Homemade Mozzarella Cheese
Homemade Mozzarella Cheese
Homemade Mozzarella Cheese Recipe from AllRecipes
Prep time: 50 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Serving size: 12 servings
Ingredients
- ¾ cup cool water, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon liquid rennet
- 1 ½ teaspoons citric acid
- 1 gallon raw milk
- 1 teaspoon salt (Optional)
Directions
- Combine 1/4 cup water and rennet in a small bowl; mix well.
- Combine remaining 1/2 cup water and citric acid in another small bowl; mix until dissolved.
- Pour milk into a large pot set over medium heat. Stir in citric acid mixture.
- Heat milk, stirring occasionally, until it registers 90 degrees F (32 degrees C) on an instant-read thermometer, about 5 minutes.
- Remove milk from heat and stir in rennet mixture in a figure-8 motion for 30 seconds. Stir counterclockwise for 30 seconds to still the milk. Let stand, covered, until milk sets into curd, 5 to 10 minutes. Press edge of curd gently with a palette knife or the back of a spoon to check for firmness.
- Slice vertically into the pot to cut curd into 3/4-inch cubes with a palette knife. Stir curds gently, but leave cubes mostly intact.
- Return pot to the heat; cook over medium heat, stirring curds gently, until temperature reaches 109 degrees F (43 degrees C), about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Ladle curds into a colander set over a large bowl using a slotted spoon. Press curds gently to extract liquid whey. Pour drained whey back into the pot.
- Heat whey to 185 degrees F (85 degrees C), about 5 minutes. Wearing gloves, tear off a piece of curd and place on a slotted spoon. Dip curd into hot whey for 5 to 10 seconds. Stretch, fold, and knead curd. Repeat until mozzarella is smooth and elastic. Knead in salt and form curd into a ball. Repeat dipping and kneading process with remaining curd.
- Allow mozzarella to cool. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator.
Trump urges senators to get his big tax bill done by July 4th
By LISA MASCARO and MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump wants his “big, beautiful” bill of tax breaks and spending cuts on his desk to be signed into law by the Fourth of July, and he’s pushing the slow-rolling Senate to make it happen sooner rather than later.
Trump met with Senate Majority Leader John Thune at the White House earlier this week and has been dialing senators for one-on-one chats, using both the carrot and stick to nudge, badger and encourage them to act. But it’s still a long road ahead for the 1,000-page-plus package.
“His question to me was, How do you think the bill’s going to go in the Senate?” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said about his call with Trump. “Do you think there’s going to be problems?”
It’s a potentially tumultuous three-week sprint for senators preparing to put their own imprint on the massive Republican package that cleared the House late last month by a single vote. The senators have been meeting for weeks behind closed doors, including as they returned to Washington late Monday, to revise the package ahead of what is expected to be a similarly narrow vote in the Senate.
“Passing THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL is a Historic Opportunity to turn our Country around,” Trump posted on social media. He urged senators Monday “to work as fast as they can to get this Bill to MY DESK before the Fourth of JULY.”
But Trump’s high-octane ally, billionaire Elon Musk, lambasted the package — and those voting for it.
“This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination,” Musk posted on his site X, as some lawmakers have expressed reservations about the details. “Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.”
A test for Thune
Thune, like House Speaker Mike Johnson, has few votes to spare from the Senate’s slim, 53-seat GOP majority. Democrats are waging an all-out political assault on GOP proposals to cut Medicaid, food stamps and green energy investments to help pay for more than $4.5 trillion in tax cuts — with many lawmakers being hammered at boisterous town halls back home.
“It’d be nice if we could have everybody on board to do it, but, you know, individual members are going to stake out their positions,” Thune said Tuesday. “But in the end, we have to succeed. Failure’s not an option.”
Johnson called Musk’s harsh criticism of the bill “very disappointing.”
“With all due respect,” said Johnson, who said he spoke with Musk for more than 20 minutes, “my friend Elon is terribly wrong about the one big beautiful bill.”
