AP News in Brief at 12:04 a.m. EDT

Ukraine claws back more territory Russia is trying to absorb

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian forces scored more gains in their counteroffensive across at least two fronts Monday, advancing in the very areas that Russia is trying to absorb and challenging Moscow’s effort to engage fresh troops and its threats to defend incorporated areas by all means.

In their latest breakthrough, Ukrainian forces penetrated Moscow’s defenses in the strategic southern Kherson region, one of the four areas in Ukraine that Russia is in the process of annexing.

Kyiv’s troops also consolidated gains in the east and other major battlefields, re-establishing Ukrainian control just as Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to overcome problems with manpower, weapons, troop morale and logistics, along with intensifying domestic and international criticism. Putin faces disarray and anger domestically about his partial troop mobilization and confusion about the establishment of new Russian borders.

Ukraine’s advances have become so apparent that even Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov, who usually focuses on his military’s successes and the enemy’s losses, was forced to acknowledge it.

“With numerically superior tank units in the direction of Zolota Balka and Oleksandrivka, the enemy managed to forge deep into our defenses,” Konashenkov said Monday, referring to two towns in the Kherson region. He coupled that with claims that Russian forces inflicted heavy losses on Ukraine’s military.

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N. Korea sends missile soaring over Japan in escalation

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Tuesday fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan for the first time in five years, forcing Japan to issue evacuation notices and suspend trains during the flight of the weapon that is capable of reaching the U.S. territory of Guam.

The launch was the most provocative weapons demonstration by North Korea this year as it ramps up missile tests to a record pace. Two intercontinental ballistic missiles tested earlier this year were launched at high angles and short of their full range and so didn’t fly over other nations’ territories.

Tuesday’s test, the North’s fifth round of missile launches in 10 days, comes as North Korea uses a diplomatic standstill with the U.S. to build up a full-fledged nuclear weapons program that viably threatens regional U.S. allies and the American homeland.

The Japanese prime minister’s office said at least one missile fired from North Korea flew over Japan and was believed to have landed into the Pacific Ocean.

Japanese authorities alerted residents in northeastern regions to evacuate to shelters, in the first “J-alert” alert since 2017, when North Korea fired an intermediate-range Hwasong-12 missile twice over Japan in a span of weeks during its previous torrid run of weapons tests.

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Officials: US to send Ukraine more advanced rocket systems

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. will soon deliver to Ukraine four more of the advanced rocket systems credited with helping the country’s military gain momentum in its war with Russia.

The High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, known as HIMARS, will be part of a new $625 million package of aid expected to be announced on Tuesday, according to U.S. officials.

The decision marks the first time the U.S. has sent more HIMARS to Ukraine since late July, and it will bring the total number delivered so far to 20. The systems have become a key tool in Ukraine’s ability to strike bridges that Russia has used to supply its troops, enabling Ukrainian forces to make inroads in Russia-controlled regions.

The U.S. in recent weeks also provided funding through a separate program — the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative — so another 18 HIMARS can be purchased through longer-term contracts. USAI funds are being used as part of the effort by the U.S. and Western allies to ensure Ukraine’s forces are trained and equipped to defend their country in the years to come. But those contracts will take several years to fulfill.

The latest aid package is also expected to include other ammunition and equipment for Ukraine’s troops. Several U.S. officials spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details of the package ahead of the announcement. This is the first tranche of U.S. aid delivered in the new fiscal year, which began Oct. 1.

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Oath Keepers trial: Jan. 6 was ‘rebellion,’ prosecutor says

WASHINGTON (AP) — The founder of the Oath Keepers extremist group and four associates planned an “armed rebellion” to keep President Donald Trump in power, a federal prosecutor contended Monday as the most serious case yet went to trial in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Stewart Rhodes and his band of extremists were prepared to go to war to stop Joe Biden from becoming president, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Nestler told jurors. The group celebrated the Capitol attack as a victory in that fight and continued their plot even after Biden’s electoral victory was certified, Nestler alleged.

“Their goal was to stop, by whatever means necessary, the lawful transfer of presidential power, including by taking up arms against the United States government,” the prosecutor said during his opening statement. “They concocted a plan for armed rebellion to shatter a bedrock of American democracy.”

The defendants are the first among hundreds of people arrested in the Capitol riot to stand trial on seditious conspiracy, a rare Civil War-era charge that calls for up to 20 years behind bars. The stakes are high for the Justice Department, which last secured such a conviction at trial nearly 30 years ago, and intends to try two more groups on the charge later this year.

The trial comes as Trump continues to insist, against much evidence, that the 2020 election was stolen from him, and as vocal pushback against the charges filed against those who entered the Capitol continues in some quarters. The broader reaction could show how the American public, as well as the jury, sees the attack, nearly two years later.

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Indonesia police chief, others removed over soccer disaster

MALANG, Indonesia (AP) — An Indonesian police chief and nine elite officers were removed from their posts Monday and 18 others were being investigated for responsibility in the firing of tear gas inside a soccer stadium that set off a stampede, killing at least 125 people, officials said.

Distraught family members were struggling to comprehend the loss of their loved ones, including 17 children, at the match in East Java’s Malang city that was attended only by hometown Arema FC fans. The organizer had banned supporters of the visiting team, Persebaya Surabaya, because of Indonesia’s history of violent soccer rivalries.

The disaster Saturday night was among the deadliest ever at a sporting event.

Arema players and officials laid wreaths Monday in front of the stadium.

