Author: Tage

Washington — The United States said it is working with allies on a coordinated response to Iran’s drone and missile strikes on Israeli soil over the weekend. At the same time, it continues to urge Israel to exercise restraint and avoid igniting a wider regional conflict.    President Joe Biden is “coordinating with allies and partners, including the Group of Seven, and with bipartisan leaders in Congress, on a comprehensive response,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement  The U.S. will impose new sanctions targeting Iran in the coming days, Sullivan said, including its missile and drone program and against entities supporting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iran’s Defense Ministry.  The U.S. will bolster the integration of air and missile defense and early warning systems across the Middle East, he added. Biden aides have repeatedly called for de-escalation. The president “does not want to see a war with Iran. Don’t want to see the conflict widen or deepen,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters Tuesday.   Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to retaliate, but Israeli officials have not said how or when they might strike.  “We will choose our response accordingly,” said Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, Israel’s military chief.  A direct Israeli strike on Iranian soil would amount to another significant escalation, with Tehran already pledging a much harsher response to such a counterattack. Tehran launched more than 300 drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, most of them intercepted by the Israeli military with the help of the U.S. and regional allies, causing only minor damage to an Israeli base. That suggests Iran may have calibrated the strikes to limit casualties or telegraphed advanced notice, which the White House denies. Israel’s counterstrike will likely target Iranian soil without killing civilians, said Jonathan Rynhold, head of the Political Studies Department at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University.  “And it would not seek to publicly hit any very obvious public symbolic buildings of the regime,” he told VOA. “That could embarrass the regime and make them feel that they need to escalate it further.” Rynhold said that the Iranian strikes were “very, very carefully calculated,” and predicted that a potential Israeli counterattack would be similarly calibrated. Still, they could easily lead to dangerous miscalculation, he said. Israel could opt for covert operations targeting Iranian officials. Or it could launch a cyberattack, said Gregory Hatcher of White Knight Labs, … “US works on ‘comprehensive response’ on Iran, urges Israel to exercise restraint” →

Israel is considering how to respond to Iran’s weekend missile and drone strikes, as the United States and its allies urge the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to escalate and risk igniting a wider regional conflict. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has this report. …

NEW YORK — Whitey Herzog, the gruff and ingenious Hall of Fame manager who guided the St. Louis Cardinals to three pennants and a World Series title in the 1980s, and perfected an intricate, nail-biting strategy known as “Whiteyball,” has died. He was 92.  Cardinals spokesman Brian Bartow said Tuesday that the team, based in the U.S. state of Missouri, was informed of Herzog’s death by his family. Herzog, who had been at Busch Stadium on April 4 for the Cardinals’ home opener, died on Monday, according to Bartow.  “Whitey Herzog devoted his lifetime to the game he loved, excelling as a leader on and off the field,” Jane Forbes Clark, chair of the Hall of Fame’s board of directors, said in a statement. “Whitey always brought the best out of every player he managed with a forthright style that won him respect throughout the game.”  A crew-cut, pot-bellied tobacco chewer who had no patience for the “buddy-buddy” school of management, Herzog joined the Cardinals in 1980 and helped end the team’s decade-plus pennant drought by adapting it to the artificial surface and distant fences of Busch Memorial Stadium. A typical Cardinals victory under Herzog was a low-scoring, 1-run game, sealed in the final innings by a “bullpen by committee,” relievers who might be replaced after a single pitch, or temporarily shifted to the outfield, then brought back to the mound.  The Cardinals had power hitters in George Hendrick and Jack Clark, but they mostly relied on the speed and resourcefulness of switch-hitters Vince Coleman and Willie McGee, the acrobatic fielding of shortstop and future Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith, and the effective pitching of starters such as John Tudor and Danny Cox and relievers Todd Worrell, Ken Dayley and Jeff Lahti. For the ’82 champions, Herzog didn’t bother rotating relievers, but simply brought in future Hall of Famer Bruce Sutter to finish the job.  Under Herzog, the Cards won pennants in 1982, 1985 and 1987, and the World Series in 1982, when they edged the Milwaukee Brewers in seven games. Herzog managed the Kansas City Royals to division titles in 1976-78, but they lost each time in the league championship to the New York Yankees.  Overall, Herzog was a manager for 18 seasons, compiling a record of 1,281 wins and 1,125 losses. He was named Manager of the Year in 1985 and voted into the Hall by the Veterans Committee in 2010, … “Whitey Herzog, Hall of Fame baseball manager in US, dies at 92” →

