AP-HKN-STANLEY-CUP

Avalanche dethrone Lightning to win Stanley Cup for 3rd time

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Colorado Avalanche have won the Stanley Cup after dethroning the two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning. The Avalanche beat the Lightning 2-1 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final behind a goal and an assist from Nathan MacKinnon. Tampa Bay fell two victories short of becoming the NHL’s first three-peat champion since the early 1980s. Colorado’s core led by MacKinnon, captain Gabriel Landeskog, Mikko Rantanen and Cale Mark got the job done after years of playoff disappointments. It’s the franchise’s third championship and first since 2001.

AP-US-BET-AWARDS

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs receives lifetime honor at BET Awards

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sean “Diddy” Combs spoke about his own dream like the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. while accepting the highest honor at the BET Awards. The music mogul said his “new dream” involves Black people being free and unified after receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Combs’ honor comes on the night when a few other big stars Taraji P. Henson, Janelle Monae and Jazmine Sullivan strongly criticized the Supreme Court’s recent decision to strip away women’s constitutional protection for abortion. Silk Sonic came away with two awards including album of the year for “An Evening with Silk Sonic.”

RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR

Russia strikes Kyiv as Western leaders meet in Europe

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia has shattered weeks of relative calm in Ukraine’s capital with a missile attack as Western leaders meeting in Europe prepared to reaffirm their support for Ukraine and condemnation of Russia. President Volodymr Zelenskyy said a 37-year-old man was killed and his daughter and wife injured when missiles hit an apartment building. A railroad worker was also reported killed. Kyiv’s mayor speculated the airstrikes were “a symbolic attack” before a NATO summit starting Tuesday. A former U.S. commander in Europe said they also were a signal to Group of Seven leaders meeting Sunday. The Ukrainian air force says planes launched the missiles from over the Caspian Sea, more than 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) away.

SUPREME COURT-ABORTION-STATES-ABORTION PILLS

SD gov: Bar abortion pills, but don’t punish women for them

WASHINGTON (AP) — South Dakota’s Republican governor is pledging to bar mail-order abortion pills but says women shouldn’t face prosecution for seeking them. Kristi Noem’s stand appears to be in defiance of legal guidance by the Justice Department after the Supreme Court last week stripped away women’s constitutional protections for abortion. The governor is indicating that she’d put in place a plan approved by state lawmakers to restrict the abortion pills. The ruling Friday by the court’s conservative justices triggered abortion bans in South Dakota and elsewhere. But Noem says in news show interviews that doctors, not their patients, would likely be prosecuted for knowing violations of what would be one of the strictest laws on abortion pills in the United States.

COLORADO-PREGNANCY CENTER FIRE

Police investigating fire at Colorado pregnancy center

LONGMONT, Colo. (AP) — Police are investigating a weekend fire at a Christian pregnancy center in north-central Colorado as a possible arson. Police in Longmont responded to a fire at 3:17 a.m. Saturday. The Life Choices building sustained fire and heavy smoke damage. The front door was broken and the front of the building had been spray painted with the words, “if abortions aren’t safe neither are you.” Life Choices’ website says it offers free services related to pregnancy and sexual health, information on reversing the effects of abortion pills and post-abortion support for guilt, shame, anxiety and depression. Life Choices executive director Kathy Roberts said the center is devastated and stunned, and that the attack affects people who need support in their pregnancies.

AP-EU—GERMANY-G7-BIDEN

Biden urges Western unity on Ukraine amid war fatigue

ELMAU, Germany (AP) — President Joe Biden and Western allies at a three-day summit in the Bavarian Alps say they’re intent on keeping economic fallout from the war in Ukraine from fracturing the global coalition working to punish Russia’s aggression. Britain’s Boris Johnson warned the leaders not to give in to “fatigue” even as Russia lobbed new missiles at Kyiv. Biden says the coalition of countries can’t let Russian President Vladimir Putin play the countries off of one another and break down their resolve. Leaders of the Group of Seven top economies opened their annual summit in Germany on Sunday. Biden also announced that G-7 nations will ban imports of Russian gold. Gold is a top Russian export.

NORWAY-SHOOTING

Norway: Suspect in Pride Month attack won’t talk to police

OSLO, Norway (AP) — The suspect in a mass shooting during an LGBTQ festival in Norway has refused to explain his actions to investigators and will remain in pretrial custody for the next four weeks. The 42-year-old Norwegian citizen was arrested shortly after the attack in Oslo’s nightlife district early Saturday. Two people were killed and more than 20 were injured in what the Norwegian security service called an “Islamist terror act.” Oslo police said they tried to question the suspect on Saturday and again on Sunday without success. His defense lawyer told The Associated Press that the man refuses to have his statement recorded and videotaped unless police release the entire recording to the public.

SOUTH AFRICA-NIGHTCLUB DEATHS

21 dead in South African nightclub; cause not yet known

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African police are investigating the deaths of at least 21 people at a nightclub in the coastal town of East London Sunday and authorities say most of the victims were minors as young as 13-year-old. It is unclear what led to the deaths of the young people, who were reportedly attending a party to celebrate the end of winter school exams. Local newspaper Daily Dispatch reported that bodies were strewn across tables and chairs without any visible signs of injuries. Police minister Bheki Cele said the victims’ ages ranged between 13 and 17, raising questions about why the underaged children were being served alcohol.

AFGHANISTAN

Destruction everywhere, help scarce after Afghanistan quake

GAYAN, Afghanistan (AP) — Villagers see destruction everywhere and help in short supply days after an earthquake devastated a remote region of southeast Afghanistan and killed at least 1,150 people by authorities’ estimates. Those who were barely scraping by have lost everything. Many have yet to be visited by aid groups, which are struggling to reach the afflicted area on rutted roads. There are fears that help will come too late to the impoverished provinces of Paktika and Khost that straddle the country’s border with Pakistan. Aware of its constraints, the cash-strapped Taliban have called for foreign assistance. China joined countries in pledging nearly $7.5 million in aid. But the relief effort remains patchy for the latest calamity to convulse the country.

BC-AF-CLIMATE-CORAL-REEFS

To combat coral bleaching, Kenya turns to reef nurseries

WASINI, Kenya (AP) — The marine area off the coast of Kenya at Wasini Island, jointly managed by a foundation and the island’s community, has been planting over 8,000 corals a year since 2012 and placed about 800 artificial reef structures in the channel in a bid to restore Wasini’s coral gardens. But the project is threatened by growing costs and a planned fishing port in Shimoni, a mere 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) away on Kenya’s coast. The United Nation’s Oceans Conference, which begins Monday in Lisbon, Portugal, is set to put protection and restoration efforts for coral reefs back on the agenda.

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