Swedish Lawmakers Debate Joining NATO  05/16 06:01

   

   STOCKHOLM (AP) -- Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson on Monday told 
her country's parliament that she sees "a historic change in our country's 
security policy line" as the country prepares to seek membership of NATO.

   "Sweden needs formal security guarantees that come with membership in NATO," 
Andersson said during a parliamentary debate, adding that the country was 
acting together with neighboring Finland.

   The debate is expected to be a formality as there is a clear majority of 
lawmakers in favor joining NATO. Sweden is expected to formally seek membership 
in the 30-member military alliance later Monday.

   The move in Sweden, which has been outside military alliances since the 
Napoleonic Wars, came after Finland on Sunday announced that it, too, would 
seek to join NATO in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.

   "Sweden is best defended within NATO," Andersson said. "Unfortunately, we 
have no reason to believe that the trend (of Russia's actions) will reverse in 
the foreseeable future."

   On Sunday, the Swedish Social Democrats broke with the party's longstanding 
position that Sweden must remain nonaligned, paving the way for a clear 
majority for NATO membership in Parliament

   The debate on Monday enables the Social Democratic government to demonstrate 
that there is huge support for joining NATO. Out of Sweden's eight parties, 
only two smaller, left-leaning parties oppose it.

   "I can see that there is broad support" for the government's position, 
Andersson said after the three-hour debate in Riksdagen during which she said 
that Sweden should not have nuclear weapons or "permanent bases" on its soil. 
The Scandinavian country has no nuclear weapons of its own.

   In Helsinki, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said Monday that there 
is "very significant" support in the Congress and he expects swift 
ratification, adding that the two Nordic countries will "bring a great deal to 
the NATO alliance."

   "The goal of the United States is to do it as rapidly as possible," 
McConnell said. He hoped a vote could be held before the August recess and 
added that he also hoped that the United States would be "the first to ratify."

   "With regard to the size of the vote, I think it will be very significant. 
Not unanimous, but very significant," the longtime NATO supporter said.

   On Sunday, he and Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, John Barrasso of 
Wyoming and John Cornyn of Texas stopped in Stockholm and met with Andersson 
among others. They made a surprise stop Saturday in Ukraine's capital to 
express solidarity in the fight against the Kremlin.

   Public opinion in both Sweden and Finland had been firmly against joining 
NATO, but support for membership surged almost overnight after the Ukraine 
invasion started.

Infrastructure Plan Has 4,300 Projects 05/16 06:03

   

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- Six months after the signing of President Joe Biden's $1 
trillion infrastructure package, the government said Monday there are 4,300 
projects underway with more than $110 billion in funding announced -- 
milestones the administration is publicly heralding as midterm politics 
intensify.

   White House senior adviser Mitch Landrieu, the former mayor of New Orleans, 
said the roads, bridges and other projects are laying "a foundation for 
tremendous growth into the future." Landrieu said Biden and members of his 
administration have made more than 125 trips to highlight the bipartisan 
investments in infrastructure. He declined to predict how much the storytelling 
will resonate with voters as construction starts.

   "I think that if Americans step back, we will all have to admit that for the 
last 50 years we've had the need to do this and we haven't found the will or 
the way to get it done," Landrieu told reporters. He added that this is a 
"wonderful down payment" on infrastructure needs in the country that total 
roughly $7 trillion.

   The administration made a strategic calculation that delivering results 
would help Democrats retain control of the House and the Senate in this year's 
elections. Infrastructure was a rare source of bipartisan unity as Biden struck 
a deal that attracted several Republican senators. The law contains money to 
expand internet access and replace lead water pipes and for rail and public 
transit projects and investments to address climate change.

   When Biden signed the law on Nov. 15, he pledged to voters that "America is 
moving again and your life is going to change for the better."

   Six months later, the stock market is down, inflation is near a 40-year 
peak, Russia's war in Ukraine is pushing up energy costs and many Americans 
feel pessimistic about the economy's health. There is an open question whether 
voters will reward infrastructure projects in which the benefits are years away 
as part of what Biden has portrayed as an "infrastructure decade."

   "All we can do is tell the story about what we do, and the impact that it 
has on the midterms will be whatever it's going to be," Landrieu said.