WASHINGTON — South Korea is cautiously optimistic about alliance upgrades that the U.S. and Japan have planned to bolster security in East Asia and the Indo-Pacific region. A South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the ministry “noted” that the U.S. and Japan, at their summit in Washington last week, spoke of “the defensive nature of the U.S.-Japan alliance” and emphasized “peace and stability” in the region. The spokesperson continued via email to VOA’s Korean Service on Friday that “South Korea, the U.S. and Japan are making efforts to institutionalize expanded trilateral cooperation through agreements made at Camp David last year” and “to strengthen rules-based international order.” The three countries held a trilateral summit at Camp David in August after Seoul and Tokyo mended ties frayed by disputes rooted in Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945. At their bilateral summit held in Washington on April 10, Washington and Tokyo announced wide-ranging plans to revamp their military ties.  The plans include preparations for Japan to develop and produce with the U.S. military hardware, including hypersonic missile interceptors. U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel toured a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries F-35 fighter jet factory near Nagoya on Tuesday. He underlined the importance of Japan’s role in manufacturing weapons as U.S. supplies run thin amid crises in Europe and the Middle East. The plans announced at the summit also call for Japan’s possible involvement in the AUKUS Pillar II security pact, enabling it to develop quantum computing, hypersonic, undersea and other advanced technologies.  AUKUS is a defense and security group of Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. AUKUS Pillar 2 refers to a suite of cooperative activities conducted by the three nations to develop and field “advanced capabilities.”  Japan will hold trilateral exercises with the U.S. and the U.K. starting in 2025 as the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic regions become “ever-more linked,” according to the joint statement.  The plans call for Japan to expand its security role and arms buildup in tandem with efforts to implement a national security strategy issued in 2022. That called for an increase in Japan’s defense budget and a shift from a defense-only policy to one that includes counterstrike capabilities amid threats from North Korea and China.  In December, Japan eased its arms export control regime that had allowed it to sell components but not completed weapons.  Cho Han-Bum, a senior research fellow at the Korea … “South Korea cautiously optimistic about US-Japan military upgrades” →

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honolulu — Additional equipment such as fire trucks or water tankers would have helped the Maui Fire Department fight the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century last August, the agency said on Tuesday. Wildfires were burning in several locations in Maui on August 8, 2023, stretching the department’s limited resources. A severe windstorm made battling the flames difficult, and the blaze in Lahaina quickly tore through the historic town, killing 101 people and destroying thousands of homes. Crews used personal vehicles and even a moped to try to rescue residents from the flames, the department said. The need for additional firefighting equipment is one of 17 recommendations included in an after-action report produced for the department by the Western Fire Chiefs Association. The report details what went well when the department responded in Lahaina, Olinda and Kula on August 8, as well as improvements that can be made, Assistant Fire Chief Jeff Giesa said. Giesa and Fire Chief Brad Ventura discussed the report during a news conference in Kula on Tuesday morning and said the full document would be released later that day. “There were firefighters fighting the fires in Lahaina as they well knew their homes were burning down,” Ventura said. “There were firefighters who rescued people and kept them in their apparatus for several hours as they continued to evacuate others.” One off-duty safety officer repeatedly drove his personal moped into the fire zone to rescue people, according to Ventura, and other firefighters drove their own cars to the perimeter and ran and hiked inside to evacuate people. “While I’m incredibly proud of our department’s response, I believe we can always improve our efforts,” Ventura said. One of the recommendations in the report is that the department keep their relief fire equipment fully stocked, he said. Other recommendations include creating a statewide mutual aid program and a statewide evacuation plan for residents who speak different languages. Many of the factors that contributed to the disaster are already known: A windstorm battering the island had downed power lines and blown off parts of rooftops, and debris blocked roads throughout Lahaina. Hawaiian Electric has acknowledged that one of its power lines fell and caused a fire in Lahaina the morning of August 8, but the utility company denies the morning fire caused the flames that burned through the town later that day. The vast majority of the county’s fire … “Maui wildfire report details need for more equipment, mutual aid” →

