Mariupol’s dead put at 5,000 as Ukraine braces in the east

ANDRIIVKA, Ukraine (AP) — The mayor of the besieged port city of Mariupol put the number of civilians killed there at more than 5,000 Wednesday, as Ukraine collected evidence of Russian atrocities on the ruined outskirts of Kyiv and braced for what could become a climactic battle for control of the country’s industrial east.

Ukrainian authorities continued gathering up the dead in shattered towns outside the capital amid telltale signs Moscow’s troops killed civilians indiscriminately before retreating over the past several days.

In other developments, the U.S. and its Western allies moved to impose new sanctions against the Kremlin over what they branded war crimes.

And Russia completed the pullout of all of its estimated 24,000 or more troops from the Kyiv and Chernihiv areas in the north, sending them into Belarus or Russia to resupply and reorganize, probably to return to the fight in the east, a U.S. defense official speaking on condition of anonymity said.

In his nightly address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that the Russian military continues to build up its forces in preparation for the new offensive in the east, where the Kremlin has said its goal is to “liberate” the Donbas, Ukraine’s mostly Russian-speaking industrial heartland. He said Ukraine, too, was preparing for battle.

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EXPLAINER: A look at West’s escalating sanctions on Russia

The United States and European allies are again escalating sanctions on Russia after the discovery of evidence that Russian troops executed civilians in a town near Kyiv.

New penalties moved even closer to Russian President Vladimir Putin, targeting two of his adult daughters. The U.S., United Kingdom and the European Union prepared other steps including an embargo against Russian coal.

Pressure in the West for new sanctions rose in recent days after videos and photographs emerged of bodies laying in the streets of Bucha after Ukrainian forces regained control from retreating Russians. Some of the victims had their hands bound and were shot in the head, and satellite images indicated they had been in the streets since mid-March, when the Russian military still occupied the town.

“I made clear that Russia would pay a severe and immediate price for its atrocities in Bucha,” President Joe Biden said in a tweet after the White House said he will sign an executive order banning all new investment in Russia.

Sanctions imposed since Russia invaded Ukraine in February have damaged Russia’s economy but failed to stop the war.

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Police: Sacramento shooting was gunfight among gang rivals

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The mass killing that left six people dead and 12 wounded outside bars just blocks from California’s Capitol last weekend was a gunfight involving at least five shooters from rival gangs, Sacramento police said Wednesday.

Police said they identified at least five gunmen but there may have been more. Only two suspects — both brothers wounded by gunfire — have been arrested in connection with the shooting and, so far, only face firearms charges.

“We’re still working through … who the actual shooters are in the case,” Sgt. Zach Eaton said.

Until Wednesday’s announcement, police had been silent on what led to the shooting that erupted early Sunday as bars were letting out. Rapid-fire bursts of over 100 gunshots echoed through the streets as terrified patrons ran for their lives and others were hit by bullets.

Police said at least two gangs were involved. They declined to provide more details or name the gangs involved or the affiliation of any suspects.

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Scavino, Navarro held in contempt of Congress in 1/6 probe

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Trump advisers Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino were held in contempt of Congress on Wednesday for their monthlong refusal to comply with subpoenas rendered by the House committee’s investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The two men became the latest members of former President Donald Trump’s inner circle to face legal jeopardy as the select committee continues its more than nine-month-long probe into the worst attack on the Capitol in more than 200 years.

The near-party-line 220-203 vote will send the criminal referrals for Navarro and Scavino to the Justice Department for possible prosecution.

The contempt action followed hours of raw debate on the House floor as Republicans stood by Trump and charged that Democrats were trying to politicize the attack on the Capitol by his supporters.

House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy accused the Jan. 6 committee of “criminalizing dissent,” defended Scavino as a “good man” and lobbed harsh criticism at members of the committee, some by name. “Let’s be honest, this is a political show trial,” McCarthy said.

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Texas takes new border action; ex-Trump officials want more

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday delivered new orders along the U.S.-Mexico border and promised more to come as former Trump administration officials press him to declare an “invasion” and give state troopers and National Guard members authority to turn back migrants.

The two-term Republican governor did not say whether he supports such a concept, which constitutional scholars say is legally dubious, nearly unprecedented and would almost certainly face swift court challenges.

But for now, Abbott said state troopers would begin stopping and inspecting commercial vehicles that come across the border, which he acknowledged would “dramatically slow” vehicle traffic near U.S. ports of entry. He also said bus charters to Washington, D.C., would be offered to migrants who volunteer for them, in a dig at President Joe Biden and Congress, who Abbott has criticized for not doing enough.

Abbott said the inspection stops would occur on Texas roadways and follow the law. “But of course, everyone always files a lawsuit,” he said.