At its core, the package seeks to extend the tax cuts approved in 2017, during Trump’s first term at the White House, and add new ones the president campaigned on, including no taxes on tips. It also includes a massive buildup of $350 billion for border security, deportations and national security.
To defray the lost tax revenue to the government and avoid piling onto the nation’s $36 trillion debt load, Republicans want reduce federal spending by imposing work requirements for some Americans who rely on government safety net services. Estimates are 8.6 million people would no longer have health care and nearly 4 million would lose Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program benefits, known as SNAP.
The package also would raise the nation’s debt limit by $4 trillion to allow more borrowing to pay the bills.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Trump’s bill “is ugly to its very core.”
Schumer said Tuesday that senators should listen to Musk. “Behind the smoke and mirrors lies a cruel and draconian truth: tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy paid for by gutting health care for millions of Americans,” said the New York senator.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office is expected to soon provide an overall analysis of the package’s impacts on the government balance sheets. But Republicans are ready to blast those findings from the congressional scorekeeper as flawed.
The GOP holdouts
Trump switched to tougher tactics Tuesday, deriding the holdout Republican senators.
The president laid into Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, the libertarian-leaning deficit hawk who has made a career of arguing against government spending. Paul wants the package’s $4 trillion increase to the debt ceiling out of the bill.
“Rand votes NO on everything, but never has any practical or constructive ideas. His ideas are actually crazy (losers!),” Trump posted.
Paul seemed unfazed. “I like the president, supported the president,” the senator said. “But I can’t in good conscience give up every principle that I stand for and every principle that I was elected upon.”
The July 4th deadline is not only aspirational for the president, it’s all but mandatory for Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who has warned Congress that the nation will run out of money to pay its bills if the debt ceiling, now at $36 trillion, is not lifted by mid-July or early August to allow more borrowing. Bessent has also been meeting behind closed doors with senators and GOP leadership.
To make most of the tax cuts permanent — particularly the business tax breaks that are the Senate priorities — senators may shave some of Trump’s proposed new tax breaks on automobile loans or overtime pay, which are less prized by some senators.
There are also discussions about altering the $40,000 cap that the House proposed for state and local deductions, known as SALT, which are important to lawmakers in high-tax New York, California and other states, but less so among GOP senators.
“We’re having all those discussions,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., another key voice in the debate.
Hawley is a among a group of senators, including Maine Sen. Susan Collins and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who have raised concerns about the Medicaid changes that could boot people from health insurance.
A potential copay of up to $35 for Medicaid services that was part of the House package, as well as a termination of a provider tax that many states rely on to help fund rural hospitals, have also raised concerns.
“The best way to not be accused of cutting Medicaid is to not cut Medicaid,” Hawley said. Collins said she is reviewing the details.
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Associated Press journalists Kevin Freking, Mary Clare Jalonick, Matt Brown, Joey Cappelletti, Michelle L. Price, Josh Boak and Nathan Ellgren contributed to this report.
Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month highlights the importance of brain health in North Carolina
RALEIGH, N.C. (WPTF) – June marks Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month and the Alzheimer’s Association of Eastern North Carolina is calling on residents to take proactive steps toward protecting their cognitive health. With more than two-thirds of Americans carrying at least one major risk factor for dementia, experts say the time to act is now.
Lindsay Golden, a representative of the Alzheimer’s Association’s Eastern North Carolina chapter, says the disease is often decades in the making.
“Brain changes can begin up to 20 years before symptoms appear,” said Golden. “We encourage people to pay attention to what may not be signs of normal aging and talk to a doctor. But there are also things you can do to mitigate risk—especially during Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month.”
According to the CDC, Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia and one of the leading causes of death in the United States. Today, more than 7 million Americans over the age of 65 are living with Alzheimer’s, including over 210,000 people in North Carolina alone.
Golden says while age remains the biggest risk factor, other contributors include physical inactivity, unmanaged high blood pressure, genetics and even sleep quality.
“There can be other risk factors such as race and family history,” said Golden. “But we also know that incorporating healthy habits—like managing blood pressure, exercising regularly and getting good sleep—can significantly reduce your risk of cognitive decline.”
