachers argue they have a right to know. But others warn the proposals could jeopardize children's health and safety. And some teachers say the reporting requirements force educators to betray the trust of their students or risk losing their job.

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Actress Lindsay Lohan, rapper Akon and several other celebrities have agreed to pay tens of thousands of dollars to settle claims they promoted crypto investments to their millions of social media followers without disclosing they were being paid to do so. Lohan, Akon, recording artists Ne-Yo, and Lil Yachty, boxer and internet personality Jake Paul, and adult film performer Michele Mason, all agreed to pay more than $400,000 combined to settle the claims. That's according to the Securities and Exchange Commission Wednesday. Two others, rapper Soulja Boy and pop singer Austin Mahone, did not reach a settlement. The SEC claims the celebrities were paid to promote Tronix and BitTorrent, crypto asset securities that were illegally offered for sale.

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California state Sen. Aisha Wahab has introduced legislation adding caste as a protected category under the state's anti-discrimination laws. If this legislation passes, California could become the first U.S. state to outlaw caste-based bias. Caste is a division of people related to birth or descent. Calls to outlaw caste bias have grown louder among South Asian diaspora communities in the United States. Proponents of the bill say this bias is prevalent and it manifests in the form of social alienation and discrimination in housing, education and the tech sector where South Asians hold key roles. Opponents argue such measures will hurt a community that already faces discrimination.

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Nearly 20 years after the Old Man of the Mountain crumbled in New Hampshire, lawmakers are considering remembering the famed rock formation with an annual proclamation. The House passed a bipartisan bill Wednesday that would designate “Old Man of the Mountain Day” on May 3, the date the formation collapsed. The measure passed on a voice vote, although a Republican lawmaker drew groans when he compared the fall of the Old Man to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that killed thousands of people. The bill now goes to the Senate.

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Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina is inching ever closer to a presidential bid in 2024, scheduling his latest swing through early-voting states before returning to home afterward to give a “political update” to donors. According to an invitation sent to donors this week, Scott will hold a “Faith in America Summit" in Charleston on April 14. A person familiar with his plans said he will hold events in Iowa and New Hampshire earlier the same week. Last month, Scott kicked off a “listening tour” that included stops in South Carolina and Iowa, and he appeared last weekend at a conservative forum in South Carolina.

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At this point during the last presidential election in 2020, more than 15 Democrats had jumped into their party’s open presidential race. But this year, the open Republican field for 2024 still officially remains small — and dominated by former President Donald Trump. Meanwhile, more than half a dozen potential Republican presidential hopefuls are testing the waters of a national campaign while holding off on making any official announcements. Political strategists say most of them don’t have much more time to wait if they want a shot to win the party’s nomination. The only three major candidates to have officially come forward are Trump, former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

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For 40 years, former President Donald Trump has navigated a flurry of legal investigations without ever facing criminal charges. That record may soon come to an end. Trump could be indicted by a Manhattan grand jury as soon as this week, potentially charged with falsifying business records connected to hush money payments during his 2016 campaign to women who accused him of sexual encounters. It’s one of several investigations that have intensified as Trump mounts his third Republican presidential run. Trump has denied any allegations of wrongdoing and accuses prosecutors of engaging in a politically motivated “witch hunt” to damage his campaign.

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Health experts proposed detailed plans for a gradual end to anti-virus controls, but the Chinese government rebuffed them and dropped restrictions in December with no preparations to cope with the chaotic aftermath, The Associated Press has found. Over a year ago, scientists called on authorities to begin preparations for reopening. But Beijing took none of the steps experts said were needed before dropping controls. Millions of older people weren’t vaccinated, and hospitals weren’t reinforced for a possible surge in cases. Experts and scientific models estimate China’s lack of preparation led to hundreds of thousands of deaths that could have been avoided.

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The effort to recall New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell has failed. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards announced Tuesday the number of valid signatures needed to force a referendum was short by nearly 18,000. Recall efforts against Cantrell, the first woman to serve as New Orleans' mayor, began last August. She was easily reelected in 2021, but has since faced numerous problems, including violent crime and fitful progress on major street projects. Questions also have been raised about her travel expenses and her personal use of a city-owned apartment. Cantrell has repeatedly criticized the recall effort as a Republican-led attack on the administration of a Black, Democratic woman.

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The Biden administration is stressing to China unofficial stopovers to the U.S. by Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen should not be used as pretext by Beijing to increase aggressive activity in the Taiwan Strait. Recently, senior U.S. officials in Washington and Beijing have underscored to their Chinese counterparts transit visits through the U.S. during broader international travel by Tsai has been routine. Beijing sees American contact with Taiwan as encouragement to make the island’s decades-old de facto independence permanent. Taiwan's government said Tuesday that Tsai plans to stop in New York and Los Angeles. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the planned stopovers are “business as usual” and consistent with longstanding U.S. policy.

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