Trump orders Israel to stop bombing Gaza after Hamas partially accepts his peace plan
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered Israel to stop bombing the Gaza Strip after Hamas said it had accepted some elements of his plan to end the nearly two-year war and return all the remaining hostages taken in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack. Hamas said Friday it was willing to release the hostages and hand over power to other Palestinians, but that other aspects of the plan require further consultations among Palestinians. Senior Hamas officials suggested there were still major disagreements. There was no immediate response from Israel, and Hamas’ response fell short of its demands that the group surrender and disarm.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs gets 4 years in prison for case involving sex workers, violence and ‘freak-offs’
NEW YORK (AP) — Sean “Diddy” Combs has been sentenced to over four years in prison for transporting people across state lines for sexual encounters. The judge's decision on Friday caps a federal case involving harrowing testimony against the hip-hop mogul. The 55-year-old Combs has already served a year in jail, meaning he could be released in about three years. He was also fined $500,000. In July, a jury convicted Combs of flying people around the country for drug-fueled sexual encounters. He was acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering charges. Shortly before sentencing, Combs apologized for his actions, calling them “disgusting” and “shameful.”
Government funding vote fails again in Senate as hopes fade for quick end to shutdown
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hopes for a quick end to the government shutdown are fading. Democrats have refused to budge in a Senate vote. President Donald Trump is readying plans to unleash layoffs and cuts across the federal government. On the third day of the shutdown, another Senate vote to advance a Republican bill that would reopen the government failed on a 54-44 tally. That's well short of the 60 needed to end a filibuster and pass the legislation. Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson announced that the chamber would close for legislative business next week. It's a move meant to force the Senate to work with the government funding bill that has been passed by House Republicans.
Republicans are relishing a role reversal in the shutdown fight. Can Trump keep them united?
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican leaders have presented a united stance as they try to keep the government open and berate Democrats for demanding health care policy changes in exchange for their votes. It's a role reversal from previous funding battles. The change is happening because President Donald Trump is exercising top-down control over a mostly unified GOP. Democrats, meanwhile, have been left scrambling for leverage in the first year of Trump’s second term, using the funding fight to exert what influence they can. It’s an awkward posture for a party that has long cast itself as the adults in the room during shutdown threats.
Federal shutdown hurts services for Native Americans and they worry worse is coming
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Native Americans watched the shuttered government on Friday and braced for damage to their health care, education and infrastructure. Those services are funded by Washington under treaties struck more than a century ago. Tribal nations with casinos, oil and gas leases said they expect to be immune for several months. But tribes dependent on government money were already furloughing workers. And many tribal leaders said they feared the Trump administration would use the shutdown to permanently shutter Indian services. President Donald Trump and his former adviser Elon Musk this year called on the General Services Administration to start terminating leases held by the nation’s 7,500-odd federal offices, including 25 regional offices of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
One of 2 victims in Manchester synagogue attack apparently shot accidentally by police
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — British police say one of the two men killed in a car and knife attack on a synagogue in the city of Manchester may have been killed by a bullet fired by a police officer. Greater Manchester Police chief Stephen Watson said on Friday that a forensic examination has provisionally determined that the victim had “a wound consistent with a gunshot injury.” He said the attacker did not have a gun and that the only shots fired were by police. PThree other people are hospitalized in serious condition. Police shot the attacker dead. He has been identified as Jihad Al-Shamie, a 35-year-old British citizen of Syrian descent. Police say he may have been influenced by Islamic extremism.
North Carolina governor signs criminal justice bill into law after Ukrainian refugee’s death
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s Democratic governor has signed into law a criminal justice measure pushed by the Republican-controlled legislature in response to the stabbing death of a Ukrainian refugee on a Charlotte train. While Gov. Josh Stein criticized portions of the bill on Friday, his signature still affirms in law reforms sought by GOP politicians and their allies. The bill had received bipartisan support in the state House. The new law bars cashless bail for certain violent crimes and limits magistrates’ discretion in pretrial release decisions. The bill authors also seek to restart executions in North Carolina, where capital punishment has not been carried out since 2006.
Hegseth announces latest strike on boat near Venezuela he says was trafficking drugs
WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says he ordered another strike on a small boat he accused of carrying drugs off Venezuela. It expands what the Trump administration has declared is an “armed conflict” with cartels. In a social media post Friday, Hegseth asserted that the “vessel was trafficking narcotics” and those aboard were “narco-terrorists.” He said the strike killed four men but offered no details on who they were or what group they belonged to. This follows the U.S. designating several cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. It’s the fourth deadly strike in the Caribbean and the latest since revelations that President Donald Trump said he was treating drug traffickers as unlawful combatants and military force was required to combat them.
Noem visits Chicago area ICE facility as agents arrest 13, raid city neighborhoods
BROADVIEW, Ill. (AP) — Federal officials have reported the arrests of 13 people protesting near an immigration facility outside Chicago. This facility has been frequently targeted during a surge in immigration enforcement. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem met with employees inside the facility on Friday. Protesters gathered outside, upset by newly installed barricades. Some aimed to block vehicles from entering or leaving the area. Federal agents have used tear gas and pepper balls in response to protests. Illinois State Police set up barriers to separate protesters from law enforcement. Critics have raised concerns about the tactics used by federal agents.
First female Archbishop of Canterbury still an outlier among world's top religious leaders
For the first time, a woman will serve as the Archbishop of Canterbury, following the 105 men who have held the role since St. Augustine took that position in the year 597. This means Bishop of London Sarah Mullally has broken through the Church of England’s highest stained-glass ceiling. But for many of the world’s religions, that barrier to women in top leadership remains firmly intact. Indeed, several major faiths don't let women minister to individual congregations, let alone take a position of broader leadership.
