The declaration comes just days after a blast in a border town killed at least 50 people.

A Minnesota woman was severely injured by a bison in Theodore Roosevelt National Park in Medora, North Dakota, according to the National Park Service.

President Joe Biden is set for talks with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Thursday, welcoming the far-right leader who has won praise from the U.S. administration for her strong backing of the U.S.-led effort to assist Ukraine as it tries to fend off the Russian invasion. The warm reception comes after initial trepidation in the Biden administration about Meloni, who rose to power last year as the head of Italy’s most far-right government since the end of World War II. Biden administration concerns about her ideology have been eased by her support for Ukraine and her seeming openness to pull back from Italy's participation in China's infrastructure-building Belt and Road Initiative. Her visit comes as Italy prepares to take up the presidency next year of the Group of Seven industrialized nations. White House officials said that in addition to discussing Ukraine and China, the two leaders were expected to discuss migration from North Africa to Europe's southern shores. More than 1,900 migrants have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean so far this year, bringing the total of dead and missing since 2014 to 27,675, according to the International Organization for Migration. “On issues of foreign policy, there’s been a lot of overlapping and mutually reinforcing approaches that we’re taking on with Italy,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. “Italy is a NATO ally and they are a very competent NATO ally and they’ve been a tremendous supporter of Ukraine.” The Biden administration viewed Meloni's predecessor, economist and former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi, as an intellectual force and one of its strongest allies in Europe. Soon after Meloni's victory last September, Biden warned about the rise of hard-right populism in Europe and in the United States. “You just saw what’s happened in Italy in that election,” Biden said in an address to the Democratic Governors Association after Meloni’s victory last September. “You’re seeing what’s happening around the world. And the reason I bother to say that is we can’t be sanguine about what’s happening here either.” Meloni became Italy’s first far-right leader to hold the premiership in Italy’s post-World War II republic after the Brothers of Italy party she co-founded more than a decade ago emerged as the largest vote-getter in the September 2022 elections. Her Brothers of Italy party, named after the first words of Italy’s national anthem, has roots in a party founded by nostalgists for fascism following the demise of dictator Benito Mussolini’s regime. But Meloni brushes off any insinuation that she is nostalgic for Mussolini, writing in her autobiography, “I don’t hold the cult of fascism.” Since coming to power, Meloni has faced criticism for her government's direction that city halls stop automatically registering both parents in same-sex couples but instead limit recognition of parental rights only to the biological parent of the child. When Meloni ran for the premiership, she called for a naval blockade of northern Africa to thwart smugglers’ boats overcrowded with migrants determined to reach Europe’s southern shores. But once in office, she quickly dropped talk of any blockade. On the eve of Meloni's visit, the White House sought to stress the U.S. and Italy's close cooperation on Ukraine. Kirby noted that Meloni has been one of the European Union’s most vocal supporters of Ukraine's sovereignty, and Italy has hosted some 170,000 Ukrainians who have fled the war. Meloni has also been a champion of a stronger NATO and views the trans-Atlantic alliance as the linchpin of traditionally strong U.S.-Italian relations. “From a foreign policy lens, the Biden administration sees this is better than what they could have possibly expected or hoped for,” said Max Bergmann, director of the Europe, Russia and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. The prime minister has also expressed skepticism about Italy's ties with China through the Belt and Road Initiative. In 2019, Italy became the first and only G7 nation to join China’s ambitious infrastructure building effort, despite objections from the United States. The project was launched by Beijing in 2013 by President Xi Jinping to link East Asia and Europe through physical infrastructure. The ambition for the project has expanded to Africa, Oceania and Latin America, significantly broadening China’s economic and political influence. Italy must either renew or abandon the accord by early next year. Kirby called Italy's decision on whether to stay in Belt and Road a “sovereign decision” but added that “it's becoming increasingly obvious that more and more countries around the world are seeing the risks, and quite frankly lack of reward for economic partnerships with China.” Meloni is also scheduled to meet with Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Thursday at the U.S. Capitol. ___ D'Emilio reported from Rome. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide One of Libya’s rival prime ministers returns to Tripoli on 1st commercial flight from Italy in years Italy's Meloni opens conference that aims to stanch flows of migrants to Europe with aid to Africa Rights activists fear Tunisia deal will be model for bartering EU money for migrants' lives

Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie said Sunday it was a "useless idea" to force 2024 GOP contenders to sign a pledge to back the party's ultimate nominee in order to participate in primary debates.

Peter Nero, a Grammy-winning pianist who interpreted pop songs through classical and jazz forms and served as the Philly Pops’ conductor for more than three decades, has died

Descendants of enslaved Africans on Georgia's Sapelo Island -- one of the last intact Gullah Geechee communities in the state -- are worried their cultural heritage and property could soon be lost after city officials voted to change the island's zoning laws.

Sydney is blanketed under thick wood smoke for a fourth consecutive day due to hazard reduction burns in preparation for the wildfire season

America's first federal trial over China's alleged attempts to forcibly repatriate its citizens under a campaign known as "Operation Fox Hunt" got underway...

Cindy McCain tells the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme the deal must be renewed by 18 May.

Ukraine says its missile strike on the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea fleet in Crimea successfully targeted a meeting of senior naval officials, with “top” commanders among “dozens of dead and wounded”. Kyiv launched the missile attack on the fleet based in the port city of Sevastopol in occupied Crimea on Friday morning. Ukrainian officials said the attack, targeting what is believed to be the best of Russia’s navy, was timed to coincide with the naval commanders’ meeting. On Saturday morning, it followed this up with another missile attack on Sevastopol, according to a local Russian-installed official. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the attack resulted in any deaths or injuries but in a statement on Saturday, the Ukrainian military said the Friday attack had left “dozens of dead and wounded occupiers, including the top management of the fleet”. Ukraine’s intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, told Voice of America on Saturday that at least nine people were killed and 16 injured as a result of Kyiv’s attack on the Black Sea Fleet on Friday. He claimed that Alexander Romanchuk, a Russian general commanding forces along the key southeastern front line, was “in a very serious condition” following the attack. The Russian defence ministry initially said that Friday’s strike killed one service member at the Black Sea Fleet headquarters, but later issued a statement that he was missing. The Ukrainian military said the air force conducted 12 strikes on the Black Sea Fleet headquarters, targeting areas where personnel, military equipment and weapons were concentrated. It said two anti-aircraft missile systems and four Russian artillery units were hit. Crimea has served as the key hub supporting Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Sevastopol, the main base of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet since the 19th century, has had a particular importance for navy operations since the start of the invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine has increasingly targeted naval facilities in Crimea in recent weeks while the brunt of its summer counteroffensive makes slow gains in the east and south of Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War said. Military experts say it is essential for Ukraine to keep up its attacks on targets in Crimea to degrade Russian morale and weaken its military. Additional reporting by agencies Read More Ukraine-Russia war - live: Kyiv inflicting ‘hell’ on Russian lines as counter-offensive escalates A Ukrainian train is a lifeline connecting the nation's capital with the front line Pope blames weapons industry for Russia-Ukraine war and 'martyrdom' of Ukrainian people

Australia has won the Cricket World Cup for a record-extending sixth time

A federal judge ruled Friday that the Manhattan District Attorney's Office must turn over documents related to former JPMorgan Chase executive James "Jes" Staley in response to a subpoena from the bank in ongoing federal lawsuits that allege JPMorgan enabled and benefited from longtime banking-client Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking crimes.