46 migrants found dead in abandoned trailer in San Antonio

SAN ANTONIO (AP) - Forty-six people were found dead after being abandoned in a tractor-trailer on a remote back road in San Antonio in what marked the latest tragedy to claim the lives of migrants smuggled across the border from Mexico to the U.S.
Sixteen people were hospitalized, including four children.

A city worker heard a cry for help from the truck shortly before 6 p.m. Monday and discovered the gruesome scene, Police Chief William McManus said. Hours later, body bags lay spread on the ground near the trailer as a grim symbol of the calamity.

San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg said the 46 who died had "families who were likely trying to find a better life."

"This is nothing short of a horrific human tragedy," Nirenberg said.

It´s among the deadliest tragedies to have claimed thousands of lives of people attempting to cross the U.S.

border from Mexico in recent decades. Ten migrants died in 2017 after being trapped inside a truck that was parked at a Walmart in San Antonio. In 2003, 19 migrants were found in a sweltering truck southeast of San Antonio.

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Russian missile strike hits crowded shopping mall in Ukraine

KREMENCHUK, Ukraine (AP) - Rescuers searched through the charred rubble of a shopping mall Tuesday looking for more victims of a Russian missile strike that killed at least 18 and wounded scores in what Ukraine's president called "one of the most daring terrorist attacks in European history."

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said more than 1,000 afternoon shoppers and workers were inside the mall in the city of Kremenchuk.

Giant plumes of black smoke, dust and orange flames billowed from the wreckage as emergency crews combed through broken metal and concrete for victims. Drones whirred above, clouds of dark smoke still emanating from the ruins several hours after the fire was extinguished.

Casualty figures rose as rescuers sifted through the smoldering rubble.

The regional governor, Dmytro Lunin, said at least 18 people were killed and 59 others sought medical assistance, of whom 25 were hospitalized. The region declared a day of mourning Tuesday for the victims of the attack.

"We are working to dismantle the construction so that it is possible to get machinery in there since the metal elements are very heavy and big, and disassembling them by hand is impossible," said Volodymyr Hychkan, an emergency services official.

Ukraine´s Prosecutor General, Iryna Venediktova, who is leading investigations into possible war crimes, said the missile attack was one of Russia´s "crimes against humanity," noting that the Russian military has been "systematically shelling civilian infrastructure with the aim to scare people, to kill people, to bring terror to our cities and villages."

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The AP Interview: Spanish PM says NATO summit to show unity

MADRID (AP) - Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the NATO summit in Madrid this week aims to showcase the Western allies' united front in defense of democratic values in the face of Russia´s invasion of Ukraine, while increasing the bloc´s deterrence capabilities.

In an interview with The Associated Press a day before the summit begins Tuesday, he reiterated that the alliance would not tolerate any territorial aggression against its members.

"We have to transmit a message of deterrence, that we are ready to defend every centimeter of allied territory," Sánchez said.

Russian President Vladimir "Putin is not just invading Ukraine. What he wants is to destabilize, weaken the security, the prosperity of Europe."

Speaking at the palace that hosts the prime minister's office and residence in Madrid, Sánchez said the chief aim of the NATO summit was to send "a message of unity in line with democracy, security, international order, based on rules that, unfortunately, Putin and the Russian Federation have blown to smithereens with the invasion of Ukraine."

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G-7 leaders wrap up summit meant to bolster Ukraine support

ELMAU, Germany (AP) - The Group of Seven on Tuesday was wrapping up a summit intended to send a strong signal of long-term commitment to Ukraine's future, ensuring that Russia pays a higher price for its invasion while also attempting to alleviate a global hunger crisis and show unity against climate change.

Before the summit's close, leaders joined in condemning what they called the "abominable" Russian attack on a shopping mall in the town of Kremechuk, calling it a "war crime" and vowing that President Vladimir Putin and others involved "will be held to account."

The leaders of the U.S., Germany, France, Italy, the U.K., Canada and Japan on Monday pledged to support Ukraine "for as long as it takes" after conferring by video link with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The summit host, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said he "once again very emphatically set out the situation as Ukraine currently sees it." Zelenskyy's address, amid a grinding Russian advance in Ukraine's east, came hours before Ukrainian officials reported a deadly Russian missile strike on a crowded shopping mall in the central city of Kremenchuk.

Officials have said during the summit that leaders of the major economies are preparing to unveil plans to pursue a price cap on Russian oil, raise tariffs on Russian goods and impose other new sanctions.

Agreement on some of the complexities of the oil price cap - such as whether it would apply only to Russia or to other oil producers - could be left for further discussions beyond the summit.

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Jan. 6 panel to hold surprise hearing, present new evidence

WASHINGTON (AP) - The House panel investigating the U.S.

Capitol insurrection is holding a surprise hearing on Tuesday with an unidentified witness, cloaking the last-minute proceedings in extraordinary secrecy and raising expectations for new bombshells in the sweeping investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack.

The unexpected hearing, scheduled for 1 p.m.

Tuesday, was announced with 24 hours' notice while lawmakers are away from Washington on a two-week recess. The committee had said last week that there would be no more hearings until July.

The subject of the hearing is so far unclear, but the panel's announcement on Monday said it would be "to present recently obtained evidence and receive witness testimony." A spokesman for the panel declined to elaborate.

The committee´s investigation has been ongoing during the hearings, which started three weeks ago, and the nine-member panel has continued to probe the attack by supporters of then-President Donald Trump.

Among other investigative evidence, the committee recently obtained new footage of Trump and his inner circle taken both before and after Jan. 6 from British filmmaker Alex Holder.

Holder said last week that he had complied with a congressional subpoena to turn over all the footage he shot in the final weeks of Trump´s 2020 reelection campaign, including exclusive interviews with Trump, his children and then-Vice President Mike Pence.

