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State Department — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken underscored the necessity for "direct" and "sustained engagement" between the United States and China during his first official meeting in Shanghai, a city home to more than 1,000 U.S. companies. Thursday morning, Blinken held talks with Chen Jining, Chinese Communist Party Secretary for Shanghai. Chen is the highest-ranking local official and is a member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party. Blinken said he would lay out "our differences, which are real" but seek to "work through them" as well as to "build cooperation where we can." Welcoming the Secretary to Shanghai at the city’s Grand Halls, Chen said through a translator that since the establishment of diplomatic ties, the relationship between the two nations has not always been smooth, there's always been "twists and turns," "but overall, it has progressed with historical development and progressed forward." Blinken was last in Shanghai in 2015 when he was deputy secretary of state. "In a constructive and candid exchange, the secretary raised concerns about PRC trade policies and non-market economic practices and stressed that the United States seeks a healthy economic competition with the PRC and a level playing field for U.S. workers and firms operating in China," said State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.  He was referring to People’s Republic of China. During a discussion with American and Chinese students from New York University Shanghai, Blinken underscored the importance of expanding exchanges between students, scholars, and business. "We need to make sure that we are talking to each other, hearing each other, understanding each other," he said. According to the State Department, the NYU Shanghai student body currently consists of nearly 2,000 undergraduate and graduate students, half of whom are from China. Students from the United States and some 70 other countries represent the other half.  There are approximately 500 U.S. students. Later Thursday, Blinken met with business leaders at the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, advocating for the resolution of a range of trade issues facing the world’s two largest economies. In a brief video, Blinken said late Wednesday he is in China “to make progress on issues that matter most to the American people, including curbing fentanyl trafficking,” against the backdrop of Shanghai's skyline. He added that officials from the U.S. and China will also discuss other areas where the two countries have "significant disagreements." While Washington and Beijing are divided over a range of thorny issues, Blinken began his visit to China this week focusing first on the importance of direct engagement. It is something, he says, is essential for addressing key issues affecting people from both countries and the world.  Analysts told VOA Blinken's visit will surface a range of contentious issues but also maintain "the tactical thaw" that gained momentum following U.S. President Joe Biden's face-to-face talks with PRC President Xi Jinping last November. "The relationship continues to grow more competitive militarily, technologically, and diplomatically, but the increase is occurring in a more predictable, controlled manner than it was a year earlier due to both countries' continued investment in high-level diplomacy," Ali Wyne, a senior research and advocacy adviser for International Crisis Group, told VOA Mandarin in an email. Intensive diplomacy between Washington and Beijing has yielded little progress in curtailing China's supply of precursor chemicals used to manufacture illicit fentanyl that affects the United States.  Strains are escalating due to China's support for Russia in its war on Ukraine, prompting the U.S. to warn further actions against China. "I'm very pessimistic about this visit. Xi Jinping is committed to helping his close friend Putin and will not be very responsive to America's requests," Dennis Wilder, senior fellow for the Initiative for U.S.-China Dialogue on Global Issues at Georgetown University, told VOA Mandarin. A day before Blinken departed for Shanghai, he unveiled the State Department's annual report on human rights practices, which said that the PRC government continues to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang.  Blinken told reporters that he would raise the issue of human rights with the Beijing government. Blinken is expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing Friday afternoon. The State Department said Blinken will hold a press conference in Beijing before returning to Washington.   