Washington — House impeachment managers walked two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas across the Capitol to the Senate on Tuesday, forcing senators to convene a trial on the allegations that he has “willfully and systematically” refused to enforce immigration laws. While the Senate is obligated to hold a trial under the rules of impeachment once the charges are walked across the Capitol, the proceedings may not last long. Democrats are expected to try to dismiss or table the charges later this week before the full arguments get underway. Republicans have argued there should be a full trial. As Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, signed the articles Monday in preparation for sending them across the Capitol, he said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, should convene a trial to “hold those who engineered this crisis to full account.”  Schumer “is the only impediment to delivering accountability for the American people,” Johnson said. “Pursuant to the Constitution, the House demands a trial.” Majority Democrats have said the Republicans’ case against Mayorkas doesn’t rise to the “high crimes and misdemeanors” laid out as a bar for impeachment in the Constitution, and Schumer likely has enough votes to end the trial immediately if he decides to do so. The proceedings will not begin until Wednesday. Schumer has said he wants to “address this issue as expeditiously as possible.” “Impeachment should never be used to settle a policy disagreement,” Schumer said. “That would set a horrible precedent for the Congress.” Senators will be sworn in Wednesday as jurors, turning the chamber into the court of impeachment. The Senate will then issue a summons to Mayorkas to inform him of the charges and ask for a written answer. He will not have to appear in the Senate at any point. What happens after that is unclear. Impeachment rules generally allow the Senate to decide how to proceed. The House narrowly voted in February to impeach Mayorkas for his handling of the border. House Republicans charged in two articles of impeachment that Mayorkas has not only refused to enforce existing law but also breached the public trust by lying to Congress and saying the border was secure. It was the first time in nearly 150 years a Cabinet secretary was impeached. Since then, Johnson has delayed sending the articles to the Senate for weeks while both chambers finished work … “House Republicans send Mayorkas impeachment articles to Senate, forcing trial” →

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WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday is taking up the first of two cases that could affect the criminal prosecution of former President Donald Trump for his efforts to overturn his election loss in 2020. Hundreds of charges stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot are also at stake.  The justices are hearing arguments over the charge of obstruction of an official proceeding. That charge, stemming from a law passed in the aftermath of the Enron financial scandal more than two decades ago, has been brought against 330 people, according to the Justice Department. The court will consider whether it can be used against those who disrupted Congress’ certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election victory over Trump.  The former president and presumptive nominee for the 2024 Republican nomination is facing two charges in the case brought by special counsel Jack Smith in Washington that could be knocked out with a favorable ruling from the nation’s highest court. Next week, the justices will hear arguments over whether Trump has “absolute immunity” from prosecution in the case, a proposition that has so far been rejected by two lower courts.  The first former U.S. president under indictment, Trump is on trial on hush money charges in New York and also has been charged with election interference in Georgia and with mishandling classified documents in Florida.  In Tuesday’s case, the court is hearing an appeal from Joseph Fischer, a former Pennsylvania police officer who has been indicted on seven counts, including obstruction, for his actions on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in a bid to keep Biden, a Democrat, from taking the White House. Lawyers for Fischer argue that the charge doesn’t cover his conduct.  The obstruction charge, which carries up to 20 years behind bars, is among the most widely used felony charges brought in the massive federal prosecution following the deadly insurrection.  Roughly 170 January 6 defendants have been convicted of obstructing or conspiring to obstruct the January 6 joint session of Congress, including the leaders of two far-right extremist groups, the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. A number of defendants have had their sentencings delayed until after the justices rule on the matter.  Some rioters have even won early release from prison while the appeal is pending over concerns that they might end up serving longer than they should have if the … “Charges against Trump and January 6 rioters at stake as Supreme Court hears debate over obstruction law” →

