HELSINKI (AP) — Finland’s leaders say they’re in favor of rapidly applying for NATO membership. It paves the way for a historic expansion of the alliance that could deal a serious blow to Russia as its military struggles with its war in Ukraine.

BUCHA, Ukraine (AP) — One boy's extraordinary account alleging an attempted killing by Russian soldiers stands out as international justice experts descend on Bucha, a center of the horrors and possible war crimes in Ukraine.

My beloved and I make it a point to watch the Kentucky Derby every year.  When the ponies go into the starting gate, we are front and center holding our breath for the mile and a quarter race. Before the Derby, we each make our choices for the winner.  We don’t bet any money, but just want to guess it right.  He always picks a gray horse, while I ponder the names.  This year, I chose Summer is Tomorrow and Smile Happy. 

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia pounded areas in Ukraine’s east, including the last pocket of resistance in besieged Mariupol, as the war pushed Finland closer to seeking NATO membership.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea has imposed a nationwide lockdown to control its first acknowledged COVID-19 outbreak of the pandemic.

CINCINNATI (AP) — Christian Yelich hit for a record-tying third cycle — all of them against Cincinnati — but the Milwaukee Brewers’ rally fell short in the ninth inning in a 14-11 loss to the Reds.

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is pointing toward another down day with global markets falling sharply on more bad inflation data. Futures for the S&P 500 are 0.5% lower and the Dow is down 0.3% a day after a U.S. government report showed inflation remains close to a four-decade high.

ATLANTA (AP) — Orlando Arcia hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Atlanta Braves a 5-3 win over the Boston Red Sox. Arcia lined his first homer of the season over the left-field wall off Ryan Brasier with one out in the ninth for his third hit of the game.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal appeals court has ruled that California's ban on the sale of semiautomatic weapons to adults under age 21 is unconstitutional. A panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Wednesday that the law violates the Second Amendment right to bear arms.

ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta Braves catcher Manny Piña will have season-ending surgery after tests revealed ligament and cartilage damage in his left wrist.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Atlanta Braves beat third baseman Austin Riley and the St. Louis Cardinals defeated outfielder Tyler O’Neill in the first salary arbitration decisions this year.

The Democratic Party’s attempt to institute a vastly expansive right to abortion in federal law again died in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday.

One of the often overlooked and under appreciated impacts on our kid’s love for the Lord is the impact Godly adults have had on their lives.

NASHVILLE (BP) – Willie McLaurin says there is a difference between working “in the business” and working “on the business.” To him, that means planning for the future and thinking strategically.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — U.S. coronavirus cases are up, leading a smattering of school districts, especially in the Northeast, to bring back mask recommendations and requirements.

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine's top prosecutor says the country plans to hold its first war crimes trial of a captured Russian soldier.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Supreme Court justices have long prized confidentiality. It’s one of the reasons the leak of a draft opinion in a major abortion case last week was so shocking.

HONG KONG (AP) — Reports say a Roman Catholic cardinal, a singer and at least two others have been arrested in Hong Kong on suspicion of colluding with foreign forces to endanger China's national security.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A passenger with no flying experience radioed an urgent plea for help when the pilot of a small plane fell ill off Florida’s Atlantic coast, and was able to land safely with the help of air traffic controllers.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. marshals and sheriff’s deputies led an 11-day manhunt for an Alabama murder suspect and jailer who were heavily armed and preparing for a shootout when they were captured.

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The wives of two Ukrainian soldiers defending the Mariupol steel mill have met with Pope Francis. They are asking him to intervene to arrange for a third-party evacuation of the troops before Russian soldiers capture or kill them.

Many people are puzzling what a Elon Musk takeover of Twitter would mean for the company and even whether he’ll go through with the deal. If the 50-year-old Musk’s gambit has made anything clear it’s that he thrives on contradiction.

DUBLIN, Ga. (AP) — A French manufacturer says it will restart the fiberglass furnace at a Georgia plant it purchased in 2019. Saint-Gobain says it will invest $28 million and hire 400 new workers in Dublin, Georgia.

CLEVELAND, Ga. – Beloved Southern Baptist preacher and writer J. Gerald Harris, whose name has been on countless sermons, articles and books over the past six decades, now has his moniker inscribed on a building at Truett McConnell University.

ATLANTA — The Georgia Department of Public Health discussed increasing fentanyl overdose deaths, COVID rates, and a mysterious hepatitis outbreak among children at its monthly meeting Tuesday.