WASHINGTON — The United States will send a delegation to Niger on Thursday to begin face-to-face talks with officials in Niamey on withdrawing the more than 1,000 American personnel in the military-ruled country. Niger has been a key base for regional counter-terrorism operations, but the government — a military junta that ousted the country's president last year — said in March it was ending a military cooperation agreement with Washington. The United States said it had agreed to remove its troops last week and would send a delegation to Niamey within days. As part of ongoing negotiations, U.S. Ambassador to Niger Kathleen FitzGibbon and a senior military officer for U.S. Africa Command, Major General Ken Ekman, will meet with ruling government representatives on April 25 "to initiate discussions on an orderly and responsible withdrawal of U.S. forces from Niger," the State Department said Wednesday. Other Defense Department officials will conduct follow-up meetings in Niamey next week, and Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell will travel there "in the coming months to discuss ongoing collaboration in areas of joint interest," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said. He said the United States is proud of the security cooperation and "shared sacrifice" of U.S. and Nigerien forces, and that it contributed to stability in the region. But since discussions began last year with the ruling National Committee for Safeguarding the Homeland (CNSP), "we have been unable to reach an understanding with the CNSP to continue that security cooperation in a manner that addresses the needs and concerns of each side," Miller said. This week U.S. officials said there have not yet been changes to troop levels in Niger, a linchpin in the U.S. and French strategy to combat jihadists in West Africa and the location of a $100 million American drone base.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests. A proposed repeal of Arizona’s near-total ban on abortions has won approval from the state House. It’s unclear exactly where the Supreme Court will land after hearing arguments about Idaho's abortion ban. TikTok pushes back on pending U.S. ban if it doesn’t sell the company. We talk to Seth Schachner, Managing Director of Strat Americas, a Los Angeles-based consultancy that provides strategic guidance and helps clients with media and technology partnerships. And NASA is talking to Voyager 1 again! It’s 24 billion kilometers from Earth. That’s the farthest any object has made it into deep space. We talk with Linda J. Spilker at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

U.S. university campuses are seeing pro-Palestinian protests daily. Students are demonstrating against the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and demanding that humanitarian aid be allowed to flow into the territory. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

austin, texas — Police tangled with student demonstrators in the U.S. states of Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests. At the University of Texas at Austin, hundreds of local and state police — including some on horseback and holding batons — clashed with protesters, pushing them off the campus lawn and at one point sending some tumbling into the street. At least 20 demonstrators were taken into custody at the request of university officials and Texas Governor Greg Abbott, according to the state Department of Public Safety. A photographer covering the demonstration for Fox 7 Austin was arrested after being caught in a push-and-pull between law enforcement and students, the station confirmed. A longtime Texas journalist was knocked down in the mayhem and could be seen bleeding before police helped him to emergency medical staff who bandaged his head. At the University of Southern California, police got into a back-and-forth tugging match with protesters over tents, removing several before falling back. At the northern end of California, students were barricaded inside a building for a third day at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt. The school shut down campus through the weekend and made classes virtual. Harvard University in Massachusetts had sought to stay ahead of protests this week by limiting access to Harvard Yard and requiring permission for tents and tables. That didn't stop protesters from setting up a camp with 14 tents Wednesday following a rally against the university's suspension of the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee. Students protesting the Israel-Hamas war are demanding schools cut financial ties to Israel and divest from companies enabling its monthslong conflict. Dozens have been arrested on charges of trespassing or disorderly conduct. Some Jewish students say the protests have veered into antisemitism and made them afraid to set foot on campus. Columbia University averted another confrontation between students and police earlier in the day. The situation there remained tense, with campus officials saying it would continue talks with protesters for another 48 hours. On a visit to campus, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, called on Columbia University President Minouche Shafik to resign "if she cannot bring order to this chaos." "If this is not contained quickly and if these threats and intimidation are not stopped, there is an appropriate time for the National Guard," he said. Shafik had set a midnight Tuesday deadline to reach an agreement on clearing an encampment, but the school extended negotiations, saying it was making "important progress." On Wednesday evening, a Columbia spokesperson said rumors that the university had threatened to bring in the National Guard were unfounded. "Our focus is to restore order, and if we can get there through dialogue, we will," said Ben Chang, Columbia's vice president for communications. Columbia graduate student Omer Lubaton Granot, who put up pictures of Israeli hostages near the encampment, said he wanted to remind people that there were more than 100 hostages still being held by Hamas. "I see all the people behind me advocating for human rights," he said. "I don't think they have one word to say about the fact that people their age, that were kidnapped from their homes or from a music festival in Israel, are held by a terror organization." Harvard law student Tala Alfoqaha, who is Palestinian, said she and other protesters want more transparency from the university. "My hope is that the Harvard administration listens to what its students have been asking for all year, which is divestment, disclosure and dropping any sort of charges against students," she said. Columbia encampment inspires others Police first tried to clear the encampment at Columbia last week, when they arrested more than 100 protesters. The move backfired, acting as an inspiration for other students across the country to set up similar encampments and motivating protesters at Columbia to regroup. On Wednesday about 60 tents remained at the Columbia encampment, which appeared calm. Security remained tight around campus, with identification required and police setting up metal barricades. Columbia said it had agreed with protest representatives that only students would remain at the encampment and they would make it welcoming, banning discriminatory or harassing language. On the University of Minnesota campus, a few dozen students rallied a day after nine protesters were arrested when police took down an encampment in front of the library. U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar, whose daughter was among the demonstrators arrested at Columbia last week, attended a protest later in the day. A group of more than 80 professors and assistant professors signed a letter Wednesday calling on the university's president and other administrators to drop any charges and to allow future encampments without what they described as police retaliation. They wrote that they were "horrified that the administration would permit such a clear violation of our students' rights to freely speak out against genocide and ongoing occupation of Palestine." Netanyahu encourages police response Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashed out at the pro-Palestinian demonstrations on U.S. college campuses in a video statement released Wednesday, saying the response of several university presidents has been "shameful" and calling on state, local and federal officials to intervene. Students at some protests were hiding their identities and declined to identify themselves to reporters, saying they feared retribution. At an encampment of about 40 tents at the heart of the University of Michigan's campus in Ann Arbor, almost every student wore a mask, which was handed to them when they entered. The upwelling of demonstrations has left universities struggling to balance campus safety with free speech rights. Many long tolerated the protests, but are now doling out more heavy-handed discipline, citing safety concerns. At New York University this week, police said 133 protesters were taken into custody and all had been released with summonses to appear in court on disorderly conduct charges. More than 40 protesters were arrested Monday at an encampment at Yale University.