CHICAGO — Pro-Palestinian demonstrators blocked roadways in Illinois, California, New York and the Pacific Northwest on Monday, temporarily shutting down travel into some of the nation’s most heavily used airports, onto the Golden Gate and Brooklyn bridges and on a busy West Coast highway. In Chicago, protesters linked arms and blocked lanes of Interstate 190 leading into O’Hare International Airport around 7 a.m. in a demonstration they said was part of a global “economic blockade to free Palestine,” according to Rifqa Falaneh, one of the organizers. Traffic in the San Francisco Bay Area was snarled for hours as demonstrators shut down all vehicle, pedestrian and bike traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge and chained themselves to 55-gallon drums filled with cement across Interstate 880 in Oakland. Protesters marching into Brooklyn blocked Manhattan-bound traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge. In Eugene, Oregon, protesters blocked Interstate 5, shutting down traffic on the major highway for about 45 minutes. Protesters say they chose O’Hare in part because it is one of the largest airports. Among other things, they’ve called for an immediate cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas. Anti- war protesters have demonstrated in Chicago near daily since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel that killed around 1,200 people. Israeli warplanes and ground troops have since conducted a scorched-earth campaign on the Gaza Strip. The Israeli offensive has killed more than 33,700 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead. O’Hare warned travelers on the social platform X to take alternative forms of transportation with car travel “substantially delayed this morning due to protest activity.” Some travelers stuck in standstill traffic left their cars and walked the final leg to the airport along the freeway, trailing their luggage behind them. Among them was Madeline Hannan from suburban Chicago. She was headed to O’Hare for a work trip to Florida when her and her husband’s car ended up stalled for 20 minutes. She got out and “both ran and speed walked” more than 1.6 kilometers (1 mile). She said she made it to the gate on time, but barely. “This was an inconvenience,” she said in a telephone interview from Florida. “But in the grand scheme of things going on overseas, it’s a minor inconvenience.” While individual travelers may have been … “Pro-Palestinian demonstrators shut down highways and bridges in major US cities” →

HONOLULU — The Maui Fire Department is expected to release a report Tuesday detailing how the agency responded to a series of wildfires that burned on the island during a windstorm last August — including one that killed 101 people in the historic town of Lahaina and became the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century. The release comes one day before the Hawaii Attorney General is expected to release the first phase of a separate comprehensive investigation about the events before, during and after the Aug. 8 fires. The reports could help officials understand exactly what happened when the wind-whipped fire overtook the historic Maui town of Lahaina, destroying roughly 3,000 properties and causing more than $5.5 billion in estimated damage, according to state officials. The Western Fire Chiefs Association produced the after-action report for the Maui Fire Department. After-action reports are frequently used by military organizations, emergency response agencies, government entities and even companies to help identify the strengths and weaknesses of the organization’s response to an emergency. A similar after-action report was released by the Maui Police Department in February. It included 32 recommendations to improve the law enforcement agency’s response to future tragedies, including that the department obtain better equipment and that it station a high-ranking officer in the island’s communications center during emergencies. Hawaiian Electric has acknowledged that one of its power lines fell and caused a fire in Lahaina the morning of Aug. 8, but the utility company denies that the morning fire caused the flames that burned through the town later that day. But dozens of lawsuits filed by survivors and victims’ families claim otherwise, saying entities like Hawaiian Electric, Maui County, large property owners or others should be held responsible for the damage caused by the inferno. Many of the factors that contributed to the disaster are already known: Strong winds from a hurricane passing far offshore had downed power lines and blown off parts of rooftops, and debris blocked roads throughout Lahaina. Later those same winds rained embers and whipped flames through the heart of the town. The vast majority of the county’s fire crews were already tied up fighting other wildfires on a different part of the island, their efforts sometimes hindered by a critical loss of water pressure after the winds knocked out electricity for the water pumps normally used to load firefighting tanks and reservoirs. County officials have … “Maui Fire Department to release after-action report on deadly Hawaii wildfires” →