“We came here as a team asking forgiveness from the families impacted by this tragedy, those who lost their loves ones or the ones still being treated in the hospital,” head coach Javier Roca said.

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Herschel Walker paid for girlfriend’s abortion, report says

DUNWOODY, Ga. (AP) — Herschel Walker, who has vehemently opposed abortion rights as the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Georgia, paid for an abortion for his girlfriend in 2009, according to a new report published late Monday. The candidate called the accusation a “flat-out lie” and said he would sue.

The Daily Beast spoke to a woman who said Walker paid for her abortion when they were dating. The news outlet reviewed a receipt showing her $575 payment for the procedure, along with a get-well card from Walker and her bank deposit records showing the image of a $700 personal check from Walker dated five days after the abortion receipt.

The woman said Walker encouraged her to end the pregnancy, saying that the time wasn’t right for a baby, The Daily Beast reported.

In a statement, Walker said he would file a lawsuit against the news outlet on Tuesday morning.

“This is a flat-out lie — and I deny this in the strongest terms possible,” he wrote.

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Arizona clinic has workaround for abortion pill ban

PHOENIX (AP) — A Phoenix abortion clinic has come up with a way for patients who can end their pregnancy using a pill to get the medication quickly without running afoul of a resurrected Arizona law that bans most abortions.

Under the arrangement that began Monday, patients will have an ultrasound in Arizona, get a prescription through a telehealth appointment with a California doctor and then have it mailed to a post office in a California border town for pickup, all for free.

While not as easy as before an Arizona judge ruled that a pre-statehood law criminalizing nearly all abortions could be enforced nearly two weeks ago, the process saves an overnight trip to a major California city with an abortion clinic. And it is more accessible than the previous workaround used by Camelback Family Planning in Phoenix, which was to have a doctor in Sweden prescribe the pills and a pharmacy in India mail them to Arizona. That could take up to three weeks.

Ashleigh Feiring, a nurse at the clinic, said the cost of the pills will be covered by the Abortion Fund of Arizona, which is helping women pay for out-of-state access to abortions. Women can use a pill for an abortion until the 12th week of pregnancy. Pills and surgical abortions were legal until about 24 weeks until the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in June and allowed states to ban all abortions.

The Food and Drug Administration earlier this year permanently removed rules requiring in-person consultations with a provider before women can receive a medication abortion, allowing women to have a telehealth appointment and get the pills through the mail.

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Frustration and desperation mount as Ian’s effects linger

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Days after the skies cleared and the winds died down in Florida, Hurricane Ian’s effects persisted Monday, as people faced another week without power and others were being rescued from homes inundated with lingering floodwaters.

Ten additional deaths were blamed on the storm in Florida as frustration and desperation mounted in the path the storm cut through state. And the hurricane’s remnants, now a nor’easter, weren’t done with the U.S.

The mid-Atlantic and Northeast coasts were getting flooding rains. The storm’s onshore winds piled even more water into an already inundated Chesapeake Bay.

Norfolk and Virginia Beach declared states of emergency, although a shift in wind direction prevented potentially catastrophic levels Monday, said Cody Poche, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wakefield, Virginia

Coastal flooding temporarily shut down the only highway to part of North Carolina’s Outer Banks and flooding was possible all the way to Long Island, the National Weather Service said.

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Will Smith’s ‘Emancipation’ gets release date, post-slap

NEW YORK (AP) — After holding “Emancipation” in limbo following Will Smith’s slap of Chris Rock at the Academy Awards in March, Apple will release the actor’s next big project this December.

In the fallout of Smith’s smack of the comedian, the fate of “Emancipation” — a $120 million runaway slave thriller directed by Antoine Fuqua — had been uncertain. One of Apple’s most high-profile productions yet, the film had once been expected to be an Oscar contender this year. But an awards-season rollout of a film headlined by Smith, whom the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences banned from attending the Oscars for 10 years, has obvious complications.

Nevertheless, Apple TV+ said Monday that it will debut “Emancipation” on Dec. 2 in theaters and begin streaming it Dec. 9.

Over the weekend, Apple and the NAACP held the first screening of the film in Washington as part of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Legislative Conference. Smith attended the screening and spoke on stage.

The release of “Emancipation” will pose the biggest test yet of how eager moviegoers are for a movie headlined by Smith, an actor who has generated more than $6.5 billion in worldwide box office. Still, the brief exclusive run in theaters will also mean “Emancipation,” like Apple’s best picture-winning “CODA,” will be seen primarily in homes.

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49ers use defense, Deebo Samuel to beat Rams 24-9

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Deebo Samuel turned a short catch into an electric 57-yard touchdown, Talanoa Hufanga returned an interception for a score and the San Francisco 49ers beat the Los Angeles Rams 24-9 Monday night.

Jeff Wilson Jr. also scored on a 32-yard run that gave the Niners (2-2) their seventh straight regular-season win over their in-state rivals.

The Rams (2-2) won the matchup that meant most in last season’s NFC championship game on the way to a Super Bowl title, but this meeting looked more like their recent regular-season meetings.

San Francisco used a relentless defense to slow down coach Sean McVay’s offense and got enough big plays for the win.

Nick Bosa had two of San Francisco’s seven sacks against Matthew Stafford to give him an NFL-best six on the season and Hufanga iced it with his 52-yard pick-6 in the fourth quarter. It was San Francisco’s fourth pick-6 against the Rams in their last six regular-season meetings.

The Associated Press