   Of the $110 billion announced so far, $52.5 billion is for federal highway 
funding this fiscal year and $20.5 billion for public transit. There is another 
$27 billion over five years for bridges, as well as money for safety, rural 
highways, airports, ports, drought resilience and other programs.

   The infrastructure spending is also one area where political leaders will 
have to share credit with each other. Governors and mayors are responsible for 
90% of the expenditures in the law, while the federal government accounts for 
10% of the spending. The administration has actively tried to help state and 
local governments compete for the money, with Landrieu noting that even 
Republican critics are generally eager to receive the funding.

   "Some really smart person said, you know, even those people that voted no 
want the dough," he said. "This is as close to consensus in my political life 
that I have seen."

   The Commerce Department last week called on states to begin the process of 
submitting their plans for universal access to high-speed internet. Biden has 
also taken steps to maximize the likelihood that construction materials are 
made domestically, as the money has started to go out.

   Landrieu said the two biggest challenges of coordinating the spending have 
involved offering technical assistance to smaller governments and enabling 
workforce development to fill the jobs being created. There are 7.6 million 
construction jobs in the U.S., with employers advertising about 400,000 
openings in the sector.

   Landrieu said that those challenges are also "an unbelievable opportunity to 
get right something that we actually haven't been collectively very good at in 
the country."

   If the government succeeds with coordination and future administrations 
follow suit, Landrieu said, "America is going to grow exponentially faster and 
winning the 21st century is not going to be a challenge for us."

Buttigieg: $5B to Cities for Safety    05/16 06:04

   With upcoming data showing traffic deaths soaring, the Biden administration 
is steering $5 billion in federal aid to cities and localities to address the 
growing crisis by slowing down cars, carving out bike paths and wider sidewalks 
and nudging commuters to public transit.

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- With upcoming data showing traffic deaths soaring, the 
Biden administration is steering $5 billion in federal aid to cities and 
localities to address the growing crisis by slowing down cars, carving out bike 
paths and wider sidewalks and nudging commuters to public transit.

   Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Monday announced the availability 
of money over five years under his department's new Safe Streets & Roads for 
All program.

   The aim will be to provide a direct infusion of federal cash to communities 
that pledge to promote safety for the multiple users of a roadway, particularly 
pedestrians and bicyclists.

   Federal data being released this week by the Transportation Department is 
expected to show another big jump in U.S. traffic deaths through 2021, 
reflecting continued risky driving that began with the coronavirus pandemic in 
March 2020. Fatalities among pedestrians and cyclists have been rising faster 
than those within vehicles.

   Deaths also are disproportionately higher among nonwhite, lower-income 
people, who are more likely to take public transit and travel by foot or bike, 
as well as those in tribal and rural areas, where speeding can be more common.

   "We face a national crisis of fatalities and serious injuries on our 
roadways, and these tragedies are preventable -- so as a nation we must work 
urgently and collaboratively to save lives," Buttigieg said. He said the money 
"will help communities large and small take action to protect all Americans on 
our roads."

   "We have become far too accustomed to the loss of life and serious injuries 
happening on our roadways," he said.

   Previewing the upcoming data, Steven Cliff, the acting head of the National 
Highway Traffic Safety Administration, told an event last week the final 
figures would show "alarming" increases for the full year of 2021.

   Roadway deaths represent about 95% of all U.S. transportation deaths, at 
more than 38,000 in 2020. In 2021, data released so far has already shown U.S. 
traffic fatalities rising to 31,720 through the third quarter, the highest 
nine-month period since 2006. Before 2020, the number of U.S. traffic deaths 
had fallen for three straight years.

   The department's effort is part of a new national strategy, launched in 
January, to stem record increases in road fatalities with a "safe system" 
approach that promotes better road design, lower speed limits and tougher car 
safety regulations. About $5 million to $6 million for the grants is included 
in President Joe Biden's infrastructure law.

   Still, much of the federal roadmap relies on cooperation from cities and 
states, and it could take months if not years to fully implement with 
discernible results -- too late to soothe 2022 midterm voters unsettled by this 
and other pandemic-related ills, such as rising crime.

   The latest U.S. guidance Monday invites cities and localities to sketch out 
safety plans in their applications for the federal grants, which are to be 
awarded late this year.