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WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives will consider aid to Israel and Ukraine as separate legislation this week, Republican Speaker Mike Johnson said on Monday, more than two months after the Senate passed a bill combining the two. Leaving a meeting of House Republicans on Monday evening, Johnson said the narrowly divided chamber would consider four bills altogether that would also include aid to Taiwan, U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific and U.S. national security priorities. “We know that the world is watching us to see how we react,” Johnson told reporters. “They’re watching to see if America will stand up for its allies and in our own interest around the globe. And we will.” U.S. aid has been delayed by Johnson’s unwillingness to consider a $95 billion bipartisan bill the Senate passed in February, including $14 billion for Israel as well as $60 billion for Ukraine. Also included were billions to strengthen allies in the Indo-Pacific, where China is becoming more assertive, and for international humanitarian aid. Johnson said the new House bills provide roughly the same amount of foreign aid as the Senate bill but would include differences including some aid in the form of a loan. Republicans aim to release legislative text as early as Tuesday morning but will observe a 72-hour review period before voting. Johnson said votes on passage could come late on Friday. The push to pass the aid gained urgency after Iran’s weekend missile and drone attack on Israel despite fierce opposition in the deeply divided Congress. Three of the four bills Johnson suggested would cover Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific. The makeup of the fourth was not immediately clear. Backers had insisted the broad foreign aid measure passed with 70% support in the Senate would have received similar support in the House. However, Johnson had given a variety of reasons to delay, among them the need to focus taxpayer dollars on domestic issues and reluctance to take up a Senate measure without more information. Johnson also faces a threat from a hard-right Republicans to oust him as speaker if he allows the Ukraine aid to move ahead. Many on the right, especially those closely allied with former President Donald Trump, who has been skeptical of assisting Kyiv in its fight against Russia, fiercely oppose sending billions more dollars to Ukraine. The House Freedom Caucus – a group of Republican hardliners with about three … “Ukraine, Israel aid to hit US House floor as separate bills soon” →

The White House — As U.S. President Joe Biden hosted Iraq’s prime minister Monday, all eyes were on Iran, which over the weekend made a historic first strike on Israel.  That attack has inflamed concerns of a wider regional war — a situation that effectively eclipsed the leaders’ already-planned Oval Office meeting, where they wanted to discuss their mutual fight against Islamic State, economic issues and Iraq’s progress toward energy independence and modernization. “The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the enduring strategic partnership between Iraq and the United States, and discussed their visions for comprehensive bilateral cooperation under the 2008 U.S.-Iraq Strategic Framework Agreement,” the two leaders said in a joint statement after Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani met with Biden.  Meanwhile, White House officials disputed reports that Iran delivered a clear warning before the strike. White House national security spokesperson John Kirby called such reports “nonsense.” “Can you imagine a world in which Iran would pick up the phone and say, ‘Hey, we’re about to try to schwack Israel with 300 cruise missiles and drones. We just wanted to let you know it’s coming. And oh, by the way, here’s what we’re going to hit.’” “I’m sorry,” he said. “It just didn’t happen.” He stressed that Israel’s response is “an Israeli decision to make,” and “we’re going to leave it squarely with them.” Even though the United States is describing Iran’s aerial assault as a failure, Iraq’s leader acknowledged that the conflict between Israel and Hamas is of major concern in the region.  “We are actually very eager about stopping this war, which claimed the lives of thousands of civilians, women and children,” Sudani said, sitting beside Biden in the Oval Office. “And we encourage all the efforts about stopping the expansion of the area of conflict.”  The two nations have a delicate relationship after decades of U.S. military involvement in Iraq. U.S. anti-aircraft assets in northern Iraq were used to shoot down some of the Iranian missiles. Biden said Iraq — a longtime adversary of Iran — has a role to play in maintaining peace.   “Simply put, our partnership is pivotal for our nations, for the Middle East, and I believe, for the world,” he said.  Earlier Monday, Sudani’s deputy met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, where both men hailed the regional cooperation that thwarted the attack and urged de-escalation.  “I think what this weekend … “Biden meets Iraqi PM amid escalating Mideast tensions” →