NEW YORK — Officials at Columbia University were continuing talks Wednesday with student demonstrators from the Gaza Solidarity Encampment as the protest reaches a full week.  At 9:41 p.m. Tuesday, university President Nemat “Minouche” Shafik sent an email to the Columbia community setting a midnight deadline for an agreement to be reached about dismantling the encampment and dispersing the protesters.  “I very much hope these discussions are successful,” she wrote. “If they are not, we will have to consider alternative options for clearing the West Lawn and restoring calm to campus so that students can complete the term and graduate.” As midnight passed, Columbia University Apartheid Divest posted a statement on X saying, “We refuse to concede to cowardly threats and blatant intimidation by university administration. We will continue to peacefully protest.”  The statement also said the university had threatened to call the National Guard. But after visiting the university earlier in the week, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said Tuesday she had no plans to deploy the National Guard.  As midnight approached on Tuesday, a student organizer announced that the deadline had been extended to 8 a.m. Wednesday.  At 4:09 a.m., the Office of the President sent an email saying the discussion deadline would be extended for 48 hours, given the constructive dialogue, and the university would report back on progress.  The email announced that leaders of the student encampment had agreed to remove a significant number of tents, get non-Columbia affiliates to leave the encampment and comply with New York Fire Department requirements. They also agreed to ensure that the encampment is “welcome to all” and to prohibit “discriminatory or harassing language.” This development comes nearly a week after more than 100 students were arrested at the school on April 18, after Shafik authorized police to clear away protesters. Some of the students received suspension notices from the school.  Columbia’s action prompted an onslaught of pro-Palestinian demonstrations at other universities and responses from faculty and politicians. Students at other campuses, such as Yale, Stanford and New York University, have also rallied around the Palestinian cause, calling for their universities to divest from companies with ties to Israel and for a cease-fire in Gaza. Many also have put up tent encampments on their campuses. About 150 students and faculty were arrested at New York University Monday night.  Columbia also announced Tuesday morning that classes on the Morningside main campus, where the protests are taking place, will be offered in a hybrid format for the remainder of the spring semester. The last day of classes is April 29.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

U.S. President Joe Biden is making reproductive rights a centerpiece of his re-election campaign, blaming opponent Donald Trump for opening the way to stricter state abortion laws. In this presidential campaign, Trump is pursuing a more moderate position on abortion than other Republicans. Scott Stearns reports.