The Alzheimer’s Association promotes what’s known as the “Healthy Brain Initiative,” a public health roadmap launched in partnership with the CDC. It encourages people to make lifestyle changes that support not just physical wellness, but long-term brain function too.
Golden notes that early warning signs often go beyond memory issues.
“Altered judgment, mood changes, difficulty paying bills or managing complex projects can all signal early cognitive impairment,” said Golden. “If you notice those signs in yourself or someone else, don’t wait—have a conversation and speak with a physician.”
As June continues, the Alzheimer’s Association of Eastern North Carolina will host educational events, share resources and encourage residents to wear purple in support of Alzheimer’s awareness.
To learn more about prevention strategies, support programs or how to get involved, visit www.alz.org/nc or call the 24/7 helpline at 1-800-272-3900.
Wake Forest baseball coach apologizes for apparent homophobic slur at NCAA regional vs. Tennessee
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Wake Forest and baseball coach Tom Walter apologized on Tuesday for what appeared to be a homophobic slur caught by television cameras during an NCAA regional game against Tennessee.
“I am very sorry for my outburst in frustration last night and I recognize the hurt and disappointment it has caused,” Walter said in a statement issued by the school. “I own the consequences and I apologize to the University of Tennessee, to Wake Forest University, and the SEC & ACC.”
Walter said he has watched the video and doesn’t remember the specific moment but acknowledged “that language doesn’t reflect my values or the standards of this program.”
Wake Forest athletic director John Currie said he was “surprised and deeply disappointed” and said he spoke with Walter after the game and again Tuesday morning.
“I feel badly for those most hurt by such words,” Currie said. “This incident … is completely out of character for him and does not meet the standards of Wake Forest Athletics, Wake Forest University or the Atlantic Coast Conference.”
Tennessee beat Wake Forest 11-5 on Monday night to win the Knoxville Regional and earn a best-of-three super regional matchup with Arkansas for a chance to advance to the College World Series.
An Atlantic Coast Conference spokeswoman did not immediate respond to an email seeking comment.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs paid to hide Cassie beating video because he feared career ruin, witness says
By MICHAEL R. SISAK and LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Soon after viciously attacking his longtime girlfriend Cassie in a hotel hallway, Sean “Diddy” Combs sought out a security guard and predicted accurately that his iconic career would be ruined — his image as the affable, successful “Puff Daddy” destroyed — if video of the beating ever became public.
Eddy Garcia, 33, testified Thursday that the hip-hop mogul made the comment repeatedly before giving a brown paper bag stuffed with $100,000 in cash to the then guard, in order to buy what he hoped was the only copy of surveillance footage of the March 2016 assault.
Prosecutors at Combs’ sex trafficking trial in Manhattan have made the footage of Combs kicking, beating and dragging Cassie at the Intercontinental Hotel in Los Angeles a centerpiece of their federal case against him. They contend it supports the claims of three women, including Cassie, who allege the Bad Boy Records founder sexually and physically abused them over two decades.
Prosecutors say Combs’ persistent efforts to hush up the episode fit into allegations he used threats and his fortune and fame to get what he wanted.
Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and racketeering charges.
After the attack, Garcia said, he spoke several times to Combs’ chief-of-staff, Kristina Khorram, telling her he couldn’t show her the recording but “off the record, it’s bad.”
He said during one phone call she put a “very nervous”-sounding Combs on the phone, who “was just saying he had a little too much to drink” and that, as Garcia surely knows, “with women, one thing leads to another and if this got out it would ruin him.”
Garcia added: “He was talking really fast, a lot of stuttering.”
In the evening, Garcia said, he became nervous and scared when Khorram called him on his cell phone — the number for which he had not provided — and she put Combs on.
“He stated that I sounded like a good guy,” Garcia testified, adding that Combs again said “something like this could ruin him.”
When he told Combs he didn’t have access to the server to obtain the video footage, Combs said he believed Garcia could make it happen and that “he would take care of me,” which Garcia said he took “to mean financially.”
