U.S. to deploy troops to Somalia
President Joe Biden has signed an order to deploy members of the U.S. military to Somalia.
The president made the decision due to heightened concerns about al-Shabab extremists, The Associated Press reported. Al-Shabab is a Somali terrorist group affiliated with al-Qaida.
Former President Donald Trump had withdrawn almost all of the 700 ground troops who had been deployed there, The New York Times reported. Since Biden took office, airstrikes have been conducted to defend U.S. military partners who faced a threat, the Times reported. There also have been U.S. military members in the African country to train and advise Somali and African Union forces.
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McDonald’s says it will sell Russian business
McDonald’s has announced that it plans to sell its Russian business amid the country’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
BREAKING: McDonald’s says it's started the process of selling its Russian business, which includes 850 restaurants that employ 62,000 people. The fast food giant said it plans to start removing golden arches and other symbols and signs with its name. https://t.co/ABpd9CsovG
— The Associated Press (@AP) May 16, 2022
According to The Associated Press, the company, which has 62,000 employees and 850 restaurants in Russia, said in a news release Monday that it has begun the process to exit the Russian market.
“The humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, and the precipitating unpredictable operating environment, have led McDonald’s to conclude that continued ownership of the business in Russia is no longer tenable, nor is it consistent with McDonald’s values,” the fast-food chain said in the release.
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2022 midterms: What to watch as 5 states hold primaries
Former President Donald Trump’s winning streak in U.S. Senate primaries is on the line Tuesday as voters in five states cast their ballots in midterm elections, The Associated Press reports.
“Trump made bold endorsements in backing celebrity heart surgeon Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania and U.S. Rep. Ted Budd in North Carolina,” The AP’s Marc Levy and Gary D. Robertson write. “The once little-known Budd is now in a strong position to win the Republican nomination, but Oz is locked in a tight primary against a former hedge fund CEO and a community activist.”
Levy and Robertson add, “The primaries follow a resounding win in Ohio’s May 3 contest by Trump’s Senate candidate, JD Vance.” On the Democratic side, Levy and Robertson say Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman revealed Sunday that he had suffered a stroke but was on his way to a “full recovery.”
Pennsylvania, Oregon and Idaho are holding primaries for governor on Tuesday. Levy and Robertson write that in Idaho, Republican Brad Little is “fighting back a challenge from his lieutenant governor, a Trump-backed conservative who issued executive orders banning mask mandates during the height of the pandemic when Little was out of state on business.”
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