   It cites examples of good projects as those that promise to transform a 
high-crash roadway, such as by adding rumble strips to slow cars or installing 
speed cameras, which the department says could provide more equitable 
enforcement than police traffic stops; flashing beacons for pedestrian 
crosswalks; new "safe routes" via sidewalks or other protected pathways to 
school or public transit in underserved communities; and other "quick build" 
roadway changes designed with community input.

   Buttigieg was traveling to Germany later Monday for the International 
Transport Forum to discuss the best approaches to achieve a U.N. goal of 
halving the world's traffic deaths by 2030. Around 1.25 million people are 
killed worldwide on the road each year. The U.S. has been mostly an outlier in 
seeing traffic deaths climb during the pandemic even with fewer cars on the 
road, due in part to higher U.S. rates of speeding and not wearing seatbelts.

   Michael Kelley, policy director for roadway safety advocacy group BikeWalkKC 
in Kansas City, Missouri, says he has been advocating for biking and walking 
routes because his two young daughters love to explore outside but can't do so 
safely since their neighborhood lacks sidewalks and sits near a highway.

   Kelley, who is Black, said communities can become vibrant and more connected 
by fostering walkable neighborhoods that allow the elderly who may not readily 
drive, such as his parents, to "age in place" near a younger generation, like 
his daughters, who increasingly "don't want or need to drive" a car if there 
are other safe and affordable transportation options available.

   "Everyone deserves to be able to walk, to bike, to take transit, and for 
that to be the safe and easy choice," Kelley said.

   Buttigieg stressed the urgency.

   "I'm convinced that we can use this moment, this urgent and troubling 
moment, as a pivot point," he said. "We are out to fund whatever is going to go 
most directly toward reducing crashes and saving lives so we can change the 
trajectory of road safety in this decade."

Kim Blasts NKorea Pandemic Response    05/16 06:06

   

   SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un criticized 
officials over slow medicine deliveries and mobilized the military to respond 
to a surge in suspected COVID-19 infections, as his nation struggled to contain 
a fever that has reportedly killed dozens and sickened nearly a million others 
in a span of three days.

   North Korean health authorities said Monday that eight more people died and 
an additional 392,920 were newly found to have feverish symptoms. That brings 
the death toll to 50 and illnesses to more than 1.2 million, respectively. It's 
a sharp jump from six dead and 350,000 sick reported last Friday, a day after 
the North said that it found that an unspecified number of people in capital 
Pyongyang tested positive for the omicron variant.

   Kim has acknowledged that the fast-spreading fever, highly likely driven by 
COVID-19, is causing "great upheaval" in the country, and outside experts say 
the true scale of the outbreak is likely much bigger than what's described in 
the state-controlled media.

   Some suspect that North Korea has understated its fatalities or illnesses to 
shield Kim's leadership from criticism. The North likely lacks test kits and 
other tools to detect virus carriers with no or mild symptoms, which means that 
several million might already have been infected.

   "When people die, North Korean authorities will say they've died of overwork 
or from natural deaths, not because of COVID-19," said Nam Sung-wook, a 
professor at Korea University in South Korea. Nam said the North is likely 
understating the death toll to protect "the dignity of its supreme leader."

   While neighboring South Korea and China have offered to send medical 
supplies and other help, experts say it's too late to inoculate the North's 26 
million people, and that the only realistic outside help would be offering 
limited supplies of vaccines to reduce deaths among high-risk groups, including 
the elderly and people with preexisting conditions.

   It's also unclear whether and how soon Kim would accept outside offers of 
aid because he has previously rallied for unity at home to guard against the 
pandemic without resorting to foreign help.

   State media didn't specify how many of the fever cases were confirmed as 
COVID-19. Among the 50 fatalities, North Korea officially identified only one 
as a COVID-19 case so far.

   North Korea is believed to be mostly relying on isolating people with 
symptoms at shelters. Analyst Cheong Seong-Chang at South Korea's Sejong 
Institute said the North's limited number of test kits are likely mainly 
reserved for the ruling elite.

   Failing to slow the virus could have dire consequences for North Korea, 
considering its broken health care system and that its people are believed to 
be unvaccinated. There's also malnourishment and chronic poverty.

