This morning's top headlines: Monday, May 9
(10) updates to this series since Updated
Jill Biden spent several hours in Ukraine, driving from the border with Slovakia to a town 10 minutes away to see first lady Olena Zelenska on Mother's Day. Biden is the latest high-profile American to enter Ukraine during the war, while Zelenska's public appearance was her first since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. The first ladies met at a school being used to temporarily house Ukrainian migrants. Biden and Zelenska came together in a small classroom and greeted each other in front of reporters before they met in private. Zelenska and her two children have been staying at an undisclosed location for their safety.
Russian President Vladimir Putin marked his country’s biggest patriotic holiday without a major new battlefield success in Ukraine, and the Kremlin made little to no progress as the war ground through its 11th week on multiple fronts. While Western analysts in recent weeks had widely expected Putin to use the holiday to trumpet some kind of victory in Ukraine or perhaps announce a mass mobilization, he did neither. Instead, he sought to justify the war as a necessary response to what he falsely portrayed as a hostile Ukraine. On the battlefield, intense fighting raged in the east, the vital Black Sea port of Odesa in the south came under bombardment again, and Russian forces sought to finish off the Ukrainian defenders making their last stand at a steel plant in Mariupol.
In a story published May 9, 2022, about internet subsidies, The Associated Press erroneously referred to Hawaiian Telecom. The correct name is Hawaiian Telcom.
Firefighters in New Mexico’s Rocky Mountain foothills are excavating new firebreaks and clearing brush to keep a massive wildfire from destroying more homes and pine forests. Nearly 300 structures including homes, commercial buildings and barns have already been destroyed. Officials said Monday that the tally will increase as more of the damage is surveyed. More residents were told to evacuate the region Sunday night as the fire jumped a highway and moved through rugged territory. Another New Mexico wildfire in mountains near a key nuclear research facility prompted preparations for evacuations. Several dozen southern Arizona residents were forced to evacuate because of another wildfire.
The son and namesake of ousted Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos has taken a commanding lead in an unofficial count in the presidential election in the deeply divided Asian democracy. With 80% of the votes counted, Marcos Jr. had 25.9 million, far ahead of his closest challenger, current Vice President Leni Robredo, a champion of human rights, who had 12.3 million. The next president is likely to hear demands to prosecute outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte for thousands of killings during his anti-drug crackdown. Duterte’s daughter, southern Davao city Mayor Sara Duterte, is Marcos Jr.’s vice presidential running mate in an alliance of the scions of two authoritarian leaders who concern human rights groups.
The summer movie season is off to a blockbuster start thanks to “Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness.” The superhero extravaganza grossed an estimated $185 million in ticket sales in its first weekend in U.S. and Canadian theaters, the Walt Disney Co. said Sunday. Not only did it more than double the opening of the first “Doctor Strange,” which opened to $85 million in 2016, it’s also the biggest opener of the year, ahead of “The Batman’s” $134 million, the second biggest of the pandemic, behind “Spider-Man: Far From Home’s” $260.1 million, and the sixth biggest of all time globally.
“A Strange Loop,” Michael R. Jackson’s critically cheered theater meta-journey earned a leading 11 Tony Award nominations Monday as Broadway joined the national discussion of race by embracing an envelope-pushing Black-written and Black-led musical. Jackson’s 2020 Pulitzer Prize drama winner about a Black gay man writing a show about a Black gay man earned nods for best musical, best leading man in newcomer Jaquel Spivey and best featured actress for L Morgan Lee, who becomes the first openly transgender performer to be nominated for a Tony Award. Jackson says he had “hoped” his "collaborators would be acknowledged.'' Right behind “A Strange Loop” is a tie with 10 nominations each for “MJ” and “Paradise Square.”
DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic scored 26 points and the Dallas Mavericks took advantage of foul trouble for Chris Paul to beat the Phoenix Suns 111-101 on Sunday, evening the Western Conference semifinal series at 2-2.
BOSTON (AP) — Brad Marchand had two goals and three assists, including the tiebreaker early in the third period, and the Boston Bruins beat th…
Joey Logano bumped leader William Byron from behind and into the wall on the next to last lap to win at Darlington Raceway on Sunday. Logano tracked Byron for about 25 laps until running up to his rear bumper, smacking it hard and sending Byron into the wall. Logano went on to his first win of the season and his first ever at the track “Too Tough To Tame.” The victory ended a 40-race winless drought for Logano, who last won on the dirt at Bristol in 2021. Byron fell to 13th and called Logano “an idiot.”
Things to know today: Jill Biden's surprise Ukraine visit; Putin's Victory Day message to Russians; big open for "Doctor Strange 2"; and more.
The world's most valuable cryptocurrency was down 10% Monday after plunging again over the weekend. Plus, the second "Avatar" movie is set to debut this year, 13 years after the original.