National News - Harrison Daily

FILE - Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred speaks during a baseball spring training media day Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. “Clearly having a very high payroll is correlated with winning more games in the regular season,” Manfred said Tuesday, March 19, 2024. “The saving grace for us has been that our playoffs are unpredictable enough that the 110-win team doesn’t automatically march through the playoffs. That's why I reacted probably too negatively to the criticism that the playoffs were unpredictable and the best teams weren't coming through. The fact of the matter is that’s a good thing for us over the long haul.”(AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

MLB 2024: Splashy Ohtani, Yamamoto signings boost Dodgers as teams try to dethrone Rangers

The Los Angeles Dodgers showcased splashy signings Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but other teams focused on the fact that pricey payrolls don’t translate into titles very often. … more

By RONALD BLUM | 3/19/24

FILE - Palestinians crowd together as they wait for food distribution in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Nov. 8, 2023. Catastrophic hunger is so dire in two world hotspots that famine is imminent in northern Gaza and approaching in Haiti, with hundreds of thousands of people in both places struggling to avoid starvation, according to international food security experts and aid groups. (AP Photo/Hatem Ali, File)

Gaza and Haiti are on the brink of famine, experts say. Here's what that means.

A new report warns that famine is imminent in Gaza as fighting between Israel and Hamas continues. Aid groups say that 1.4 million people in Haiti are on the verge of famine. Famine occurs when … more

By JONEL ALECCIA | 3/19/24

FILE - The Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 4, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Supreme Court lifts stay on Texas law that gives police broad powers to arrest migrants at border

A divided Supreme Court has lifted a stay on a Texas law that gives police broad powers to arrest migrants suspected of crossing the border illegally while a legal battle over immigration authority … more

3/19/24

March Madness as we know it could be on the way out amid seismic changes in college sports

Tracking the changes upending college sports can be as frenetic as keeping up during the first week of March Madness. Ultimately, those changes could impact what America’s favorite basketball … more

By EDDIE PELLS | 3/19/24

This photo released by Belgorod region governor Vyacheslav Gladkov's telegram channel on Monday, March 18, 2024, shows emergency ministry employees working at the destroyed building after shelling from the Ukrainian side, in Nikolskoye village, Belgorod region, Russia. Belgorod region governor Vyacheslav Gladkov says four people were killed in the shelling, not far from the border with Ukraine. (Belgorod Region Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov telegram channel via AP)

Russia says it will evacuate 9,000 children from a border region targeted from the Ukrainian side

Officials say a Russian border region plans to evacuate some 9,000 children from the area that is being continuously shelled from the Ukrainian side. Kyiv’s forces have been increasingly striking … more

By The Associated Press | 3/19/24

Food is hard to come by in war-torn Gaza and the al Rabayah family, like hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced by the war, are struggling to observe the traditions of Ramadan during the Muslim holy month. (AP Video: Mohammad Jahjouh)

The Latest | Incoming Palestinian prime minister lays out postwar plans for devastated Gaza

The incoming Palestinian prime minister has laid out wide-ranging plans for a revitalized Palestinian Authority and an independent trust fund to oversee Gaza’s reconstruction in a mission statement … more

By The Associated Press | 3/19/24

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks on a visit to his campaign headquarters after a presidential election in Moscow in Moscow, Russia, early Monday, March 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Reactions as Vladimir Putin secures fifth term as Russia's president after tightly controlled vote

Vladimir Putin has secured an unprecedented fifth term as president of Russia. The country’s election commission announced the results of an election in which he faced no serious challenges and … more

The Associated Press | 3/18/24

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks on a visit to his campaign headquarters after the presidential election in Moscow, Russia, early Monday, March 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Putin says Russia is planning a buffer zone to protect against Ukrainian cross-border attacks

Russian President Vladimir Putin says his country won’t relent in its invasion of Ukraine, with one of its goals being to establish a buffer zone along the border to protect against long-range … more

By The Associated Press | 3/18/24

Parachutes drop humanitarian aid over the northern Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Sunday, March 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

The Latest | Israeli military raids Gaza's main hospital, claiming Hamas is using it as a base

Israeli forces have launched another raid on the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, accusing Hamas militants of using it as a base. Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the chief military spokesman, said the army had … more

By The Associated Press | 3/18/24

FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, second right, Speaker of the Crimean legislature Vladimir Konstantinov, second left, Crimean Premier Sergei Aksyonov, left, and Sevastopol Mayor Alexei Chalyi, right, shake hands after signing a treaty for Crimea to join Russia in the Kremlin in Moscow, Tuesday, March 18, 2014. Russia's quick and bloodless seizure of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, home to Russia's Black Sea fleet and a popular vacation site, touched off a wave of patriotism and sent Putin's popularity soaring. "Crimea is ours!" became a popular slogan in Russia. (Yekaterina Shtukina, Sputnik, Pool Sputnik Government via AP, File)

How Russia's grab of Crimea 10 years ago led to war with Ukraine and rising tensions with the West

A decade ago, President Vladimir Putin seized Crimea from Ukraine, a bold land grab that set the stage for Russia to invade its neighbor in 2022. The quick and bloodless seizure of the diamond-shaped … more

By The Associated Press | 3/18/24

Vladimir Putin has almost completely crushed dissent in Russia but on Sunday at noon local time, lines formed at some polling stations in Russia and at embassies around the world, AP reporter Emma Burrows explains.

