who last month became the first Taiwanese American drafted.

Arelis Gomez, left, and her daughter sit in side their home on Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Rochester, N.Y. (Toni Duncan via AP)Rochester has welcomed a steady increase of Latinos over the last several years. Today, 61,000 residents in Monroe Country, the largest in the Rochester area, identify as Latino or Hispanic, with 70% Puerto Rican, according to a 2019 report by the Center for Governmental Research, a Rochester-based consulting firm.

Arelis Gomez moved to Rochester in 2016 from Puerto Rico in search of work opportunities and better education for her children, following her brother who had moved to New York City a few years prior.Arelis Ayala washes dishes while making breakfast for her family on Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Rochester, N.Y. (Toni Duncan via AP)Arelis Ayala washes dishes while making breakfast for her family on Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Rochester, N.Y. (Toni Duncan via AP)

Arelis Ayala, her mother, followed her daughter in 2019, finally making the move after wanting to leave since Hurricane Jorge in 1998, which hammered many parts of the Caribbean, including Puerto Rico.“It was a really hard decision,” Ayala said about her move to be closer to her daughter. Ayala and her daughter hope to eventually bring the rest of the family to Rochester.

Jonathan Gonzalez and his then pregnant wife moved to Rochester after another major storm, Hurricane Maria, pummeled Puerto Rico in 2017.

“It was pretty difficult to live in Puerto Rico those days,” Gonzalez said, adding that everything, including hospitals, were closed because of no electricity.China offered robust diplomatic support to Moscow after its 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine and has emerged as a top market for Russian oil and gas, helping to fill the Kremlin’s war coffers. Russia has relied on China as the main source of machinery and electronics to keep its military running after Western sanctions curtailed high-tech supplies.

Other foreign leaders who arrived in Moscow this week for the World War II anniversary celebrations included, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, as well as the leaders of Cuba, Vietnam and Venezuela, and presidents of several former Soviet nations.

In a brief opening speech at the Kremlin gala, Putin urged “solidarity in addressing the pressing challenges of our time and to take shared responsibility for future generations.”The lineup of guests reflected Russia’s efforts to cement the alliances it has forged while seeking a counterbalance to the West amid the war in Ukraine. Some past celebrations drew top Western leaders at a time of friendlier ties.