   The North imposed what it described as maximum preventive measures that 
restricted travel between cities and counties, and Kim ordered public health 
officials, teachers and others to identify people with fevers so they could be 
quarantined. As of Sunday, more than 564,860 people were in quarantine, North 
Korea's state media reported.

   The explosive growth in fever cases may underscore how fast omicron could 
travel across an unvaccinated population without access to proper health tools, 
and fatalities will surely jump in coming weeks considering time lags between 
infections and deaths, said Jung Jae-hun, a professor of preventive medicine at 
South Korea's Gachon University.

   While it's clear COVID-19 is spreading at an alarming speed, there are 
questions about the accuracy of North Korea's fever tally. Jung said it's 
unlikely that North Korean health workers are able to make reliable daily 
updates, considering the lack of tests and other resources, and are possibly 
adding multiple days of cases into their single-day counts following delays.

   Cho Han Bum, an analyst at Seoul's Korea Institute for National Unification, 
said North Korea's fever totals seemed an "outright lie."

   "North Korea says about 390,000 more fell ill but only eight died in the 
past day, while South Korea (on Sunday) reported 25,000 new cases and 48 
deaths," he said.

   Yang Moo-jin, a professor at Seoul's University of North Korean Studies, 
said that the real number of COVID-19 infections in North Korea is likely at 
least three times larger than North Korea's tally of fever patients because of 
underreporting, the bad health care system and poorly computerized 
administrative networks.

   Kim during a ruling party Politburo meeting on Sunday criticized government 
and health officials over what he portrayed as a botched pandemic response, 
saying medicine supplies aren't being distributed to pharmacies in time because 
of their "irresponsible work attitude" and lack of organization.

   The Politburo had issued an emergency order to immediately release and 
quickly distribute state medicine reserves and for pharmacies to open for 
24-hour shifts, but Kim said such steps weren't being properly implemented. Kim 
ordered the medical units of his military to get involved in stabilizing the 
supply of medicine in Pyongyang, KCNA said.

   North Korea's previous claim of a perfect record in keeping out the virus 
for 2 1/2 years was widely doubted. But its extremely strict border closure, 
large-scale quarantines and propaganda that stressed anti-virus controls as a 
matter of "national existence" may have staved off a huge outbreak until now.

   South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol told the National Assembly on Monday 
that the South was willing to send vaccines, medicine, equipment and health 
personnel to the North if it's willing to accept.

   South Korean officials say Pyongyang so far has made no request for Seoul's 
help. The North also shunned millions of vaccine doses offered by the 
U.N.-backed COVAX distribution program, likely because they carried 
international monitoring requirements.

   Kim still stressed the country's economic goals should be met, which likely 
means huge groups will continue to gather at agricultural, industrial and 
construction sites.

EU's Russia Sanctions Effort Slows     05/16 06:07

   

   BRUSSELS (AP) -- The European Union's efforts to impose a new round of 
sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine appeared to be bogged down on 
Monday, as a small group of countries opposed a ban on imports of Russian oil.

   Since Russia invaded on Feb. 24, the bloc has implemented five rounds of 
sanctions on Moscow. President Vladimir Putin, senior officials, more than 350 
lawmakers and pro-Kremlin oligarchs were hit with asset freezes and travel 
bans. Banks, the transport sector and alleged propaganda outlets were targeted.

   What could have taken years in the past has been achieved in less than three 
months -- relative light speed for the 27-nation bloc. But limiting Russia's 
energy income by weaning their dependency off its oil -- not to mention gas 
supplies -- is proving a tougher nut to crack.

   The EU's executive branch, the European Commission, proposed on May 4 a 
sixth package of war sanctions that included a ban on oil imports from Russia. 
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen conceded at the time that 
securing the agreement of all "will not be easy."

   Hungary is one of a number of landlocked countries that are highly dependent 
on Russian oil, along with the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Bulgaria also has 
reservations. Hungary gets more than 60% of its oil from Russia, and 85% of its 
natural gas.

   "We will do our best in order to deblock the situation. I cannot ensure that 
it is going to happen because positions are quite strong," EU foreign policy 
chief Josep Borrell told reporters as he arrived to chair a meeting of the 
bloc's foreign ministers in Brussels.