Putin hails electoral victory that was preordained, after harshly suppressing opposition voices

President Vladimir Putin is basking in a victory early that was never in doubt, as partial election results underlined the Russian leader’s total control of the country’s political system. After … more

By EMMA BURROWS, DASHA LITVINOVA and JIM HEINTZ | 3/18/24

FILE - Visitors hold their hands out to receive the sun's energy as they celebrate the Spring equinox atop the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan, Mexico, Thursday, March 21, 2019. Spring gets its official start Tuesday, March 19, 2024, in the Northern Hemisphere. On the equinoxes, the Earth's axis and orbit line up so both hemispheres get the same amount of sunlight. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File)

The spring equinox is here. What does that mean?

Spring gets its official start Tuesday in the Northern Hemisphere. This year's vernal equinox arrives on Tuesday. But what does that mean? The Earth's axis is tilted at an angle as it travels around … more

By The Associated Press | 3/18/24

FILE - In this handout photo taken from video provided by the Moscow City Court on Feb. 2, 2021, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny shows a heart symbol while standing in a defendants' cage during a hearing in the Moscow City Court in Moscow, Russia. President Vladimir Putin says he supported an idea to release Navalny in a prisoner exchange just days before the man who was his biggest foe died. (Moscow City Court via AP, File)

Commenting on Navalny's death for first time, Putin says he supported prisoner swap for his foe

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he supported an idea to release late opposition leader Alexei Navalny in a prisoner exchange just days before the man who was his biggest foe died. In … more

By DASHA LITVINOVA | 3/17/24

Voters queue at a polling station at noon local time in Moscow, Russia, on Sunday, March 17, 2024. The Russian opposition called on people to head to polling stations at noon on Sunday in protest as voting takes place on the last day of a presidential election that was all but certain to extend President Vladimir Putin's rule after he clamped down on dissent. AP can't confirm that all the voters seen at the polling station at noon were taking part in the opposition protest. (AP Photo)

AP PHOTOS: Russians vote in election dominated by Putin

From the hush of isolated Siberian villages to the clamor of big cities to war battered towns in occupied parts of Ukraine, Russians voted in a presidential election overwhelmingly dominated by … more

By The Associated Press | 3/17/24

Officials in Moldova's breakaway Transnistria blame Ukrainian drone strike after military site blast

A drone strike at a military installation in Moldova’s breakaway republic of Transnistria has destroyed a helicopter and ignited a fire. The area’s pro-Russia authorities blamed Ukraine for the … more

By The Associated Press | 3/17/24

UConn head coach Dan Hurley calls out to his players during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Xavier in the quarterfinal round of the Big East Conference tournament, Thursday, March 14, 2024, in New York. UConn won 87-60. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

March Madness is here. Bracket reveal the 1st step in what should be an NCAA Tournament free-for-all

The story of March Madness figures to look a lot like the story of the regular season that preceded it: a healthy cross-section of very good teams, few dominant ones and no real consensus on who’s … more

By EDDIE PELLS | 3/17/24

This photo released by Belgorod region governor Vyacheslav Gladkov's telegram channel on Saturday, March 16, 2024, shows broken and burned cars after shelling from the Ukrainian side, in Belgorod, Russia. A Russian regional governor says two people have been killed in Ukrainian shelling of the city of Belgorod, close to the border with Ukraine. Three others were wounded. (Belgorod region governor Vyacheslav Gladkov telegram channel via AP)

Ukraine launches far-ranging drone attacks on final day of Russia's presidential vote

Ukraine has launched a new massive wave of drone attacks as Russians cast ballots on the final day of a presidential vote set to extend President Vladimir Putin’s rule for another six years. The … more

By The Associated Press | 3/17/24

A man is reflected in a mirror as he casts a ballot at a polling station during the presidential elections in St. Petersburg, Russia, Saturday, March 16, 2024. Voters in Russia are heading to the polls for a presidential election that is all but certain to extend President Vladimir Putin's rule after he clamped down on dissent. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

Putin poised to rule Russia for 6 more years after an election with no other real choices

Russian President Vladimir Putin is poised to extend his near-quarter-century rule for six more years in a vote that follows a relentless Kremlin crackdown on dissent. The three-day presidential … more

3/17/24

Russia says Ukrainian shelling killed 2 in a border city while it thwarted an incursion

A Russian regional governor says two people have been killed in Ukrainian shelling of the city of Belgorod, close to the border with Ukraine. Three others were wounded. Russia’s Defense Ministry … more

By ELISE MORTON | 3/16/24

A woman checks a pen prior to fill her ballot at a pooling station during a presidential election in St. Petersburg, Russia, Friday, March 15, 2024. Voters in Russia are heading to the polls for a presidential election that is all but certain to extend President Vladimir Putin's rule after he clamped down on dissent. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

Russians cast ballots on Day 2 of an election preordained to extend Putin's rule

Voters across Russia cast ballots Saturday on the second day of an election set to formalize six more years of power for President Vladimir Putin, who faces no serious challengers after crushing … more

3/16/24

United Methodists open first top-level conference since breakup over LGBTQ inclusion

Google fires more workers who protested its deal with Israel

The problem with leaf blowers, and what you can do instead

PepsiCo beats Q1 revenue forecasts as price increases moderate

Editorial Roundup: Missouri