April 25 marks the global observance of World Malaria Day. Pakistan saw the world’s largest increase in malaria cases in 2022 following that year’s catastrophic flooding, according to the latest World Health Organization data. Experts say climate change was a factor. VOA's Nazr Ul Islam's visited a hospital in Islamabad and filed this report narrated by Bezhan Hamdard. Camera: Nazr Ul Islam

President Joe Biden signed a $26 billion wartime assistance package to Israel on Wednesday, at a time when there is increased scrutiny over whether that country’s military is meeting U.S. human rights standards. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara reports.

PHOENIX — A proposed repeal of Arizona's near-total ban on abortions won approval Wednesday from the state House after two weeks of mounting pressure on Republicans over an issue that has bedeviled former President Donald Trump's campaign to return to the White House.  Three Republicans joined in with all 29 Democrats to vote to repeal a law that predated Arizona's statehood and provides no exceptions for rape or incest. If the Senate approves as expected, Arizona would allow abortions up to 15 weeks.  Their political ambitions imperiled by widespread opposition to a near-total abortion ban, Trump and U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake had urged Arizona lawmakers to ease the restrictions. But until Wednesday, most state House Republicans repeatedly used procedural votes to block repeal, each time drawing condemnation from Democratic President Joe Biden, who has made his support for abortion rights central to his reelection campaign.  "Make no mistake, Arizonans are living in 1864 now because Donald Trump dismantled Roe v. Wade," Democratic state Senator Priya Sundareshan of Tucson said in a news conference before the vote. It was organized by the Biden campaign and the Arizona Democratic Party.  Arizona is one of a handful of battleground states that will decide the next president. Trump, who has warned that the issue could lead to Republican losses, has avoided endorsing a national abortion ban but said he's proud to have appointed the Supreme Court justices who allowed states to outlaw the procedure.  Arizona Republicans have been under intense pressure from some conservatives in their base, who firmly support the abortion ban, even as it's become a liability with swing voters who will decide crucial races including the presidency, the U.S. Senate and the GOP's control of the Legislature.  "I am disgusted today," said Republican Representative Rachel Jones, who voted against repeal. "Life is one of the tenets of our Republican platform. To see people go back on that value is egregious to me."  State Representative Matt Gress, one of the three Republicans who crossed party lines to support the repeal measure, said in a statement that the near-total abortion ban was "unworkable and out of line with the values of Arizonans." GOP Representative Tim Dunn said his vote in favor of repeal was "the most pro-life vote I could possibly make" because, he said, backlash to the total ban would lead voters to support abortion even after 15 weeks.  The other Republican who supported the repeal measure, state Representative Justin Wilmeth, didn't return an email and phone call seeking comment on the vote.  The Arizona Supreme Court concluded this month that the state could enforce the long-dormant law that permits abortions only to save the pregnant patient's life. The ruling suggested doctors could be prosecuted under the law first approved in 1864, which carries a sentence of two to five years in prison for anyone who assists in an abortion.  The law had been blocked since the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision guaranteed the constitutional right to an abortion nationwide.  After Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022, then-Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, a Republican, convinced a state judge that the 1864 ban could be enforced. The law hasn't been enforced while the case was making its way through the courts. Brnovich's Democratic successor, Attorney General Kris Mayes, urged the state's high court against reviving the law.  Mayes has said the earliest the law could be enforced is June 8. But the anti-abortion-rights group defending the ban, Alliance Defending Freedom, maintains county prosecutors can begin enforcing it once the Supreme Court's decision becomes final, which is expected to occur this week.  If the proposed repeal wins final approval from the Republican-controlled Legislature and is signed into law by Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs, a 2022 statute banning the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy would become the prevailing abortion law. Even so, there would likely be a period where all abortions are outlawed, because the repeal won't take effect until 90 days after the end of the legislative session, likely in midsummer.  Advocates are collecting signatures for a ballot measure allowing abortions until a fetus could survive outside the womb, typically around 24 weeks, with exceptions — to save the parent's life, or to protect her physical or mental health.  Republican lawmakers, in turn, are considering putting one or more competing abortion proposals on the November ballot.