Garcia said he checked with his boss and was told he’d sell it to Combs for $50,000.
When he told Combs, he said the music producer “sounded excited.”
“He referred to me as ‘Eddy my angel,’” Garcia said, adding that Combs told him: “I knew you could help. I knew you could do it.”
Within two days of the attack on Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura, Garcia gave Combs a storage device containing the footage in exchange for $100,000 in cash — with Combs feeding bills through a money counter and putting them in a brown paper bag.
Garcia signed a confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement, shown in court, that required he pay $1 million if he breached the deal. At the time, he said, he was making $10.50 an hour working hotel security.
Garcia said he signed a declaration swearing that there was no other copy of the video.
He said he signed the papers in an office building with Combs’ bodyguard and Khorram present. Garcia said he didn’t fully read the documents, explaining that he was nervous and “the goal was to get out of there as soon as possible.”
After signing, he said, Combs asked him what he planned to do with the money and advised him not to make big purchases. Garcia said he took that to mean he shouldn’t do anything that would draw attention.
Garcia said he gave $50,000 to his boss and $20,000 to another security officer. He pocketed $30,000 and used some of it to buy a used car, he said.
He used cash and, avoiding a further paper trail, never put the money in the bank, he said.
A few weeks later, Garcia said, Combs called him and asked if anyone had inquired about the video. Garcia said no, recounting Combs’ ebullient greeting: “Happy Easter. Eddy, my angel. God is good. God put you in my way for a reason.”
Garcia said he asked Combs if the rapper might have future work for him, and Combs sounded receptive. But Combs never responded to his later inquiries, the witness said.
Last year, CNN aired footage of the security video. Another hotel guard has testified he recorded the footage on his phone so he could show it to his wife.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs paid to hide Cassie beating video because he feared career ruin, witness says
By MICHAEL R. SISAK and LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Soon after viciously attacking his longtime girlfriend Cassie in a hotel hallway, Sean “Diddy” Combs sought out a security guard and predicted accurately that his iconic career would be ruined — his image as the affable, successful “Puff Daddy” destroyed — if video of the beating ever became public.
Eddy Garcia, 33, testified Thursday that the hip-hop mogul made the comment repeatedly before giving a brown paper bag stuffed with $100,000 in cash to the then guard, in order to buy what he hoped was the only copy of surveillance footage of the March 2016 assault.
Prosecutors at Combs’ sex trafficking trial in Manhattan have made the footage of Combs kicking, beating and dragging Cassie at the Intercontinental Hotel in Los Angeles a centerpiece of their federal case against him. They contend it supports the claims of three women, including Cassie, who allege the Bad Boy Records founder sexually and physically abused them over two decades.
Prosecutors say Combs’ persistent efforts to hush up the episode fit into allegations he used threats and his fortune and fame to get what he wanted.
Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and racketeering charges.
After the attack, Garcia said, he spoke several times to Combs’ chief-of-staff, Kristina Khorram, telling her he couldn’t show her the recording but “off the record, it’s bad.”
He said during one phone call she put a “very nervous”-sounding Combs on the phone, who “was just saying he had a little too much to drink” and that, as Garcia surely knows, “with women, one thing leads to another and if this got out it would ruin him.”
Garcia added: “He was talking really fast, a lot of stuttering.”
In the evening, Garcia said, he became nervous and scared when Khorram called him on his cell phone — the number for which he had not provided — and she put Combs on.
“He stated that I sounded like a good guy,” Garcia testified, adding that Combs again said “something like this could ruin him.”
When he told Combs he didn’t have access to the server to obtain the video footage, Combs said he believed Garcia could make it happen and that “he would take care of me,” which Garcia said he took “to mean financially.”
Garcia said he checked with his boss and was told he’d sell it to Combs for $50,000.
When he told Combs, he said the music producer “sounded excited.”
“He referred to me as ‘Eddy my angel,’” Garcia said, adding that Combs told him: “I knew you could help. I knew you could do it.”