Abortion is one of the central issues of the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign. President Joe Biden says access to abortion is an issue of personal freedom, while Republican candidate Donald Trump says states should continue to decide their own abortion laws. VOA Correspondent Scott Stearns reports. …

santa fe, new mexico — A movie weapons supervisor was sentenced to 18 months in prison in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin on the set of the Western film “Rust,” during a hearing Monday in which tearful family members and friends gave testimonials that included calls for justice and a punishment that would instill greater accountability for safety on film sets. Movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was convicted in March by a jury on a charge of involuntary manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and has been held for more than a month at a county jail on the outskirts of Santa Fe. Prosecutors blamed Gutierrez-Reed for unwittingly bringing live ammunition onto the set of “Rust” where it was expressly prohibited and for failing to follow basic gun safety protocols. Gutierrez-Reed was unsuccessful in her plea for a lesser sentencing, telling the judge she was not the monster that people have made her out to be and that she had tried to do her best on the set despite not having “proper time, resources and staffing.” Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer for “Rust,” was pointing a gun at Hutchins during a rehearsal on a movie set outside Santa Fe in October 2021 when the revolver went off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. Baldwin has pleaded not guilty to a charge of involuntary manslaughter. He is scheduled for trial in July at a courthouse in Santa Fe. The sentence against Gutierrez-Reed was delivered by New Mexico Judge Mary Marlowe Summer, who is overseeing proceedings against Baldwin. The judge said anything less than the maximum sentence would not be appropriate given that Gutierrez-Reed’s recklessness amounted to a serious violent offense. “You were the armorer, the one that stood between a safe weapon and a weapon that could kill someone,” the judge told Gutierrez-Reed. “You alone turned a safe weapon into a lethal weapon. But for you, Ms. Hutchins would be alive, a husband would have his partner and a little boy would have his mother.”   Gutierrez-Reed teared up as Hutchins’ agent, Craig Mizrahi, spoke about the cinematographer’s creativity and described her as a rising star in Hollywood. He said it was a chain of events that led to Hutchins’ death and that had the armorer been doing her job, that chain would have been broken. Los Angeles-based attorney Gloria Allred read a statement by … “Gun supervisor gets 18 months in prison for fatal movie set shooting by Alec Baldwin” →

BOSTON — Sisay Lemma scorched the first half of the Boston Marathon course on Monday, setting a record pace to build a lead of more than half of a mile.  Then the weather heated up, and the 34-year-old Ethiopian slowed down.  After running alone for most of the morning, Lemma held on down Boylston Street to finish in 2 hours, 6 minutes, 17 seconds — the 10th fastest time in the race’s 128-year history. Lemma dropped to the pavement and rolled onto his back, smiling, after crossing the finish line.  “Until halfway through I was running very hard and very good. But after that it was getting harder and harder,” said Lemma, who failed to finish twice and came in 30th in three previous Boston attempts. “Several times I’ve dropped out of the race before. But today I won, so I’ve redeemed myself.”    Hellen Obiri defended her title, outkicking Sharon Lokedi on Boylston Street to finish in 2:27:37 and win by eight seconds; two-time Boston champion Edna Kiplagat completed the Kenyan sweep, finishing another 36 seconds back.  Obiri also won New York last fall and is among the favorites for the Paris Olympics. She is the sixth woman to win back-to-back in Boston and the first since Catherine “the Great” Ndereba won four in six years from 2000 to ’05.  “Defending the title was not easy. Since Boston started, it’s only six women. So I said, ‘Can I be one of them? If you want to be one of them, you have to work extra hard,’” she said. “And I’m so happy because I’m now one of them. I’m now in the history books in Boston.”  Lemma, the 2021 London champion, arrived in Boston with the fastest time in the field — just the fourth person ever to break 2:02:00 when he won in Valencia last year. And he showed it on the course Monday, separating himself from the pack in Ashland and opening a lead of more than half of a mile.  Lemma ran the first half in 1:00:19 — 99 seconds faster than Geoffrey Mutai’s course record pace in 2011, when his 2:03:02 was the fastest marathon in history. Fellow Ethiopian Mohamed Esa closed the gap through the last few miles, finishing second by 41 seconds; two-time defending champion Evans Chebet was third.  Each winner collected a gilded olive wreath and $150,000 from a total prize purse that … “Ethiopia’s Sisay Lemma, Kenya’s Hellen Obiri win Boston Marathon” →