BARCELONA, Spain — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez denied corruption allegations against his wife but said he will consider resigning after the launch Wednesday of a judicial investigation into accusations by a right-wing legal platform that she used her position to influence business deals. Sánchez said in a letter posted on his X account that while the allegations against his wife, Begoña Gómez, are false, he is canceling his public agenda until Monday when he will announce whether he will continue or step down. "I need to stop and reflect," Sánchez wrote. "I must answer the question if it is worth it to continue, given the mud pit the right and far right have made out of our politics, if I must continue at the helm of the government or renounce that highest of honors." Sánchez, 52, has been Spain's prime minister since 2018. He was able to form a new left-wing coalition government in November to start another four-year term. He is one of Europe's longest-serving Socialist leaders. Earlier on Wednesday, a Spanish judge agreed to probe allegations of corruption made by a private group with a history of filing lawsuits mainly for right-wing causes. The court based in Madrid will consider the allegations and proceed with the investigation or toss it out. "Begoña will defend her honor and collaborate with the justice system in every way that is required to clarify that these facts that appear scandalous are in fact nonexistent," Sánchez said. Gómez, 49, does not hold public office and maintains a low political profile. Manos Limpias, or "Clean Hands," accuses Gómez of allegedly having used her position to influence business deals. The court did not provide further information and said that the probe was under seal. Manos Limpias describes itself as a union, but its main activity is a platform pursuing legal cases. Many have been linked to right-wing causes. It acts as the "popular prosecution," a peculiarity of Spanish law that allows individuals or entities to take part in certain criminal cases even when they haven't been directly harmed by the accused. Justice Minister Félix Bolaños called the new allegations "false." Second Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Díaz, the leader of the junior member of Sánchez's government, publicly backed him against "this offensive by the Right." The possibility of a governmental crisis comes just weeks before important regional elections in Catalonia followed by European elections in June. Sánchez accused online news sites politically aligned with the leading opposition conservative Popular Party and the far-right Vox party of spreading what he called "spurious" allegations that he said led to the judicial probe. The Popular Party criticized Sánchez for "playing the role of the victim instead of holding himself accountable." Last month, Spain's government watchdog for conflict of interests tossed out a complaint made by the Popular Party against Sánchez whereby the opposition party claimed that Gómez had allegedly influenced her husband in a decision related to an airline. Spain's leader said that he was moved in part to reflect on his future due to his love for his wife. "This attack is without precedent, it is so serious and coarse that I need to stop and reflect with my wife," he said. "Most of the time we forget that politicians are people. And I do not blush to say it, but I am a man who is deeply in love with my wife, who is living with the feeling of impotence while being pelted with mud." "To summarize, this is an operation to harass me by land, sea and air to try and make me give up politics through a personal attack on my wife," Sánchez wrote.