Within two days of the attack on Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura, Garcia gave Combs a storage device containing the footage in exchange for $100,000 in cash — with Combs feeding bills through a money counter and putting them in a brown paper bag.
Garcia signed a confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement, shown in court, that required he pay $1 million if he breached the deal. At the time, he said, he was making $10.50 an hour working hotel security.
Garcia said he signed a declaration swearing that there was no other copy of the video.
He said he signed the papers in an office building with Combs’ bodyguard and Khorram present. Garcia said he didn’t fully read the documents, explaining that he was nervous and “the goal was to get out of there as soon as possible.”
After signing, he said, Combs asked him what he planned to do with the money and advised him not to make big purchases. Garcia said he took that to mean he shouldn’t do anything that would draw attention.
Garcia said he gave $50,000 to his boss and $20,000 to another security officer. He pocketed $30,000 and used some of it to buy a used car, he said.
He used cash and, avoiding a further paper trail, never put the money in the bank, he said.
A few weeks later, Garcia said, Combs called him and asked if anyone had inquired about the video. Garcia said no, recounting Combs’ ebullient greeting: “Happy Easter. Eddy, my angel. God is good. God put you in my way for a reason.”
Garcia said he asked Combs if the rapper might have future work for him, and Combs sounded receptive. But Combs never responded to his later inquiries, the witness said.
Last year, CNN aired footage of the security video. Another hotel guard has testified he recorded the footage on his phone so he could show it to his wife.
MrBeast aims to raise millions for his charity by offering a weekend experience to six-figure donors
By JAMES POLLARD Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — MrBeast plans to turn the success of his Amazon Prime Video reality competition series into millions of dollars for charity.
YouTube’s biggest creator is offering an exclusive weekend on the set of Beast Games Season 2 to the first 40 donors who make $100,000 gifts to his registered nonprofit. The earliest contributors and up to two guests each will spend June 27-29 touring MrBeast’s North Carolina studio, hearing from the production team in a private Q&A and visiting Beast Philanthropy’s food pantry.
The invitation comes as Jimmy Donaldson’s reported $5 billion media empire surpasses 400 million subscribers on YouTube, where he had already set the record for the biggest following. But the call raises a question: Who among his following of young people and their parents can make a six-figure donation?
“I have some big charity projects I want to fund so I think it’s a win/win,” MrBeast said in a post on X.
Rallying his fervent fan base to make their own contributions marks a new fundraising strategy for Donaldson. He has long stated that his YouTube pages’ featured charitable work is funded with his Beast Philanthropy channel’s revenue.
Beast Philanthropy aims to “alleviate suffering wherever and whenever we are able,” teaching new generations to care more and “making kindness viral” along the way.
The content has drawn a mix of praise from fans for working with local nonprofits to support previously unfunded community-based projects and pushback from critics who accused Donaldson of exploiting vulnerable people for clickbait “inspiration porn.” Campaigns have involved treating rheumatic heart disease in Nigeria and protecting endangered animals in Kenya. Other examples include building wells in countries across Africa and covering the cost of cataract surgery for 1,000 people.
The call also signals Donaldson’s continued philanthropic presence after comments suggesting he would get “less hate” if he stepped away from philanthropy altogether. Responding to allegations that he uses philanthropy as a shield, Donaldson said he thinks “it paints a negative spotlight on me.”
“People hate me more because I do good,” Donaldson said in a conversation uploaded last November on the YouTube channel oompaville. “Maybe that’s too crazy of a statement. I’m not trying to sound like a victim here or anything.”
“The truth is, I just find videos where I help people more fun than videos where I don’t,” he added.
The fundraising strategy resembles high-end charity galas or political campaign golf tournaments where attendees are “paying for status by making some donation,” according to Deborah Small, a psychology and marketing professor at Yale University.
Purely generous donors don’t need any additional enticement, she noted, and beneficiaries don’t typically care about the motivations behind contributions as long as their causes get funded.