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Washington — Tax Day reveals a major split in how Joe Biden and Donald Trump would govern: The presidential candidates have conflicting ideas about how much to reveal about their own finances and the best ways to boost the economy through tax policy. Biden, the sitting Democratic president, plans to release his income tax returns on Monday, the IRS filing deadline. And on Tuesday, he is scheduled to deliver a speech in Scranton, Pennsylvania, about why the wealthy should pay more in taxes to reduce the federal deficit and help fund programs for the poor and middle class. Biden is proud to say that he was largely without money for much of his decades-long career in public service, unlike Trump, who inherited hundreds of millions of dollars from his father and used his billionaire status to launch a TV show and later a presidential campaign. “For 36 years, I was listed as the poorest man in Congress,” Biden told donors in California in February. “Not a joke.” In 2015, Trump declared as part of his candidacy, “I’m really rich.” The Republican former president has argued that voters have no need to see his tax data and that past financial disclosures are more than sufficient. He maintains that keeping taxes low for the wealthy will supercharge investment and lead to more jobs, while tax hikes would crush an economy still recovering from inflation that hit a four-decade peak in 2022. “Biden wants to give the IRS even more cash by proposing the largest tax hike on the American people in history when they are already being robbed by his record-high inflation crisis,” said Karoline Leavitt, press secretary for the Trump campaign. The split goes beyond an ideological difference to a very real challenge for whoever triumphs in the November election. At the end of 2025, many of the tax cuts that Trump signed into law in 2017 will expire — setting up an avalanche of choices about how much people across the income spectrum should pay as the national debt is expected to climb to unprecedented levels. Including interest costs, extending all the tax breaks could add another $3.8 trillion to the national debt through 2033, according to an analysis last year by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Biden would like to keep the majority of the tax breaks, based on his pledge that no one earning less than $400,000 … “Tax Day reveals a major split in how Joe Biden and Donald Trump would govern” →

The United States and Israel say they achieved a “spectacular defeat” over an Iranian aerial attack that sent 300 munitions – more than 100 of them ballistic missiles – to Israel on Saturday. But as Sunday dawned in both places, a bigger question rose on the horizon: What happens next in this six-month conflict that threatens to envelop the Middle East? VOA White House correspondent Anita Powell reports from Washington. …

WASHINGTON — Top officials in Washington are attempting to avoid a widening war in the Middle East after Iran launched an unprecedented attack on Israel with explosive drones and missiles.  “There need to be some consequences here,” said a senior U.S. official briefing reporters Sunday afternoon on the condition of not being named.  But U.S. President Joe Biden, in his latest conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “made very clear to the prime minister last night that we do have to think carefully and strategically about risks of escalation,” especially in view of the attack causing only light damage and no significant casualties, the official said. Israeli officials insist there will be a response, but the country’s war Cabinet appears divided on how and when.  If Israel retaliates, it would be doing it alone.  “We would not envision ourselves participating in such a thing,” replied the senior administration official when asked whether the United States would participate in any military response to the Iranian attack.  It was an “incredible military achievement” by Israel, the United States and other partners in repelling “more than 300 drones and missiles” launched by Iran, according to White House national security spokesperson John Kirby. US Central Command says its forces, supported by US European Command destroyers, on Saturday and on Sunday morning “successfully engaged and destroyed more than 80 one-way attack uncrewed aerial vehicles (OWA UAV) and at least six ballistic missiles intended to strike Israel from Iran and Yemen. This includes a ballistic missile on its launcher vehicle and seven UAVs destroyed on the ground in Iranian-backed Houthi controlled areas of Yemen prior to their launch.” U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in a statement late Saturday, said the explosive aircraft and missiles were launched from the territories of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen. “We call on Iran to immediately halt any further attacks, including from its proxy forces, and to deescalate tensions,” Austin said. “We do not seek conflict with Iran, but we will not hesitate to act to protect our forces and support the defense of Israel.” He spoke by phone Sunday for the third time during the weekend with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Biden convened a hastily arranged video conference Sunday of leaders of the Group of Seven nations to coordinate a united diplomatic response to the Iranian attack. “With its actions, Iran has further stepped toward the destabilization of the … “US suggests Israel need not retaliate against Iran” →

