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

Biden lashes at Putin, calls for Western resolve for freedom

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — President Joe Biden delivered a forceful and highly personal condemnation of Russia’s Vladimir Putin on Saturday, summoning a call for liberal democracy and a durable resolve among Western nations in the face of a brutal autocrat.

As he capped a four-day trip to Europe, a blend of emotive scenes with refugees and standing among other world leaders in grand settings, Biden said of Putin: “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.”

It was a dramatic escalation in rhetoric — Biden had earlier called Putin a “butcher” — that the White House found itself quickly walking back. Before Biden could even board Air Force One to begin the flight back to Washington, aides were clarifying that he wasn’t calling for an immediate change in government in Moscow.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov quickly denounced Biden, saying “it’s not up to the president of the U.S. and not up to the Americans to decide who will remain in power in Russia.”

While Biden’s blunt language grabbed headlines, in other pieces of his roughly 30-minute speech before Warsaw’s iconic Royal Castle he urged Western allies to brace for what will be a turbulent road ahead in a “new battle for freedom.”

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Shelled city in north Ukraine fears becoming ‘next Mariupol’

LVIV, Ukraine (AP) — Nights are spent huddling underground from Russian strikes pounding their encircled city into rubble. Daylight hours are devoted to hunting down drinkable water and braving the risk of standing in line for the little food available as shells and bombs rain down.

In the second month of Russia’s invasion, this is what now passes for life in Chernihiv, a besieged city in northern Ukraine where death is everywhere.

It isn’t — yet — quite as synonymous with atrocious human suffering as the pulverized southern city of Mariupol. But similarly blockaded and pounded from afar by Russian troops, Chernihiv’s remaining residents are terrified that each blast, bomb and body that lies uncollected on the streets ensnares them in the same macabre trap of unescapable killings and destruction.

“In basements at night, everyone is talking about one thing: Chernihiv becoming (the) next Mariupol,” said 38-year-old resident Ihar Kazmerchak, a linguistics scholar.

He spoke to The Associated Press by cellphone, amid incessant beeps signaling that his battery was dying. The city is without power, running water and heating. At pharmacies, the lists of medicines no longer available grow longer by the day.

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Rocket attacks hit Ukraine’s Lviv as Biden visits Poland

LVIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian rockets struck the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on Saturday while President Joe Biden visited neighboring Poland, a reminder that Moscow is willing to strike anywhere in Ukraine despite its claim to be focusing its offensive on the country’s east.

The back-to-back airstrikes shook the city that has become a haven for an estimated 200,000 people who have had to flee their hometowns. Lviv had been largely spared since the invasion began, although missiles struck an aircraft repair facility near the main airport a week ago.

Among the many who sought refuge in Lviv was Olana Ukrainets, a 34-year-old IT worker from the northeastern city of Kharkiv.

“When I came to Lviv, I was sure that all these alarms wouldn’t have any results,” Ukrainets told The Associated Press from a bomb shelter after the blasts. “Sometimes when I heard them at night, I just stayed in bed. Today, I changed my mind and I should hide every time. … None of the Ukrainian cities are safe now.”

The city was home to about 700,000 people before the invasion. Some who no longer feel safe here will head for nearby Poland. Biden met there Saturday with refugees in a show of solidarity, though he was in the capital, Warsaw, and far from the Ukrainian border, which is about 45 miles (72 kilometers) west of Lviv.

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Hungary’s Orban criticized for ‘neutrality’ in Ukraine war

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Widely seen as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest ally in the European Union, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has sought to assert Hungary’s neutrality in the war in Ukraine, even as his allies in the EU and NATO assist the embattled country and punish Russia for launching the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II.

Orban, who faces a difficult election on April 3, has refused to supply Ukraine with military aid — alone among Ukraine’s EU neighbors — and has not allowed lethal weapons to be shipped to Ukraine across Hungary’s borders.

Arguing that providing such assistance to Ukraine would draw Hungary into the war, Orban — while avoiding ever mentioning Putin by name — has portrayed himself as the defender of his country’s peace and security while insisting that EU sanctions against Russia not be extended to its energy sector, of which Hungary is a major beneficiary.

“The answer to the question of which side Hungary is on is that Hungary is on Hungary’s side,” Orban wrote Saturday on social media.

While his approach has gained traction among many of his supporters, Orban’s reluctance to act unambiguously in support of Ukraine and his insistence on maintaining his Russian economic interests has led to frustration and outrage among other European leaders — not least the Ukrainian president himself.

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Trump returns to Georgia confronting test of his grip on GOP

COMMERCE, Ga. (AP) — In Donald Trump’s push to fundamentally reshape the Republican Party, few places are a higher priority than Georgia.

The former president has issued highly-coveted endorsements in races ranging from governor to state insurance commissioner. His backing of football legend Herschel Walker essentially cleared a path to the party’s nomination for a critical U.S. Senate seat.