“It seems like, in this case, MrBeast is betting on the fact that maybe some other segment of potential donors, maybe people who wouldn’t donate otherwise, will buy in for this exclusive opportunity,” Small said.
The announcement comes shortly after Amazon Prime Video renewed Beast Games for two more seasons. The reality competition series pitted 1,000 contestants against each other for a $5 million grand prize that doubled in the Feb. 13 finale. Forbes reported that the show broke the streaming service’s record by totaling 50 million views in the 25 days after its premiere.
MrBeast’s latest fan event follows reports that an April weekend experience hosted by a Las Vegas resort, billed as “immersive” and “unforgettable,” had fallen short of attendees’ expectations. MrBeast responded on X that it “definitely isn’t the experience we hoped they’d deliver” and offered a free tour of his North Carolina headquarters to “everybody affected.”
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Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.
Ukraine’s drone attack on Russian warplanes was a serious blow to the Kremlin’s strategic arsenal
A surprise Ukrainian drone attack that targeted several Russian air bases hosting nuclear-capable strategic bombers was unprecedented in its scope and sophistication and for the first time reached as far as Siberia in a heavy blow to the Russian military.
Ukraine said over 40 bombers, or about a third of Russia’s strategic bomber fleet, were damaged or destroyed Sunday, although Moscow said only several planes were struck. The conflicting claims couldn’t be independently verified and video of the assault posted on social media showed only a couple of bombers hit.
But the bold attack demonstrated Ukraine’s capability to hit high-value targets anywhere in Russia, dealing a humiliating blow to the Kremlin and inflicting significant losses to Moscow’s war machine.
While some Russian military bloggers compared it to another infamous Sunday surprise attack — that of Japan’s strike on the U.S. base at Pearl Harbor in 1941 — others rejected the analogy, arguing the actual damage was far less significant than Ukraine claimed.
A look at what warplanes were reported hit:
Russia’s bomber assets
For decades, long-range bombers have been part of the Soviet and Russian nuclear triad that also includes land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles and atomic-powered submarines carrying ICBMs. The strategic bombers have flown regular patrols around the globe showcasing Moscow’s nuclear might.
During the 3-year-old war in Ukraine, Russia has used the heavy planes to launch waves of cruise missile strikes across the country.
The Tupolev Tu-95, which was code named Bear by NATO, is a four-engine turboprop plane designed in the 1950s to rival the U.S. B-52 bomber. The aircraft has an intercontinental range and carries eight long-range cruise missiles that can be equipped with conventional or nuclear warheads.
Before Sunday, Russia was estimated to have a fleet of about 60 such aircraft.
The Tupolev Tu-22M is a twin-engine supersonic bomber designed in the 1970s that was code named Backfire by NATO. It has a shorter range compared with the Tu-95, but during U.S.-Soviet arms control talks in the 1970s, Washington insisted on counting them as part of the Soviet strategic nuclear arsenal because of their capability to reach the U.S. if refueled in flight.
The latest version of the plane, the Tu-22M3, carries Kh-22 cruise missiles that fly at more than three times the speed of sound. It dates to the 1970s, when it was designed by the Soviet Union to strike U.S. aircraft carriers. It packs a big punch, thanks to its supersonic speed and ability to carry 630 kilograms (nearly 1,400 pounds) of explosives, but its outdated guidance system could make it highly inaccurate against ground targets, raising the possibility of collateral damage.
Some Tu-22Ms were lost in previous Ukrainian attacks, and Russia was estimated to have between 50 and 60 Tu-22M3s in service before Sunday’s drone strike.
The production of the Tu-95 and the Tu-22M ended after the 1991 collapse of the USSR, meaning that any lost can’t be replaced.
Russia also has another type of strategic nuclear-capable bomber, the supersonic Tu-160. Fewer than 20 of them are in service, and Russia has just begun production of its modernized version equipped with new engines and avionics.
Russia lost a significant part of its heavy bomber fleet in the attack “with no immediate ability to replace it,” said Douglas Barrie of the International Institute of Strategic Studies, noting that Moscow’s announced plan to develop the next generation strategic bomber is still in its early phase.