Augusta, Georgia — American Scottie Scheffler won his second Masters title with an ice-cool four stroke victory at Augusta National on Sunday. Scheffler, the world number one and 2022 Masters winner, shot a final round four-under par 68 to end on 11-under for the tournament with Masters first-timer Ludvig Aberg of Sweden finishing as the runner-up. It was a classic display of calmness and precision from Scheffler, who kept his focus after making bogies on the fourth and seventh holes to run away with the contest on the back nine. Scheffler began the round with a one-shot lead over fellow American Collin Morikawa but the contest took a decisive turn on the ninth hole. Morikawa double-bogeyed and Scheffler made birdie and the three-stroke swing left the 24-year-old Aberg his closest challenger after the turn. But after Aberg double-bogeyed the 11th, the outcome was in Scheffler’s safe hands and the 27-year-old Texan made sure of victory with birdies on 13, 14 and 16. The win is Scheffler’s third victory of the season coming after his wins at Bay Hill and the Players Championship last month. …

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Alexandria, Virginia — A U.S. judge has tossed out a series of civil lawsuits against a Libyan military commander who used to live in Virginia and was accused of killing innocent civilians in that country’s civil war. At a court hearing Friday, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema said she had no jurisdiction to preside over a case alleging war crimes committed in Libya, even though the defendant, Khalifa Haftar, has U.S. citizenship and lived for more than 20 years in the northern Virginia suburbs of the nation’s capital as an exile from the regime of Moammar Gadhafi. The ruling was a significant reversal of fortune for Haftar. In 2022, Brinkema entered a default judgment against Haftar after he refused to sit for scheduled depositions about his role in the fighting that has plagued the country over the last decade. But Haftar retained new lawyers who persuaded the judge to reopen the case and made Haftar available to be deposed. He sat for two separate depositions in 2022 and 2023 and denied orchestrating attacks against civilians. Once a lieutenant to Gadhafi, Haftar defected to the U.S. during the 1980s. He is widely believed to have worked with the CIA during his time in exile. He returned to Libya in 2011 to support anti-Gadhafi forces that revolted against the dictator and killed him. During the country’s civil war, he led the self-styled Libyan National Army, which controlled much of the eastern half of Libya, with support from countries including Russia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. He continues to hold sway in the eastern half of the country. In the lawsuits, first filed in 2019, the plaintiffs say family members were killed by military bombardments conducted by Haftar’s army in civilian areas. The lawsuits also alleged that Haftar and his family owned a significant amount of property in Virginia, which could have been used to pay off any judgment that would have been entered against him. While the lawsuits were tossed out on technical issues over jurisdiction, one of Haftar’s lawyers, Paul Kamenar, said Haftar denied any role in the deaths of civilians. “He’s not this ruthless figure that everyone wants to portray him as,” Kamenar said in a phone interview Sunday. Faisal Gill, a lawyer for plaintiffs in one of the three lawsuits that Brinkema tossed out Friday, said he plans to appeal the dismissal. Mark Zaid, lawyer for another set of … “US judge tosses out lawsuits against Libyan commander accused of war crimes” →