Trump has taken a particularly active role in shaping the governor’s race, recruiting former Sen. David Perdue to challenge incumbent Brian Kemp as retribution for Kemp not going along withlies about the 2020 election being stolen. And in an effort to clear a path for Perdue, Trump pressed another Republican in the race — Vernon Jones — to run for Congress instead.

Trump returned to Georgia on Saturday night for a rally ahead of the state’s May 24 primary to try to boost Perdue in a campaign that is emerging as an early, critical test of whether the former president can live up to his professed role as a kingmaker in the GOP.

“Before we can defeat the Democrat socialists and communists … we first have to defeat the RINO sellouts and the losers in the primaries this spring,” Trump told the crowd, lacing into Kemp again and again as he accused him of betraying Republican voters with the derisive acronym, “Republican in name only.”

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EXPLAINER: Why the 14th Amendment has surfaced in midterms

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — An 1868 amendment to the U.S. Constitution best known for protecting the due process rights of previously enslaved Americans has resurfaced in certain congressional races this year.

Some attorneys and voters believe a rarely cited section of the 14th Amendment dealing with insurrection can disqualify a handful of U.S. House members from seeking reelection for events surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.

First-term Republican firebrands Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia are among those targeted. Both are strong supporters of former President Donald Trump who have pushed his unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election.

It’s a largely untested argument working its way through election agencies in at least three states, with little success so far. But court cases and appeals could address the extent to which state officials can scrutinize the minimum qualifications for candidates for federal office.

WHAT DOES THE 14TH AMENDMENT SAY?

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Villanova to 7th Final Four, beats Houston 50-44 in South

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Jermaine Samuels had 16 points and 10 rebounds as Villanova advanced to its third Final Four in the last six NCAA Tournaments with a grind-it-out 50-44 victory over Houston in the South Region final Saturday.

Caleb Daniels added 14 points for the Wildcats (30-7), and fifth-year senior Collin Gillespie’s only made field goal was a clutch shot late, even though they led throughout.

With both teams willing to limit possessions, the first spot for this year’s Final Four in New Orleans was settled in a game that was ugly to watch with all the missed shots.

Villanova shot 28.8% from the field (15 of 52). The Cougars were only slightly better at 29.8% (17 of 57), missing their last five shots and 10 of 11 overall, and they made only one of their of 20 attempted 3-pointers in their lowest-scoring NCAA tourney game ever.

The Wildcats and coach Jay Wright won’t complain as he seeks to add a third national title to the ones he won in 2016 and 2018. Villanova will play either Kansas, the only No. 1 seed remaining, or 10th-seeded Miami next Saturday as it seeks its fourth championship overall.

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AP PHOTOS: Day 31: Biden visits Poland, rockets hit Ukraine

As President Joe Biden visited Poland on Saturday and called for Western unity against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, rockets struck the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, sending waves of fear across a place that had been a refuge for hundreds of thousands of people fleeing attacks on other parts of the country.

In Lviv, the closest major Ukrainian city to Poland, thick black smoke could be seen coming from the first blast site for hours before a second set of explosions was heard. People sheltered underground after the explosions.

The explosions happened while Biden was in Poland’s capital, Warsaw, about 340 kilometers (210 miles) away. The images of the American president visiting Ukrainian refugees and humanitarian aid workers in Poland contrasted with images of flames shooting from blast sites and people huddled together in bomb shelters in Lviv.

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US Rep. Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska announces resignation

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska on Saturday resigned from office after a California jury convicted him of lying to federal authorities about an illegal campaign donation from a foreign national.

In a letter to the House, Fortenberry said he was resigning from Congress, effective March 31.

“It has been my honor to serve with you in the United States House of Representatives,” he said in the letter. “Due to the difficulties of my current circumstances, I can no longer effectively serve.”

Fortenberry’s resignation letter opened with a poem, “Do It Anyway,” that’s associated with fellow Catholic Mother Teresa. One line from the poem says: “What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight. Build anyway.”

Fortenberry’s announcement followed concerted pressure from political leaders in Nebraska and Washington for him to step down. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Friday urged Fortenberry to resign.

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Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins dead at 50

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Taylor Hawkins, for 25 years the drummer for Foo Fighters and best friend of frontman Dave Grohl, has died during a South American tour with the rock band. He was 50.

There were few immediate details on how Hawkins died, although the band said in a statement Friday that his death was a “tragic and untimely loss.”

Colombia’s Prosecutor’s Office released a statement Saturday saying toxicological tests on urine from Hawkins’ body preliminarily found 10 psychoactive substances and medicines, including marijuana, opioids, tricyclic antidepressants and benzodiazepines. It did not provide a cause of death and investigations are continuing.

Foo Fighters had been scheduled to play at a festival in Bogota, Colombia, on Friday night. Hawkins’ final concert was Sunday at another festival in San Isidro, Argentina.

“His musical spirit and infectious laughter will live on with all of us forever,” said a message on the band’s official Twitter account that was also emailed to reporters. “Our hearts go out to his wife, children and family.”