AP News in Brief at 11:04 p.m. EST

Can the dogs of Chernobyl teach us new tricks on survival?

More than 35 years after the world’s worst nuclear accident, the dogs of Chernobyl roam among decaying, abandoned buildings in and around the closed plant – somehow still able to find food, breed and survive.

Scientists hope that studying these dogs can teach humans new tricks about how to live in the harshest, most degraded environments, too.

They published the first of what they hope will be many genetics studies on Friday in the journal Science Advances, focusing on 302 free-roaming dogs living in an officially designated “exclusion zone” around the disaster site. They identified populations whose differing levels of radiation exposure may have made them genetically distinct from one another and other dogs worldwide.

“We’ve had this golden opportunity” to lay the groundwork for answering a crucial question: “How do you survive in a hostile environment like this for 15 generations?” said geneticist Elaine Ostrander of the National Human Genome Research Institute, one of the study’s many authors.

Fellow author Tim Mousseau, professor of biological sciences at the University of South Carolina, said the dogs “provide an incredible tool to look at the impacts of this kind of a setting” on mammals overall.

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Doctor: Lesion removed from Biden’s chest was cancerous

WASHINGTON (AP) — A skin lesion removed from President Joe Biden’s chest last month was a basal cell carcinoma — a common form of skin cancer — his doctor said Friday, adding that no further treatment was required.

Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the White House doctor who has served as Biden’s longtime physician, said “all cancerous tissue was successfully removed” during the president’s routine physical on Feb. 16. Biden, 80, was deemed by O’Connor to be “ healthy, vigorous” and “fit ” to handle his White House responsibilities during that physical exam, which comes as he is weeks away from launching an expected bid for reelection in 2024.

O’Connor said the site of the removal on Biden’s chest has “healed nicely” and the president will continue regular skin screenings as part of his routine health plan.

Basal cells are among the most common and easily treated forms of cancer — especially when caught early. O’Connor said they don’t tend to spread like other cancers, but could grow in size, which is why they are removed.

Biden had “several localized non-melanoma skin cancers” removed from his body before he started his presidency, O’Connor said in his Feb. 16 summary of the president’s health, noting it was well established that Biden spent a lot of time in the sun during his youth.

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Murdaugh judge’s own legal story unfolded in South Carolina

The judge who sentenced Alex Murdaugh on Friday to life in prison for killing his wife and son has earned attention and plaudits for his even-handed demeanor throughout the trial and for his dressing-down of the once-prominent lawyer just before he sent him to prison.

Judge Clifton Newman, a South Carolina native who attended racially segregated schools in the 1950s and 1960s, addressed Murdaugh directly during roughly 20 minutes of comments that ranged from invoking the memories of the defendant’s slain son Paul and wife Maggie to lamenting what he described as attacks on the credibility of the state’s justice system during the trial. He noted that Murdaugh came from a prominent family of lawyers in the area and that a portrait of his grandfather, a former prosecutor, once hung in the courthouse where he was tried – until Newman had it removed to promote a fair trial.

Among the most poignant moments came when Newman spoke to Murdaugh about his wife and son. Referring to the shooting deaths and lies Murdaugh admitted telling throughout the investigation, the judge said: “Within your own soul, you have to deal with that. And I know you have to see Paul and Maggie during the night time when you’re attempting to go to sleep and I’m sure they come and visit you.”

“All day, and every night,” said Murdaugh, who maintained his innocence during the sentencing hearing.

“And they will continue to do so and reflect on the last time they looked you in the eyes,” the judge then replied.

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Some California mountain residents could be snowed in a week

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Some residents stranded in Southern California mountain communities by a huge snowfall could be stuck for another week, an official said Friday.

A late-February blast of arctic air produced a rare blizzard east of Los Angeles in the San Bernardino Mountains, where thousands of people live at high elevations in forest communities or visit for year-round recreation.

Extraordinary snowfall buried homes and businesses, overwhelming the capability of snowplowing equipment geared toward ordinary storms.

By last weekend, all highways leading up into the mountains were closed and have opened intermittently since then to residents and convoys of trucks loaded with food or other supplies.

The estimate by San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus was an improvement in the outlook for stranded residents, which previously ranged up to two weeks.

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Fired Memphis EMT says police impeded Tyre Nichols’ care

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A former Memphis Fire Department emergency medical technician told a Tennessee board Friday that officers “impeded patient care” by refusing to remove Tyre Nichols ‘ handcuffs, which would have allowed EMTs to check his vital signs after he was brutally beaten by police.

Robert Long, whose license was suspended for failing to give aid to Nichols and who has also been fired, appeared by livestream before the state Emergency Medical Services Board to share his version of events. He provided details about how he and another EMT, JaMichael Sandridge, responded after five Memphis police officers had punched, kicked and hit Nichols with a baton during an arrest following Nichols fleeing a traffic stop Jan. 7.

Long and Sandridge were fired by the department Jan. 30. Their licenses were suspended by the board Feb. 3, after members watched a 19-minute video taken at the beating location. Officials said the EMTs failed to render aid to Nichols, who died three days after the beating.

The board determined that Long and Sandridge did not perform basic emergency medical examinations while Nichols was handcuffed on the ground and slumped against a squad car, documents obtained by The Associated Press showed. Nichols showed “clear signs of distress, such as the inability to remain in a seated posture and laying prone on the ground multiple times,” the documents showed.

