Tom Cook: “I want to thank everyone for the outpouring of love and thank you for believing in me to lead the company that has always put you at the center of our work. “This is not goodbye. It’s a hello to John and I can’t wait for you to get to know him like I do! 🙏”

The Southern Poverty Law Center was indicted Tuesday on federal fraud charges alleging it improperly raised millions of dollars to secretly pay leaders of the Ku Klux Klan and other hate groups for inside information, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said. The Justice Department alleges the civil rights group defrauded donors by using their money to fund the very extremism it claimed to be fighting, with more than $3 million paid to informants through a now-defunct program to infiltrate white supremacist and other extremist groups. Prosecutors allege some of the money was used by extremists to carry out other crimes,...

Ukraine is pushing for face-to-face talks between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kyiv’s top diplomat said, presenting a potential summit as a way of injecting new momentum into U.S.-led efforts to end Russia’s more than four-year invasion of its neighbor. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian drone attack deep inside Russia struck a residential building, killing a woman and a child, Russian officials said Wednesday. Kyiv has asked Turkey to help facilitate top-level talks and has reached out to other capitals as potential hosts, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said, adding that Ukraine would consider any venue outside Russia and...

Pope Leo XIV is visiting one of Equatorial Guinea’s notorious prisons on Wednesday, drawing attention to human rights abuses denounced by campaigners, particularly after the U.S. began deporting third-country migrants to the Central African country. Leo’s visit to the prison in the port city of Bata continues the tradition of Pope Francis, who made such visits a priority of his pontificate. Francis’ aim was to give prisoners hope and to remind them the church was with them, while also shining a spotlight on judicial abuses, overcrowding and other injustices. The visit marks the final full day of a marathon 11-day,...

The wife of a U.S. Army sergeant was being held Tuesday at an immigration detention facility in El Paso, Texas, amid signs that the Trump administration is dialing back leniency toward immigrant family members of military personnel and veterans. Jose Serrano, an active duty soldier who served three tours in Afghanistan, said immigration agents arrested his wife April 14 as they attended an appointment with immigration services to take steps toward her permanent residency. “A person opened the door, escorted us through the hallway, and at the end of the hallway, my wife got arrested,” Serrano said. “Arrested without any...

European Union envoys gathered on Wednesday with the majority cautiously optimistic that a massive loan to help meet Ukraine’s military and financial needs for the next two years may soon be approved after months of deadlock. At a meeting in Brussels, the envoys assessed whether Hungary might lift its veto on the 90-billion-euro ($106 billion) loan package, which Ukraine desperately needs to prop up its war-ravaged economy and help keep Russian forces at bay. Hungary has insisted that it must start receiving supplies of Russian oil again via Ukraine before it will unblock the funds. Hungary and Slovakia rely on...