❗ Pentagon says does not have information on three US mercinaries killed in Ukraine, spokesperson tells Sputnik

US cannot confirm which forces struck Mariupol theater - Senior defense official

❗ Blinken says US experts are in the process of documenting and evaluating potential war crimes in Ukraine

Blinken says targeting civilians is a war crime

Blinken says Russia likely to systematically kidnap local officials in Ukraine and replace them with puppets, this has already begun

"Yesterday, President Biden said that in his opinion war crimes have been committed in Ukraine," Blinken said. "Personally, I agree, intentionally targeting civilians is a war crime."

US will continue to increase costs on Russia until it ends operation in Ukraine - Blinken

Biden to make clear to Xi that China will bear consequences for supporting Russia's operation in Ukraine - Blinken

⚡⚡ Blinken confirms US citizen killed in Ukraine

⚡️🇺🇸The US House has voted to suspend normal trade relations with Russia

⚡️Four rockets fell in open areas at Balad air base, which hosts US troops, leaving no damage or casualties, local media report

🌊 A 22-year-old New Hampshire woman was killed when she was thrown off a boat by a wave while vacationing in Florida.

Lindsay Partridge, of Nashua, was on a romantic getaway in Boca Raton with her boyfriend Jacob Smith, 24, when she was knocked off the 23-foot vessel on Sunday, her dad, Donald Partridge of Groton, Massachusetts, told Boston 25.

Smith, of Manchester, New Hampshire, jumped into the water in a futile attempt to save his girlfriend, who was pronounced dead at a local hospital, Boca News Now reported.

“The victim was brought to shore by the lifeguards at Boca Beach Club and was transported to the hospital where she was pronounced deceased. The weather advisory indicated a small craft advisory for the area,” it added.

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⚡️🇺🇸Several people have been shot on board a public transit bus in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, local media reports say

⚡️🇷🇺Russia is requesting an emergency UNSC meeting Friday on suspected US biolabs in Ukraine 🦠

🗺In Ohio, a bipartisan majority of Ohio Supreme Court justices has ratcheted up an extraordinary legal standoff over the state’s political boundaries, rejecting — for the third time in barely two months — new maps of state legislative districts that heavily favor the Republican Party.

The decision appears likely to force the state to postpone its primary elections, scheduled to take place on May 3, until new maps of both state legislative seats and districts for the United States House of Representatives pass constitutional muster.

The court’s ruling late Wednesday was a blunt rebuff of the Ohio Redistricting Commission, a Republican-dominated body that voters established in 2015 explicitly to make political maps fairer, but that now stands accused of trying to fatten already lopsided GOP majorities in the state’s legislature and the US House.

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"We will ask for an emergency meeting to discuss again the issue of US biolaboratories in Ukraine using the new documents we obtained in the course of the special military operation," Nebenzia said during a Security Council meeting.

🇸🇾🇷🇺 Discrimination that the West is now perpetuating against Russia is unprecedented in world history and infringes on the principles of international law, turning the world into "a jungle," Syrian President Bashar Assad said, as quoted by Syrian news agency SANA.

"The West is experiencing a historic reversal of its global role after the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine... The conflict in Ukraine has exposed the true face of Western powers to their people," Assad said.

🦁Amazon on Thursday said that it closed its acquisition of MGM, in an $8.45 billion deal that will allow the e-commerce giant to expand its TV and movie offerings.

The deal underscores the limits of the mounting antitrust scrutiny of tech giants in Washington, with the closure happening after anti-monopoly groups and their allies pressed Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan to block the deal to slow Amazon’s growth. The FTC signaled it would take a tougher line on tech acquisitions under Khan’s leadership, but it is mired in a 2-2 partisan deadlock that has prevented key agenda items from moving forward.

“MGM has a nearly century-long legacy of producing exceptional entertainment, and we share their commitment to delivering a broad slate of original films and television shows to a global audience,” said Mike Hopkins, senior vice president of Prime Video and Amazon Studios.

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