The footage includes material from before the insurrection and afterward.

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Post-Roe: Dems challenge GOP to show they care for mothers

The Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade's constitutional protections for abortion rights set off a contest between Democrats and Republicans going into the midterm elections over whose policies would do more to help vulnerable mothers and children.

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who heads the Republican campaign committee in the Senate, said GOP lawmakers now have the responsibility to "do everything in our power to meet the needs of struggling women and their families so they can choose life."

It's a recognition that, even with a focus on inflation and high gas prices that have vexed President Joe Biden and Democrats, the culturally sensitive issue could complicate the expectations of a GOP takeover of Congress.

The fallout from Friday's ruling could add to the uncertainty in political races because abortion is also an economic issue for many people.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen last month said a repeal "would have very damaging effects on the economy and would set women back decades."

Democrats suggest their rivals are eleventh-hour converts who would offer half-measures at best and voters should judge them accordingly.

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Election 2022: Abortion central in first post-Roe primaries

DENVER (AP) - The midterm primary season enters a new, more volatile phase on Tuesday as voters participate in the first elections since the U.S.

Supreme Court's decision revoking a woman's constitutional right to an abortion jolted the nation's politics.

In Colorado's Republican U.S. Senate primary, voters are choosing between businessman Joe O'Dea and state Rep. Ron Hanks. O'Dea is the rare Republican who supports most abortion rights while Hanks backs a ban on the procedure in all cases.

Meanwhile, in the Republican race for governor in Illinois, Darren Bailey, a farmer endorsed by former President Donald Trump over the weekend, wants to end the state´s right to abortion except for instances in which the mother's life is in danger.

He doesn't support exceptions for rape or incest. His opponent, Richard Irvin, the first Black mayor of Aurora, has said he would allow abortions in instances of rape, incest or "http://leon-zerkalo-bets6.buzz when the mother's life is at risk.

Both races are unfolding in states where abortion remains legal.

Democrats have sought to elevate both Hanks and Bailey, betting that they have a better chance of winning the fall campaign if they're competing against Republicans they could portray as extreme. In Colorado, Democrats have spent more than $2 million boosting Hanks' candidacy.

In Illinois, the sums have been vastly higher, with Democrats spending at least $16 million against Irvin and to boost Bailey as the nominee against Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

The strategy carries risks, especially if the magnitude of the GOP's expected gains this fall becomes so significant that Democrats lose in states like Illinois and Colorado, which have become strongholds for the party.

But at a moment when Democrats are confronting voter frustration over inflation and rising gas prices, the focus on abortion may be their best hope.

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Ghislaine Maxwell to be sentenced in Epstein sex abuse case

NEW YORK (AP) - Ghislaine Maxwell, the jet-setting socialite who once consorted with royals, presidents and billionaires, is set to be sentenced Tuesday for helping the wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse underage girls.

The 11 a.m.

sentencing in New York is the culmination of a prosecution that detailed how the power couple flaunted their riches and prominent connections to lure vulnerable girls as young as 14, and then exploit them.

Prosecutors said Epstein, who killed himself in 2019 while awaiting trial, sexually abused children hundreds of times over more than a decade, and couldn´t have done so without the help of Maxwell, his longtime companion and onetime girlfriend.

"Maxwell´s conduct was shockingly predatory. She was a calculating, sophisticated, and dangerous criminal who preyed on vulnerable young girls and groomed them for sexual abuse," prosecutors wrote in a court filing.

In December, a jury convicted Maxwell of sex trafficking, transporting a minor to participate in illegal sex acts and two conspiracy charges.

Prosecutors say she deserves 30 to 55 years in prison.

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Hong Kong burnishes China ties as luster as global hub fades

HONG KONG (AP) - Every few generations, Hong Kong transforms itself, evolving from a swampy fishing village to 19th century colonial port, to capitalist outpost and factory after China´s 1949 revolution, to 21st century financial center.

As the former British colony marks the 25th anniversary of its return to China, reeling from pandemic curbs that devastated business and a crackdown on its pro-democracy movement, Hong Kong leaders say it is time to transform again. They say the city should become a leader in technology that relies more on its ties with nearby Chinese factory cities than on global trade.

Chief Executive-elect John Lee´s government is under pressure to generate new sources of economic growth, looking beyond COVID outbreaks and anti-virus controls that have devastated tourism and business and uncertainty about the legal climate after a crackdown on the city's pro-democracy movement.

In April, during his election campaign, Lee promised to "start a new chapter" for the city better known as one of Asia's busiest ports and biggest stock markets and "strengthen its competitiveness" in technology and innovation as well as trade and finance.

Lee gave no details but pointed to the Greater Bay Area, a Chinese government initiative to link Hong Kong with neighboring mainland cities including the technology and finance hub of Shenzhen and the manufacturing powerhouses of Dongguan and Foshan.

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AP PHOTOS: The iPhone at 15, through pro photographers' eyes

This week marks 15 years since the iPhone first went on sale and ushered in a new era: the age of the smartphone.

It´s hard to imagine today how different mobile access was before that evening of June 29, 2007.

The internet in your pocket didn´t look like, well, the internet. Social media - and the ability for everyone to respond globally to everything - was in its infancy. And while older phones certainly had cameras, the quality - and the potential for instant editing and filtering and sharing that exists today - wasn´t there yet.

The modern smartphone has changed photography.

To capture a snapshot of that change, we asked more than a dozen Associated Press photographers across the world who use iPhones - some of the most talented journalists in the business - to capture an image on their phone and submit it.

Here is what they came up with.
But first: Some words from Enric Martí, the AP deputy director of photography who oversaw the project - and who had his doubts about it at the outset.

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