   "Some member states face more difficulties because they are more dependent, 
because they are landlocked," Borrell said, and "they only have oil through 
pipelines, and coming from Russia."

   Muddying the waters is Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's relationship 
with Putin. Orban is widely considered to be one of the Russian leader's 
closest European allies. He has only reluctantly supported previous EU 
sanctions, including a phased-in embargo on Russian coal.

   Since taking office in 2010, Orban has deepened Hungary's dependency on 
Russian energy and says its geography and energy infrastructure make an oil 
shutdown impossible. His EU partners are at odds over what they believe is 
driving his reluctance to target oil.

   "The whole union is being held hostage by one member state," Lithuanian 
Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said. He said that the European 
Commission's proposal offered members a phaseout of Russian oil until Dec 31, 
2024, and that "everybody expected that this would be enough."

   But his Irish counterpart, Simon Coveney, acknowledged that "these are 
difficult, difficult issues for some countries," and he added: "Let's not focus 
on obstacles and negatives today."

   At the same time, Coveney said, "we need to get on and do this. We need to 
send a very clear signal to the Kremlin and to Moscow that the cost of their 
continuing war in Ukraine, which is completely unjustifiable, will continue to 
increase."

   For now, the ball is in Hungary's court, as the most vocal member of those 
opposed. Officials have said that Orban appears to be seeking EU money for 
energy infrastructure investment. Any compromise is only likely to be found in 
his talks with von der Leyen, not between ministers.

   The oil standoff raises questions about whether the EU has reached the 
limits of its unity on sanctions. Targeting Russia's gas sector, on which many 
more countries are dependent, is likely to prove even tougher.

   Officials said before Monday's meeting that a political agreement is likely 
to be found on a fourth tranche of money to help supply weapons to Ukraine. It 
would bring to 2 billion euros ($2.1 billion) the total sum available to fund 
the purchase of arms and other nonlethal assistance.

Biden Urges Unity to Stem Racial Hate  05/16 06:10

   

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Joe Biden urged unity Sunday to address the 
"hate that remains a stain on the soul of America" after a deadly mass shooting 
at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, while state officials pleaded for 
federal action to end the "uniquely American phenomenon" of mass shootings.

   Addressing an annual law enforcement ceremony at the U.S. Capitol, Biden 
said he and his wife, Jill, pray for those who were shot "by a lone gunman, 
armed with weapons of war and hate-filled soul," and their families.

   Authorities say a white 18-year-old male in military gear opened fire on 
shoppers and workers at the supermarket on Saturday, killing 10 people, 
including a retired Buffalo police officer, and wounding three others. Most of 
the victims were Black.

   Law enforcement officials said Sunday that the gunman had researched the 
local demographics while looking for places with a high concentration of Black 
people.

   "We must all work together to address the hate that remains a stain on the 
soul of America," Biden said at the 41st annual National Peace Officers' 
Memorial Service honoring fallen law enforcement officers. "Our hearts are 
heavy once again, but the resolve must never, ever waver."

   "No one understands this more than the people sitting in front of me," he 
added. The White House said the Bidens would travel to Buffalo on Tuesday to 
grieve with the community.

   Biden, speaking at the ceremony for the second time as president, did not 
address the calls by New York officials -- Gov. Kathy Hochul and Buffalo Mayor 
Byron Brown -- for strong federal action to end what Brown said is the 
"uniquely American phenomenon" of mass shootings.

   The president also did not mention gun control efforts that have stalled in 
Washington.

   Brown expressed frustration that "thoughts and prayers" and pledges to act 
are offered after every mass shooting, only to be be blocked by "some on one 
side of the aisle."

   "It seems like there are those that believe owning a gun is more precious 
than the sanctity of human life," the mayor told NBC's "Meet the Press." "So I 
think people all across this country have to rise up. They have to speak more 
loudly and more clearly that there must be gun control in this country. This is 
a uniquely American phenomenon. These mass shootings don't happen in other 
countries across the world."

   Brown said he would like to see "sensible gun control."

   House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said tighter gun measures are "a huge 
priority" for Democrats and the White House. She bemoaned the 60-vote threshold 
needed in the 50-50 Senate that has made it difficult to advance such 
legislation, but she pledged on CNN's "State of the Union" that "we are not 
going away until the job is done."

