BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Two U.S. veterans from Alabama who were in Ukraine assisting in the war against Russia haven’t been heard from in days and are missing. Members of the state's congressional delegation say relatives of 27-year-old Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh of Trinity and 39-year-old Alexander Drueke of Tuscaloosa have been in contact with Capitol Hill offices seeking information about the men’s whereabouts.

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — Rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder has impressed himself — and coach Arthur Smith — with his ability to quickly absorb the Atlanta Falcons’ playbook. Ridder is still considered the challenger to veteran Marcus Mariota in the Falcons’ quarterback competition.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has pledged to do whatever it takes to curb inflation, now raging at a four-decade high and defying the Fed’s efforts so far to tame it. Increasingly, it seems, doing so might require the one painful thing the Fed has sought to avoid: A recession. A worse-than-expected inflation report for May helped spur the Fed to raise its benchmark interest rate by three-quarters of point Wednesday and to signal that more large rate hikes are likely coming.

KOZANI, Greece (AP) — Energy market turmoil caused by the war in Ukraine has triggered an increase in coal-fired electricity production in the European Union and a temporary slowdown in the closure of power plants long-earmarked for retirement. Greece set an ambitious timeline to end decades of reliance on lignite ‒ low-quality coal ‒ but has paused that program in response to a huge rise in natural gas prices.

Severe weather has forced Abbott Nutrition to pause production at a Michigan baby formula factory that had just restarted. The company said late Wednesday that production for its EleCare specialty formula has stopped, but it has enough supply to meet needs until more formula can be made. Abbott says it needs to assess damage and re-sanitize the factory after severe thunderstorms and heavy rains swept through southwestern Michigan Monday evening.

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Damaging floodwaters that tore through Yellowstone National Park menaced communities downstream where residents cleaned up from the mess and kept an eye on rising river levels. Residents of Montana’s largest city were asked to conserve water because it was down to a limited supply after a combination of heavy rain and rapidly melting mountain snow raised the Yellowstone River to historic levels that forced them to shut down Billings water treatment plant.

IRPIN, Ukraine (AP) — Four European leaders made a high-profile visit to show their support for Ukraine, denouncing the brutality of the Russian invasion as they surveyed the ruins of a Kyiv suburb. After arriving in Kyiv to the sound of air raid sirens, the leaders of France, Germany, Italy and Romania headed to Irpin. The town was seized and briefly held by Russian troops along with other areas near the capital.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. markets are heading for a sharply lower open on Thursday, one day after the Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate by three-quarters of a point and signaled more rate hikes were coming to fight inflation.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Austin Riley homered twice and the Atlanta Braves won their 14th straight game, beating the Washington Nationals 8-2. Rookie Spencer Strider allowed one hit over 5 2/3 innings for Atlanta. Orlando Arcia started at second base in place of the injured Ozzie Albies and had a homer, three singles and a walk.

DENVER (AP) — Andre Burakovsky scored 1:23 into overtime and the Colorado Avalanche opened the Stanley Cup Final with a 4-3 victory over the two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday night.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – An organization created to speak on behalf of Southern Baptists about moral and ethical issues in Washington has survived a vote to abolish it.

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rallied in a roller-coaster day of trading on Wall Street Wednesday after the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates by the biggest margin since 1994, but also said such mega-hikes would not be common. The Fed did signal that more increases are on the way as it tries to tackle the worst inflation in four decades.

RED LODGE, Mont. (AP) — Floodwaters that rushed through Yellowstone National Park and surrounding communities earlier this week are moving through Montana’s largest city, flooding farms and ranches and forcing the shutdown of its water treatment plant. The water in the Yellowstone River hit its highest level in nearly a century as it traveled east to Billings, Montana, home to nearly 110,000 people.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Sexual predators have used the Southern Baptist Convention’s decentralized polity “to try to turn our churches into a hunting ground.” So says newly elected SBC President Bart Barber.

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — John Hinckley Jr. has been freed from court oversight. The action ends decades of supervision by legal and mental health professionals. Hinckley shot and wounded President Ronald Reagan in 1981. The lifting of all restrictions had been expected since late September.

ATLANTA – The Port of Savannah moved an all-time high 519,390 twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEUs) last month, the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) reported Wednesday. That broke the previous record of 504,350 TEUs set last October and exceeded May of last year by 8.3%.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve intensified its drive to tame high inflation by raising its key interest rate by three-quarters of a point — its largest hike in nearly three decades — and signaling more large rate increases to come that would raise the risk of another recession. The move the Fed announced after its latest policy meeting will increase its benchmark short-term rate, which affects many consumer and business loans.

ATLANTA – Mental health concerns and burnout would lead one in three Georgians to quit their jobs, according to a new report released by Georgia CEO and goBeyondProfit.  Georgia CEO is a network of local business-focused websites. goBeyondProfit is a Georgia alliance of business leaders committed to corporate generosity.  

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is expected to announce Wednesday that it will send as much as $1 billion in military aid to Ukraine, the largest single tranche of weapons and equipment since the war began. The effort is intended to help stall Russia’s slow but steady march to conquer the eastern Donbas region.

BERLIN (AP) — From Frankfurt and New York to Istanbul and Beijing, skygazers could enjoy a beautiful supermoon rise over the horizon in an impressive astronomic spectacle.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The gunman who killed 10 Black people in a racist attack at a Buffalo supermarket has been charged Wednesday with federal hate crimes and could face the death penalty. Payton Gendron already has pleaded not guilty to state-level charges, including hate-motivated domestic terrorism and murder following the May 14 rampage.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — When Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson and emotional, do-everything teammate Draymond Green began Golden State’s climb nearly a decade ago, they were still relatively young and each establishing themselves in their careers. At far different stages of their respective basketball journeys and lives now all these years later, they are again closing in on another championship together as the cornerstones of what many consider a Warriors dynasty they helped make.

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Authorities are investigating what caused a cargo ship to become grounded in the shipping channel to Georgia's busiest seaport. The U.S. Coast Guard says the Danish-flagged container ship Maersk Surabaya ran aground Tuesday evening while navigating the Savannah River on its way to the Port of Savannah.

NEW YORK (AP) — Independent booksellers are growing in number and becoming more diverse. Membership in the American Booksellers Association currently stands at just over 2,000. That's its highest total in years and more than 100 over the previous summer.

BEERSHEBA, Israel (AP) — An Israeli court has found a Gaza aid worker guilty of several terrorism charges. Mohammed el-Halabi, who was the Gaza director for the Christian charity World Vision from 2014 until his arrest in 2016, was accused of diverting tens of millions of dollars to the Islamic militant group Hamas that rules the territory. Both he and World Vision have denied any wrongdoing, and an independent audit in 2017 also found no evidence of support for Hamas.