“Ironically this might give impetus to that program, because if if you want to keep your bomber fleet up to size, then you’re going to have to do something at some point,” he said.
The A-50, which Ukrainian officials also said was hit in the strikes, is an early warning and control aircraft similar to the U.S. AWACS planes used to coordinate aerial attacks. Only a few such planes are in service with the Russian military, and any loss badly dents Russia’s military capability.
Relocating bombers and impromptu protection
Repeated Ukrainian strikes on the Engels air base, the main base for Russian nuclear-capable strategic bombers near the Volga River city of Saratov, prompted Moscow to relocate the bombers to other bases farther from the conflict.
One of them was Olenya on the Arctic Kola Peninsula, from where Tu-95s have flown multiple missions to launch cruise missiles at Ukraine. Several bombers at Olenya apparently were hit by the Ukrainian drones Sunday, according to analysts studying satellite images before and after the strike.
Other drones targeted the Belaya air base in the Irkutsk region in eastern Siberia, destroying a few Tu-22M bombers, according to analysts.
Ukraine said 41 aircraft — Tu-95s, Tu-22Ms and A-50s — were damaged or destroyed in the attack that it said was in the works for 18 months in which swarms of drones popped out of containers carried on trucks that were parked near four air bases.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was briefed on the attack, which represented a level of sophistication that Washington had not seen before, a senior defense official said on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the attack set several warplanes ablaze at air bases in the Irkutsk region and the Murmansk region in the north, but the fires were extinguished.
It said Ukraine also tried to strike two air bases in western Russia, as well as another one in the Amur region of Russia’s Far East, but those attacks were repelled.
The drone strikes produced an outcry from Russian military bloggers, who criticized the Defense Ministry for failing to learn from previous strikes and protect the bombers. Building shelters or hangars for such large planes is a daunting task, and the military has tried some impromptu solutions that were criticized as window dressing.
Satellite images have shown Tu-95s at various air bases covered by layers of old tires — a measure of dubious efficiency that has drawn mockery on social media.
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Associated Press Pentagon correspondent Tara Copp and Emma Burrows in London contributed.
US job openings rose in April, signaling resilience in the American labor market
By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. job openings rose unexpectedly in April, showing that the labor market remains resilient in the face of uncertainty arising from President Donald Trump’s trade wars.
The Labor Department reported Tuesday that employers posted 7.4 million job vacancies in April, up from 7.2 million in March. Economists had expected openings to drift down to 7.1 million.
But the number of Americans quitting their jobs— a sign of confidence in their prospects — fell, and layoffs ticked higher. And in another sign the job market has cooled from the hiring boom of 2021-2023, the Labor Department reported one job every unemployed person. As recently as December 2022, there were two vacancies for every jobless American.
Openings remain high by historical standards but have dropped sharply since peaking at 12.1 million in March 2022, when the economy was still roaring back COVID-19 lockdowns.
The Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary showed little evidence of cuts to the federal workforce by billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. Openings for federal jobs rose to 134,000 in April from 121,000 in March. And federal layoffs fell to 4,000 from 8,000 in March and 19,000 in February.
Although it has decelerated, the American job market has remained resilient in the face of high interest rates engineered by the Federal Reserve in 2022 and 2023 to fight a resurgence of inflation.
The economic outlook is uncertain, largely because of Trump’s economic policies — huge taxes on imports, purges of federal workers and the deportation of immigrants working in the United States illegally.
Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics, said the JOLTS report shows that companies are waiting to see how Trump’s policies play out. “Once companies are more certain that bad times are coming, they will start to shed workers,” he wrote in a commentary. “However, the economy is still near full employment. We suspect companies are still hoarding workers until they are very, very sure about an economic downturn.″
The Labor Department is expected to report Friday that employers added 130,000 jobs last month, down from 177,000 in April. The unemployment rate is expected to stay at a low 4.2%, according to a survey of forecasters by the data firm FactSet.