Biden awards $623M to build EV charging network

WASHINGTON - The Biden administration is awarding $623 million in grants to help build an electric vehicle charging network across the nation.

Grants being announced Thursday will fund 47 EV charging stations and related projects in 22 states and Puerto Rico, including 7,500 EV charging ports, officials said.

“America led the arrival of the automotive era, and now we have a chance to lead the world in the EV revolution - securing jobs, savings and benefits for Americans in the process,” said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. The new funding “will help ensure that EV chargers are accessible, reliable and convenient for American drivers, while creating jobs in charger manufacturing, installation and maintenance for American workers.”

Avalanche kills 1, injures 3 at California ski resort

RENO, Nev. - An avalanche roared through a section of expert trails at a California ski resort near Lake Tahoe on Wednesday, sweeping up four people and killing one, as a major storm with snow and gusty winds moved into the region, authorities said.

The avalanche occurred about 9:30 a.m. and prompted Palisades Tahoe to close as search crews combed the area under the K-22 lift, which 30 minutes earlier had opened for the first time this season. It serves “black diamond” runs for skilled skiers and snowboarders.

Skier Mark Sponsler said he arrived at the KT-22 lift amid howling winds and white-out conditions to find it shut down. Unbeknown to him, the avalanche had just hit.

South Africa says Israel is committing genocide in Gaza

THE HAGUE, Netherlands - A continent away from the war in Gaza, South Africa accused Israel of committing genocide against the Palestinians and pleaded with the United Nations’ top court on Thursday to urgently order a halt to the country’s military operation. Israel has vehemently denied the allegations.

South African lawyers said during the opening arguments that the latest Gaza war is part of a decadeslong oppression of the Palestinians by Israel.

They asked judges to impose binding preliminary orders on Israel, including an immediate halt to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

Speaker Johnson is facing pushback over spending deal

WASHINGTON - As Speaker Mike Johnson gathered House Republicans behind closed doors Wednesday to sell the spending deal he reached with Democrats, one thing quickly became clear: many GOP lawmakers weren’t buying it.

Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio left early, saying he’d had enough.

“I’m not going to sit there and listen to that drivel, because he has no plans to do anything but surrender,” Davidson said.

In the afternoon, 13 Republicans refused to support a routine procedural vote setting the stage for considering three GOP-led bills. A similar revolt occurred in June when, for the first time in some 20 years, such a routine vote was defeated, essentially grinding the House to a halt.

“We needed to send a message that what’s going on with this announced agreement is unacceptable,” said Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., the chairman of House Freedom Caucus, made up many of the House’s most conservative lawmakers.

Ukraine’s Zelenskyy rules out a cease-fire with Russia

TALLINN, Estonia - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday ruled out a cease-fire in his country’s war with Russia, saying the Kremlin’s forces would use the pause to rearm and regroup before overwhelming Kyiv’s troops.

“A pause on the Ukrainian battlefield will not mean a pause in the war,” Zelenskyy said during a visit to Estonia.

“A pause would play into (Russia’s) hands,” he said. “It might crush us afterward.”

Limited cease-fires have occasionally been proposed since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022 but have never taken hold.

Both sides are scrambling to replenish their weapons after 22 months of fighting and with the prospect of a protracted conflict.

Trump’s civil fraud trial in New York heads to closing arguments

NEW YORK - Donald Trump ‘s New York civil fraud trial is back in session Thursday for closing arguments, but it won’t be the former president doing the talking.

Trump, the leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination, had angled to deliver his own closing remarks in the courtroom, in addition to summations from his legal team, but a judge nixed that unusual plan Wednesday.

That will leave the last words to the lawyers in a trial over allegations that Trump exaggerated his wealth on financial statements he provided to banks, insurance companies and others.

New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, wants the judge to impose $370 million in penalties.

- The Associated Press