The new directives amount to the “unprecedented actions” that Abbott promised in response to the Biden administration winding down a public health law – now set to expire in May – that has limited asylum-seekers in the name of preventing the spread of COVID-19. When that happens, it is expected to draw more migrants to the southern border.

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China’s security deal with Solomons raises alarm in Pacific

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A security alliance between China and the Solomon Islands has sent shudders throughout the South Pacific, with many worried it could set off a large-scale military buildup or that Western animosity to the deal could play into China’s hands.

What remains most unclear is the extent of China’s ambitions.

A Chinese military presence in the Solomons would put it not only on the doorstep of Australia and New Zealand but also in close proximity to Guam, with its massive U.S. military bases.

China so far operates just one acknowledged foreign military base, in the impoverished but strategically important Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti. Many believe that China’s People’s Liberation Army is busy establishing an overseas military network, even if they don’t use the term “base.”

The Solomon Islands government says a draft of its agreementwith China was initialed last week and will be “cleaned up” and signed soon.

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Nursing home care, funding system need overhaul, report says

NEW YORK (AP) — Nursing home residents are subjected to ineffective care and poor staffing, while facility finances are shrouded in secrecy and regulatory lapses go unenforced, according to a report Wednesday that called for wholesale changes in an industry whose failures have been spotlighted by the pandemic.

To anyone who saw the scourge of COVID-19 on the country’s most vulnerable, the findings of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine might seem sobering but unsurprising, as the long-term care system’s inadequacies were made plain by more than 150,000 resident deaths. The authors of the 605-page reportinsist it could be an impetus to address issues that have gotten little more than lip service for decades.

“The public is so concerned about the quality of care that most people really fear their family having to be in a nursing home,” said Betty Ferrell, a nurse who chaired the report committee. “We’re very optimistic that our government officials will respond to what has really been a travesty.”

The report covers a vast cross-section of long-term care, from granular details such as the way facilities are designed to foundational issues that would require massive political capital and investment to address. Among them: the authors advocate for creating a new national long-term care system that would exist outside of Medicaid, the program that is at the center of most long-term care financing.

The likelihood of such a proposal successfully winding its way through Congress seems low in the current political climate. The most recent federal attempt to reform long-term care financing was a voluntary long-term care insurance program known as the CLASS Act. It was included in the Affordable Care Act but later repealed when the Obama administration found it unworkable.

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AP PHOTOS on Day 42: Rows of body bags in Ukraine’s Bucha

Dozens of body bags containing the remains of civilians killed by Russian occupying forces in the Ukrainian town of Bucha lay in rows Wednesday on the edge of a cemetery as authorities worked to identify the victims of unspeakable atrocities.

On a road nearby, two young girls, their little brother and father walked holding hands among the tangled metal of destroyed Russian tanks left behind by the retreating troops as they left the town on the outskirts of Kyiv.

The horror of death and destruction could be seen in the traumatized face of survivors like 99-year-old Motria Oleskiinko, as she was comforted by a daughter-in-law in a frigid room without heat in the village of Andriivka.

In the fields outside, a Ukrainian serviceman jumped from a destroyed Russian fighting vehicle after collecting parts and ammunition, and a cat sat in matted grass between large caliber rounds of ammunition abandoned as the Russian troops withdrew.

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Swedish House Mafia, The Weeknd replace Ye at Coachella

INDIO, Calif. (AP) — Swedish House Mafia and The Weeknd are replacing rapper Ye in a headlining spot at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

A new lineup was posted on Wednesday announcing the late change for the festival that runs April 15-17 and April 22-24 in Indio, California.

A representative for Ye, who changed his name from Kanye West, did not immediately return a message from the AP seeking comment. A publicist for Goldenvoice, the company that runs Coachella, also did not respond to a request for information.

Swedish House Mafia had already been listed as performers prior to the lineup change, but it wasn’t immediately clear when they were to perform. Now they are listed at the top of the Sunday nightly schedule, along with The Weeknd. Other headliners include Billie Eilish and Harry Styles.

Ye, a top Grammy nominee, did not attend last weekend’s Grammy Awards, despite winning two awards, after his performance was pulled from the show.

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Tiger Woods overshadows Masters with so many scenarios

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Five players can go to No. 1 in the world by winning the Masters. Another can complete the career Grand Slam with a green jacket. Such is the depth of talent these days in golf on the eve of the first major of the year.

And such is the power of five words at 10:34 a.m. Thursday that are sure to overshadow everything else on the opening day of the 86th Masters.

“Fore, please. Tiger Woods driving.”

Those words from the first tee at Augusta National haven’t been uttered since Nov. 15, 2020, the last time Woods played — and walked — in a tournament.

For all its youth — the top seven players in the world are 30 or younger — golf still isn’t ready to let go of its past, especially when that past is Woods and there was every reason to wonder if he would ever compete at this level again.