Fears, questions about N. Korea's growing nuclear arsenal

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea's latest missile launches are a demonstration of the country's avowed ability to use nuclear force against South Korea and the mainland U.S. How immediate is that threat?

North Korea claims its nuclear forces area capable of destroying its rivals, and often follows each of its provocative weapons tests with launch details. But many foreign experts call the North's claim propaganda and suggest that the country is not yet capable of hitting the United States or its allies with a nuclear weapon.

North Carolina Republican legislative leaders have asked to participate in litigation so it can defend state restrictions on dispensing abortion pills. Lawyers for Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore filed a motion in federal court on Tuesday asking to enter the case as defendants. This comes after Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein's office has said it will side with the doctor challenging the abortion restrictions. This lawsuit and another one in West Virginia are considered the beginning of legal battles over medication access. The North Carolina lawsuit alleges that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations on the drug mifepristone preempts state restrictions.

Mecklenburg County’s district attorney has decided two Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officers were legally justified in fatally shooting Kevin Eugene Boston last summer after he pointed a gun at the officers who approached Boston as a suspect in a theft from a nearby Food Lion.

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Feb. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Brookdale Senior Living Inc. (NYSE: BKD) ("Brookdale" or the "Company") announced results for the quarter and full year ended December 31, 2022.

Additional fees may be coming for incoming South Carolina residents who want to legally drive on their new home state’s roads. Droves of newcomers have made South Carolina one of the nation’s fastest-growing states. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over 129,000 people moved to South Carolina in 2019, largely from North Carolina and Georgia. A bill dubbed the “Yankee tax” could require the newest Palmetto State locals to pay $500 total in one-time fees for new driver’s licenses and vehicle registration. Republican Sen. Stephen Goldfinch says his proposal seeks to ensure the new neighbors pay their fair share for infrastructure already funded by existing taxpayers.

The BBC has apologized for its coverage of J.K. Rowling for the second time this year after an on-air guest was unchallenged when referencing the "Harry Potter" author as anti-trans.

A company that stamps metal auto parts will invest $300 million to build a 740-employee plant near Savannah, Georgia. Sewon Precision Industry Co. will become the fifth Hyundai Motor Group supplier to locate in the region. Sewon, a South Korean company, will locate the plant in Rincon, a Savannah suburb in Effingham County. Hyundai said in May that it would build a $5.5 billion plant to assemble electric vehicles and batteries in Ellabell. That plant could grow to 8,100 employees. It's supposed to begin producing vehicles in 2025. Hyundai suppliers have now announced $1.8 billion of investments in the region.

MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb 21, 2023--

DETROIT — Arielle Anderson was destined for greatness, several speakers including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Tuesday at the funeral for the 19-year-old student killed during the mass shooting at Michigan State University last week.

BOISE, Idaho — St. Luke’s Health System has filed paperwork asking an Ada County judge to consider holding far-right leader Ammon Bundy in contempt of court — again.

Authorities have announced an additional charge against the gunman who they say killed six people in a tiny rural community in northern Mississippi on Friday. Police say 52-year-old Richard Dale Crime carried out a rampage at multiple locations that claimed the lives of six people that included his ex-wife. Tate County Sherriff Brad Lance says Crum has been charged with one count of capital murder for the death of his ex-wife, Debra McNally Crum. Crum had already been charged with one count of first-degree murder for the death of Chris Eugene Boyce. Crum hasn't yet been charged in the deaths of the four other victims, which includes his stepfather. A judge ordered Crum to be held without bond and set Crum’s preliminary hearing for Thursday morning.

A political action committee founded by the former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spent more than $42,000 on a bulk order of books the same day his memoir “Never Give An Inch” went on sale.

A jury is hearing testimony from a former high-ranking Proud Boys member who pleaded guilty to plotting with group leaders to violently stop the transfer of presidential power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden. Jeremy Bertino told jurors on Tuesday that he viewed their far-right extremist organization as “the tip of the spear” after the 2020 election. Bertino is testifying against former Proud Boys national leader Enrique Tarrio and four lieutenants as part of a cooperation deal with federal prosecutors. Bertino is the only group member who has pleaded guilty to a seditious conspiracy charge stemming from a mob’s attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The five defendants on trial are charged with the same offense.

Megan Fox has stated in no uncertain terms that no third person — and no third thing — has gotten between her and musician Machine Gun Kelly, who have reportedly been working through some issues in the days since Super Bowl weekend.

Two counts of aggravated assault were added to the first-degree murder complaint against an Arizona rancher suspected of killing a Mexican man on his land. The Tuesday filing in Santa Cruz County Justice Court in the border city of Nogales, Arizona, was the first public mention of the possibility other people may have been hurt in the Jan. 30 shooting. The new counts come on the eve of a preliminary hearing for 73-year-old rancher George Alan Kelly. His attorney says he did not fatally shoot the man who died, but he acknowledges he earlier fired warning shots at smugglers carrying AK-47 rifles.