Both Long and Sandridge failed to initiate a primary examination, which could have helped identify the presence of any life-threatening injuries, the documents showed. Nichols’ vital signs were not checked, he did not receive high-flow oxygen or an intravenous line, and he was not placed on a heart monitor.

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The implications of Walgreens’ decision on abortion pills

Walgreens says it will not start selling an abortion pill in 20 states that had warned of legal consequences if it did so.

The drugstore chain’s announcement Thursday signals that access to mifepristone may not expand as broadly as federal regulators intended in January, when they finalized a rule change allowing more pharmacies to provide the pill.

Here’s a closer look at the issue.

ABOUT THE ABORTION PILL

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved mifepristone in 2000 to end pregnancy, when used in combination with a second drug, misoprostol. The combination is approved for use up to the 10th week of pregnancy.

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Tom Sizemore, ‘Saving Private Ryan’ actor, dies at 61

BURBANK, Calif. (AP) — Tom Sizemore, the “Saving Private Ryan” actor whose bright 1990s star burned out under the weight of his own domestic violence and drug convictions, died Friday at age 61.

The actor had suffered a brain aneurysm on Feb. 18 at his home in Los Angeles. He died in his sleep Friday at a hospital in Burbank, California, his manager Charles Lago said.

Sizemore became a star with acclaimed appearances in “Natural Born Killers” and the cult-classic crime thriller “Heat.” But serious substance dependency, abuse allegations and multiple run-ins with the law devastated his career, left him homeless and sent him to jail.

As the global #MeToo movement wave crested in late 2017, Sizemore was also accused of groping an 11-year-old Utah girl on set in 2003. He called the allegations “highly disturbing,” saying he would never inappropriately touch a child. Charges were not filed.

Despite the raft of legal trouble, Sizemore had scores of steady film and television credits — though his career never regained its onetime momentum. Aside from “Black Hawk Down” and “Pearl Harbor,” most of his 21st century roles came in low-budget, little-seen productions where he continued to play the gruff, tough guys he became famous for portraying.

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US sending bridge-launchers to Ukraine for spring fight

WASHINGTON (AP) —

The U.S. announced a new $400 million military aid package for Ukraine on Friday that for the first time includes armored vehicles that can launch bridges — allowing troops to cross rivers or other gaps as Russian and Ukrainian forces remain entrenched on opposite sides of the Dnieper River.

The war had largely slowed to a grinding stalemate during the winter months, with Russia and Ukraine firing at each other from across the river. Both sides are expected to launch offensives as temperatures warm.

This round of aid will be drawn from existing U.S. weapons stockpiles so it can arrive in Ukraine faster. The U.S. and allies are trying to rush additional support to Kyiv to best position it for intensified spring fighting.

The Armored Vehicle Launched Bridge is a portable, 60-foot (18-meter) folding metal bridge that is carried on top of a tank body. Providing that system now could make it easier for Ukrainian troops to cross rivers to get to Russian forces.

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How Biden leaves wiggle room to opt against reelection bid

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden exudes confidence as the next race for the White House approaches.

During last month’s State of the Union address, he lured unruly Republicans into agreeing with him that federal entitlements should be protected. He’s intensified travel outside Washington, trumpeting job-creation in Wisconsin and steep federal health care spending to Florida seniors while touting a trillion-dollar public works package that he says can do everything from revitalize Baltimore’s port to easing train tunnel congestion under the Hudson River.

And he used spy-thriller tactics to sweep into war-scarred Ukraine.

For most presidents, these are powerful elements to include as the centerpiece of a reelection campaign — pledging to protect people and the economy at home and democracy in the heart of Europe. But, with the famously fickle 80-year-old Biden stopping short of officially declaring his 2024 candidacy, he’s leaving just enough room to back out of a race and focus instead on using such moves to cement his legacy.

“I look at Biden from the outside, as a historian, and say, ‘Boy, if he stepped away now, his place in history is secure and extraordinarily positive,’” said Jeffrey Engel, director of the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. “That’s how a normal person thinks about these things. That’s not how a president thinks about these things.”

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Mississippi passes bill restricting electric car dealerships

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi Senate gave final approval Thursday to a bill to restrict electric car manufacturers from opening new brick-and-mortar dealerships in the state unless they comply with the same laws traditional carmakers follow.

The legislation, introduced in the House by Republican Rep. Trey Lamar of Senatobia, now heads to Republican Gov. Tate Reeves, who has not indicated whether he will sign it. On the Senate floor Thursday, the bill sparked an intraparty debate among GOP lawmakers.

Opponents said it would betray conservative principles by setting a government policy that interferes with the automobile market and would stop electric carmakers from bringing new technology and jobs to the state. Proponents said the law would ensure all car manufacturers, regardless of their business model, play by the same rules.

Tesla sells vehicles in person at one facility in Mississippi that is classified as a store, not a dealership. The distinction allows the company to operate outside state laws governing franchise businesses. This exception, and the prospect of other electric companies taking advantage of it, gives these manufacturers special privileges that traditional automakers don’t enjoy, according to Republican Sen. Daniel Sparks of Belmont.

“We’re saying if you choose to have a brick-and-mortar dealership, you have to follow the same laws that everyone else has to follow,” Sparks said. “Please don’t tell me Tesla’s car doesn’t identify as a car.”

The Associated Press