PHOENIX — An Arizona grand jury has indicted former Donald Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows and lawyer Rudy Giuliani along with 16 others in an election interference case. The indictment released Wednesday names 11 Republicans who submitted a document to Congress falsely declaring that Donald Trump beat Joe Biden in Arizona in the 2020 presidential election. It shows seven other defendants whose names were not immediately released because they had not yet been served with the charges. The Associated Press was able to determine the identities of the unnamed defendants based on their descriptions in the indictment. One is described as an attorney "who was often identified as the Mayor" and spread false allegations of election fraud, a description that clearly describes Giuliani. Another is described as Trump's " chief of staff in 2020," which describes Meadows. "I will not allow American democracy to be undermined," Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a video released by her office. "It's too important." The 11 people who had been nominated to be Arizona's Republican electors met in Phoenix on Dec. 14, 2020, to sign a certificate saying they were "duly elected and qualified" electors and claiming that Trump carried the state. A one-minute video of the signing ceremony was posted on social media by the Arizona Republican Party at the time. The document was later sent to Congress and the National Archives, where it was ignored. Biden won Arizona by more than 10,000 votes. Of the eight lawsuits that unsuccessfully challenged Biden's victory in the state, one was filed by the 11 Republicans who would later sign the certificate declaring Trump as the winner. Their lawsuit asked a judge to de-certify the results that gave Biden his victory in Arizona and block the state from sending them to the Electoral College. In dismissing the case, U.S. District Judge Diane Humetewa said the Republicans lacked legal standing, waited too long to bring their case and "failed to provide the court with factual support for their extraordinary claims." Days after that lawsuit was dismissed, the 11 Republicans participated in the certificate signing. The Arizona charges come after a string of indictments against fake electors in other states. In December, a Nevada grand jury indicted six Republicans on felony charges of offering a false instrument for filing and uttering a forged instrument in connection with false election certificates. They have pleaded not guilty. Michigan's Attorney General in July filed felony charges that included forgery and conspiracy to commit election forgery against 16 Republican fake electors. One had charges dropped after reaching a cooperation deal, and the 15 remaining defendants have pleaded not guilty. Three fake electors also have been charged in Georgia alongside Trump and others in a sweeping indictment accusing them of participating in a wide-ranging scheme to illegally overturn the results. They have pleaded not guilty. In Wisconsin, 10 Republicans who posed as electors settled a civil lawsuit, admitting their actions were part of an effort to overturn Biden's victory. There is no known criminal investigation in Wisconsin. Trump also was indicted in August in federal court over the fake electors scheme. The indictment states that when Trump was unable to persuade state officials to illegally swing the election, he and his Republican allies began recruiting a slate of fake electors in battleground states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, New Mexico, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — to sign certificates falsely stating he, not Biden, had won their states. In early January, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said that state's five Republican electors cannot be prosecuted under the current law. In New Mexico and Pennsylvania, fake electors added a caveat saying the election certificate was submitted in case they were later recognized as duly elected, qualified electors. No charges have been filed in Pennsylvania. In Arizona, Mayes' predecessor, Republican Mark Brnovich, conducted an investigation of the 2020 election, but the fake elector allegations were not part of that examination, according to Mayes' office. In another election-related case brought by Mayes' office, two Republican officials in a rural Arizona county who delayed canvassing the 2022 general election results face felony charges. A grand jury indicted Cochise County Supervisors Peggy Judd and Tom Crosby in November on one count each of conspiracy and interference with an election officer. Both pleaded not guilty. The Republicans facing charges are Kelli Ward, the state GOP's chair from 2019 until early 2023; state Sen. Jake Hoffman; Tyler Bowyer, an executive of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA who serves on the Republican National Committee; state Sen. Anthony Kern, who was photographed in restricted areas outside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 attack and is now a candidate in Arizona's 8th Congressional District; Greg Safsten, a former executive director of the Arizona Republican Party; energy industry executive James Lamon, who lost a 2022 Republican primary for a U.S. Senate seat; Robert Montgomery, chairman of the Cochise County Republican Committee in 2020; Samuel Moorhead, a Republican precinct committee member in Gila County; Nancy Cottle, who in 2020 was the first vice president of the Arizona Federation of Republican Women; Loraine Pellegrino, president of the Ahwatukee Republican Women; and Michael Ward, an osteopathic physician who is married to Kelli Ward. None of the 11 responded to either phone, email or social media messages from The Associated Press on Wednesday seeking comment.

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News of the U.S. approval of a $61 billion aid package for Ukraine is raising optimism in that country in the face of an expected Russian assault this summer. Anna Chernikova reports from Kyiv. Camera: Vladyslav Smilianets.