Rep. George Santos’ campaign filed paperwork Tuesday listing a new campaign treasurer but provided scant detail about the mysterious man apparently tapped to track the truth-challenged New York congressman’s coffers.

Constance Wu and boyfriend Ryan Kattner are expecting, again.

The family of a man who was fatally shot by a police officer says his rights under a federal disability discrimination law were violated because he was having a mental health crisis and officers weren’t adequately trained to respond. In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Atlanta, the family of Matthew Zadok Williams alleges “disability discrimination” and says DeKalb County had a “policy of failing to adequately train police officers to safely arrest persons with mental illness.” A county police officer shot and killed Williams on April 12, 2021, in the townhome community where he lived. A county spokesperson declined to comment on pending litigation.

A Georgia House committee approved a bill Tuesday that targets crimes against Jewish people and threatening antisemitic imagery such as swastikas.

The USA TODAY Sports Top 25 men's basketball poll, with first-place votes received, team's RECORDS THROUGH SUNDAY, total points based on 25 for first place through one point for 25th and ranking in last week's poll:

The Biden administration is planning to reverse longstanding policy and allow the use of Medicaid to treat jail and prison inmates' substance use disorders and certain other health conditions. Dr. Rahul Gupta, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, announced Tuesday that states would be encouraged to submit proposals for how to use money from the joint federal-state low-income health insurance program for incarcerated people. Those that do would be required to provide mental health and drug treatment and would have the option to add some other services.

Before Florida’s legislative session even begins, the bill that would allow people to carry concealed weapons without a permit is just a few steps away from becoming law.

A fifth grader at Richneck Elementary, the same Virginia school where a 6-year-old shot and wounded his teacher, was removed from class after threatening to “pop some bullets,” officials said.

AUSTIN, Texas – Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office made its case on Tuesday for state budget writers to fund a $3.3 million whistleblower settlement, saying the cost to keep fighting the lawsuit would be far higher.

Pennsylvania House Democrats are putting their freshly minted majority status to work in shutting down Republican efforts to make changes to legislation designed to let victims of childhood sexual abuse file otherwise outdated lawsuits. After the winners of three Pittsburgh-area special elections were sworn in on Tuesday, the chamber began work on legislation for a two-year “window” for child sexual abuse lawsuits. Three special elections earlier this month gave Democrats a one-seat margin in the chamber. Their leaders are hoping for a final House vote later this week. Republicans say Democrats are wielding the majority to prevent amendments and constrain debate.

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:

A 38-year-old Chicago man has been convicted of attempted murder after he shot an Iowa sheriff's deputy during a robbery. A Linn County jury found Stanley Donahue guilty Tuesday in the June 2021 shooting at a Casey's store in Coggon. Prosecutors said Linn County deputy Will Halverson was shot seven times after he responded to a report of a robbery at the store. Prosecutors said Donahue robbed two employees and locked them in a cooler before shooting Halverson seven times. The deputy was seriously injured but recovered and returned to work. No sentencing date was set for Donahue, who faces up to 112 years in prison.

The Biden administration says it will generally deny asylum to migrants who show up at the U.S. southern border without first seeking protection in a country they passed through. That mirrors an attempt by the Trump administration that never took effect because it was blocked in court. The measure stops short of a total ban but imposes severe limitations on asylum for any nationality except Mexicans, who don’t have to travel through a third country to reach the U.S. It doesn't take effect immediately and is almost certain to face legal challenges.

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb 21, 2023--

Legalizing sports betting is back on the agenda of the Minnesota Legislature. And advocates expressed hope Tuesday they’ll find the votes to get a plan through the state Senate, where the idea has died before. The Democratic proposal, introduced Monday, would put the state’s tribes in control of in-person betting at their casinos as well as remote wagering via mobile devices. Similar to a bill that passed the House last year, the state’s two horse tracks would be shut out of the action. This year, tribal casinos and six major-league sports teams have forged an alliance to support the bill.

Yes, “Cocaine Bear” is a real movie. And it might be a hit. Since the trailer first debuted for Elizabeth Banks’ very, very loosely based-on-a-true-story comedy has stoked a rabid zeitgeist. At a time when much in Hollywood can feel pre-packaged, the makers of “Cocaine Bear” think it can be a wild exception. Its makers, including producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, say that it's time Hollywood got bolder and greenlight movies that don't feel like they were dreamed up in a corporate boardroom. And “Cocaine Bear” most definitely didn't originate at the C-suite. It opens in theaters Friday.

SUSSEX, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb 21, 2023--

More than a half dozen South and Central Florida mayors have hopped aboard a national travel industry campaign to persuade the U.S. State Department to speed up visa application interviews abroad for international travelers.

DALLAS — More cameras, greater security lighting with motion detection and additional fencing.