   Hochul said most of the illegal guns being used on the streets of her cities 
come from other states. "We need a national response," she told NBC.

   "We need other states to step up. We need the federal government on our 
side," said Hochul, a Buffalo native.

Scenario Darkens for Russia Globally   05/16 06:10

   Europe pushed Monday to sharpen and expand its response to Russia's invasion 
of Ukraine, with Sweden poised to follow Finland in seeking membership of NATO 
and European Union officials working to rescue proposed sanctions that would 
target Russian oil exports helping the Kremlin finance its war.

   KYIV, Ukraine (AP) -- Europe pushed Monday to sharpen and expand its 
response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with Sweden poised to follow Finland 
in seeking membership of NATO and European Union officials working to rescue 
proposed sanctions that would target Russian oil exports helping the Kremlin 
finance its war.

   On the ground, Russia saw more setbacks in its offensive in eastern Ukraine, 
where Ukrainian defenders are fighting desperately against attempted Russian 
advances and even successfully rolling back the front lines in some areas.

   In a small but symbolic boost for Ukrainian morale, a patrol of soldiers 
recorded triumphant video of their push right up to the Russian border in the 
region of Kharkiv. Already, Ukrainian forces have pushed Russian troops back 
from the region's capital, making it harder for them to hit the battered city 
with artillery.

   As fighting raged, international efforts to respond to Russia's aggression 
continued to pick up pace. The Swedish government is expected to announce its 
intention to seek NATO membership later Monday -- as its neighbor Finland has 
done. Those are seismic developments for the Nordic countries that have 
traditionally positioned themselves as militarily "nonaligned."

   An enlargement of NATO to include Sweden and Finland would be a serious blow 
to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has called the alliance's post-Cold 
War expansion in Eastern Europe a threat and cited it as a reason for attacking 
Ukraine. NATO says it is a purely defensive alliance.

   NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said the membership process for 
both Finland and Sweden could be very quick -- though member Turkey has cast 
doubts over the move.

   In Brussels, EU officials worked to overcome opposition from a small group 
of countries led by Hungary to a proposed embargo on imports of Russian oil. 
Hungary is one of a number of landlocked countries that are highly dependent on 
Russian oil, along with the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Bulgaria also has 
reservations.

   "We will do our best in order to deblock the situation," EU foreign policy 
chief Josep Borrell said. " I cannot ensure that it is going to happen because 
positions are quite strong."

   Weapons from NATO countries to Ukraine and western sanctions against Russia 
have helped the outgunned and outnumbered Ukrainian forces bog down the Russian 
advance -- and even turn it back in places.

   Stoltenberg, the NATO chief, said Sunday the war "is not going as Moscow had 
planned."

   "Ukraine can win this war," he said, adding that NATO must continue to offer 
military support to Kyiv.

   Since Russia's failure to overrun Kyiv, the capital, in the early stages of 
its Feb. 24 invasion, much of the fighting has shifted to the Donbas, Ukraine's 
eastern industrial heartland.

   Determining a full picture of the unfolding battle there is difficult. 
Airstrikes and artillery barrages make it extremely dangerous for reporters to 
move around, and reporting is restricted by Ukraine and the Moscow-backed 
separatists it has been fighting in the Donbas for eight years.

   Still, Ukrainian forces are grinding down the Russians, and the two sides 
have been battling village-by-village.

   A Ukrainian patrol in the Kharkiv region, where Russian troops have been 
pushed back by a counteroffensive, reached the Russian border and made a 
victorious video there addressed to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The video 
posted Sunday on Facebook by Ukraine's Ministry of Defense shows a dozen 
fighters around a post covered with blue and yellow, Ukraine's colors. It was 
not clear exactly where the video was shot.

   One soldier said the unit went "to the dividing line with the Russian 
Federation, the occupying country. Mr. President, we have reached it. We are 
here." Other fighters made victory signs and raised their fists.

   Along another section of the frontier with Russia, Ukrainian border guards 
said they defeated a Russian attempt Monday morning to send troops into the 
northern Sumy region. The border guard service said Russian forces deployed 
mortars, grenade launchers and machine guns in an attempt to cover a "sabotage 
and reconnaissance group" crossing the border from Russia.

