The Latest on a 10-year-old girl who climbed Yosemite's El Capitan (all times local):
3:15 p.m.
A 10-year-old girl who climbed Yosemite National Park's famed El Capitan says she was overwhelmed and emotional when she reached the summit.
In this June 10, 2019, photo, provided by Michael Schneiter, is Selah Schneiter during her climb up El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, Calif. A 10-year-old Colorado girl has scaled Yosemite National Park's El Capitan, taking five days to reach the top of the iconic rock formation. Selah Schneiter of Glenwood Springs completed the challenging 3,000-foot (910 meters) climb last week with the help of her father and a family friend. (Michael Schneiter via AP)
Selah Schneiter said Wednesday she trained mentally and physically for nine months before climbing the challenging 3,000-foot (910 meters) granite wall with her father and a family friend.
Schneiter, who is from Glenwood Springs, Colorado, says the only thing she feared was the possibility of a big storm when they had to go down the mountain.
Selah and her father Mike Schneiter say it took them five days with family friend Mark Regier to reach the top.
In this June 8, 2019, photo, is Michael Schneiter posing with his daughter, Selah Schneiter, at the beginning of her climb up El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, Calif. A 10-year-old Colorado girl has scaled Yosemite National Park's El Capitan, taking five days to reach the top of the iconic rock formation. Selah Schneiter of Glenwood Springs completed the challenging 3,000-foot (910 meters) climb last week with the help of her father and a family friend. (Michael Schneiter via AP)
To celebrate the amazing feat, the trio jumped in a nearby river to cool off and later got pizza and chocolate ice cream.
9 a.m.
A 10-year-old Colorado girl has scaled Yosemite National Park's El Capitan, taking five days to reach the top of the iconic rock formation.
Selah Schneiter of Glenwood Springs completed the challenging 3,000-foot (910 meters) climb last week with the help of her father and a family friend.
Selah and her father Mike Schneiter say it took them five days last week with family friend Mark Regier to reach the top.
Selah told KFSN-TV that the group's method was to do the climb little by little, calling it taking "small bites."
Mike Schneiter told the television station in Fresno, California that the entire family climbs and that he fell in love with his wife Joy 15 years ago while scaling El Capitan.
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Ukrainian court on Friday ordered the detention of the country’s farm minister in the latest high-profile corruption investigation, while Kyiv security officials assessed how they can recover lost battlefield momentum in the war against Russia.
Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court ruled that Agriculture Minister Oleksandr Solskyi should be held in custody for 60 days, but he was released after paying bail of 75 million hryvnias ($1.77 million), a statement said.
Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau suspects Solskyi headed an organized crime group that between 2017 and 2021 unlawfully obtained land worth 291 million hryvnias ($6.85 million) and attempted to obtain other land worth 190 million hryvnias ($4.47 million).
Ukraine is trying to root out corruption that has long dogged the country. A dragnet over the past two years has seen Ukraine’s defense minister, top prosecutor, intelligence chief and other senior officials lose their jobs.
That has caused embarrassment and unease as Ukraine receives tens of billions of dollars in foreign aid to help fight Russia’s army, and the European Union and NATO have demanded widespread anti-graft measures before Kyiv can realize its ambition of joining the blocs.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was due to hold online talks Friday with the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which has been the key international organization coordinating the delivery of weapons and other aid to Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said late Thursday that the meeting would discuss how to turn around Ukraine’s fortunes on the battlefield. The Kremlin’s forces have gained an edge over Kyiv’s army in recent months as Ukraine grappled with a shortage of ammunition and troops.
Russia, despite sustaining high losses, has been taking control of small settlements as part of its effort to drive deeper into eastern Ukraine after capturing the city of Avdiivka in February, the U.K. defense ministry said Friday.
It’s been slow going for the Kremlin’s troops in eastern Ukraine and is likely to stay that way, according to the Institute for the Study of War. However, the key hilltop town of Chasiv Yar is vulnerable to the Russian onslaught, which is using glide bombs — powerful Soviet-era weapons that were originally unguided but have been retrofitted with a navigational targeting system — that obliterate targets.
“Russian forces do pose a credible threat of seizing Chasiv Yar, although they may not be able to do so rapidly,” the Washington-based think tank said late Thursday.
It added that Russian commanders are likely seeking to advance as much as possible before the arrival in the coming weeks and months of new U.S. military aid, which was held up for six months by political differences in Congress.
While that U.S. help wasn’t forthcoming, Ukraine’s European partners didn’t pick up the slack, according to German’s Kiel Institute for the World Economy, which tracks Ukraine support.
“The European aid in recent months is nowhere near enough to fill the gap left by the lack of U.S. assistance, particularly in the area of ammunition and artillery shells,” it said in a report Thursday.
Ukraine is making a broad effort to take back the initiative in the war after more than two years of fighting. It plans to manufacture more of its own weapons in the future and is clamping down on young people avoiding conscription, though it will take time to process and train any new recruits.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Ukrainian young acting student Gleb Batonskiy plays piano in a public park in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