   The border guard service said its officers returned fire and forced the 
Russian group to retreat back into Russia. The area is largely rural and hasn't 
seen intense fighting in more than a month. There was no immediate word from 
Russia.

   In the Donbas, the Ukrainian military said that Russian forces targeted 
civilian and military sites in multiple towns.

   Russia troops continued air and artillery strikes around the Azovstal steel 
plant in Mariupol, the last holdout of several hundred Ukrainian forces in the 
strategically important city, the Ukrainian General Staff said.

   In an online news conference, many wives of the besieged soldiers urged the 
international community to help gain the release of "the entire garrison," 
which is suffering from a dire lack of food, water and medicine.

   Turkey's presidential spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, said his country had offered 
to evacuate wounded Ukrainian soldiers and civilians by ship from Azovstal, the 
official state broadcaster TRT said.

   Britain's Defense Ministry said Monday that Belarus was deploying special 
operations forces along its border with Ukraine and air defense, artillery and 
missile units to training ranges in the west of the country. Belarus' forces 
have not been directly involved in the conflict, though its territory was used 
as a staging ground for the invasion.

   But the presence of Belarusian troops near the border may keep Ukrainian 
troops pinned down there, preventing them from moving to support the 
counteroffensive in the Donbas.

   Despite the fighting in the wider Kharkiv region and the threat of Russian 
missile attacks, many people were returning home to Kharkiv and other cities 
around Ukraine, Anna Malyar, deputy head of the Ministry of Defense, said.

   Refugees were returning not just because of optimism that the war might ebb.

   "Living somewhere just like that, not working, paying for housing, eating 
... they are forced to return for financial reasons," Malyar said in remarks 
carried by the RBK-Ukraine news agency.

US Stocks Fall, Continue Losing Streak 05/16 09:36

   Stocks fell in morning trading on Wall Street Monday, continuing a losing 
streak that has brought the market down for six weeks in a row.

   NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks fell in morning trading on Wall Street Monday, 
continuing a losing streak that has brought the market down for six weeks in a 
row.

   The S&P 500 slipped 0.3% as of 10:19 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial 
Average fell 91 points, or 0.3%, to 32,104 and the Nasdaq fell 0.3%.

   Technology stocks led the decline. Apple fell 0.5% and Microsoft fell 1%. 
The sector has been a particularly heavy weight on the broader market as 
investors worry about high inflation and rising interest rates.

   Retailers also fell broadly. Amazon slipped 1% and Starbucks fell 1.9%.

   Bond yields fell and weighed down banks, which rely on higher yields to 
charge more lucrative interest on loans. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell 
to 2.88% from 2.94% late Friday. Bank of America fell 1.3%.

   Spirit Airlines rose 11.8% after JetBlue said it would make a hostile offer 
for the budget carrier after Spirit rebuffed its earlier bids.

   Defense contractor ManTech jumped 14.8% after investment firm Carlyle Group 
said it will buy the defense contractor.

   The broader market is in the midst of a slump as investors try to gauge how 
companies and consumers are dealing with higher prices and whether central 
banks can help ease the problem.

   The Federal Reserve is in the process of pulling its benchmark short-term 
interest rate off its record low near zero, where it spent most of the 
pandemic. It also said it may continue to raise rates by double the usual 
amount at upcoming meetings. Investors are concerned that the central bank 
could cause a recession if it raises rates too high or too quickly.

   Lingering supply chain problems continue to feed inflation, and China's 
recent COVID-19 lockdowns have raised concerns that they may worsen. Russia's 
war against Ukraine has made already high energy prices even more volatile, 
which could also draw out rising inflation.

   Oil prices were relatively stable, though U.S. crude oil prices are up more 
than 50% for the year. Natural gas prices rose 5% and have more than doubled in 
2022.

   Wall Street is closely watching how consumers react to pressure from 
inflation and will get several updates from the U.S. government and key 
retailers this week. The Commerce Department on Tuesday will release its retail 
sales report for April.

   Home Depot and Walmart will report their latest financial results on Tuesday 
and Target will report its results on Wednesday.