Nation and world at a glance

Senators seek probe into use of app

to discuss sensitive attack plans

WASHINGTON -- The top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee are requesting an investigation into how Trump national security officials used the Signal app to discuss military strikes.

A federal judge also says he will order the preservation of the messages.

Thursday's action ensures some scrutiny on an episode President Donald Trump has dismissed as frivolous.

Republican Sen. Roger Wicker and Democratic Sen. Jack Reed signed onto a letter to the acting inspector general at the Defense Department for an inquiry into the potential use of unclassified networks to discuss classified information.

Contents of the Signal chat published by The Atlantic show Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listed weapons systems and a time line for an attack on Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Second judge blocks Trump's ban

on transgender people in military

TACOMA, Wash. -- A U.S. judge in Washington state has blocked enforcement of President Donald Trump's order banning transgender people from serving in the military.

The order Thursday from U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Settle in Tacoma is the second nationwide injunction against the policy in as many weeks.

It came in a case brought by several long-serving transgender military members who say the ban is insulting and discriminatory, and that their firing would cause lasting damage to their careers and reputations.

A judge in Washington, D.C., similarly issued an order blocking the policy last week but then put her own ruling temporarily on hold. That injunction is scheduled to take effect Friday.

Trump pulls Stefanik's nomination

for UN ambassador over tight margin

WASHINGTON -- The White House has pulled Rep. Elise Stefanik's nomination to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. The decision Thursday is a stunning turnaround for President Donald Trump's Cabinet pick, after her confirmation had been stalled over concerns about Republicans' tight margins in the House.

Trump announced the withdrawal on Truth Social. He had tapped Stefanik, a New York Republican, to represent the U.S. at the international body shortly after winning reelection in November. She was seen as among the least controversial Cabinet picks, and her nomination advanced out of committee in late January, but House Republicans' razor-thin majority kept her ultimate confirmation in a state of purgatory for the last several months.

Suspected US strikes pummel

Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Suspected U.S. airstrikes have pummeled sites across Yemen controlled by the country's Houthi rebels, including neighborhoods in the capital, Sanaa. The extent of the damage and possible casualties from the attack early Friday wasn't immediately clear.

The number of strikes appeared particularly intense compared to other days in the campaign that began March 15. Initial reports from the Houthi-controlled SABA news agency referenced only one person being hurt in the attacks Friday in Sanaa, which the rebels have held since 2014. Other strikes were around the Red Sea port city of Hodeida, the rebel's stronghold of Saada and in Yemen's al-Jawf and Amran territories.

The Associated Press

Nation and world at a glance

Israel strikes largest hospital in

south Gaza, health ministry says

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip -- Gaza's Health Ministry says Israel's military has struck the largest hospital in the territory's south, killing one person and wounding others. The ministry says Sunday night's strike caused a large fire in Nasser Hospital's surgical building in the city of Khan Younis.

The hospital says there are a number of wounded. Israel's military has confirmed the strike, saying it hit a Hamas militant operating there. Nasser Hospital was overwhelmed with dead and wounded when Israel resumed the war in Gaza last week with a surprise wave of airstrikes that killed hundreds of people.

Russia launches barrage of drone

strikes across Ukraine, killing seven

KYIV, Ukraine -- At least seven people were killed when Russia launched a barrage of drones across Ukraine overnight, according to local Ukrainian officials and emergency services.

Sunday's attacks occurred ahead of ceasefire negotiations in Saudi Arabia in which Ukraine and Russia are expected to hold indirect U.S.-mediated talks. Extended sounds of explosions were heard in the early hours of the night across Kyiv as the air raid blared for over five hours. Russian drones and debris from shot-down drones, which were flying at lower altitudes to evade air defenses, fell on residential buildings across the Ukrainian capital.

Greenland amid talks of US takeover

WASHINGTON -- Second lady Usha Vance is set to travel to Greenland this week as President Donald Trump continues to suggest the U.S. could take control of the mineral-rich Artic island. Her office says Vance will leave Thursday and return Saturday.

The wife of Vice President JD Vance will be part of a U.S. delegation set to "visit historical sites, learn about Greenlandic heritage, and attend the Avannaata Qimussersu, Greenland's national dogsled race." Greenland is a self-governing region of Denmark, a NATO ally of the United States. But Trump has said repeatedly that he thinks the U.S. should take Greenland for strategic and national security purposes.

Canada's prime minister, opponent kick off campaign amid fears of US

TORONTO -- New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and his Conservative opponent have kicked off their election campaigns against the backdrop of a trade war and annexation threats from U.S. President Donald Trump. Carney announced Sunday there will be a five-week election campaign before the vote on April 28. The governing Liberals had appeared poised for a historic election defeat this year until Trump declared a trade war. Trump has repeatedly said that Canada should become the 51st U.S. state and he acknowledged Friday that he has upended Canadian politics. Trump's almost daily attacks on Canada's sovereignty have infuriated Canadians and led to a surge in Canadian nationalism.

The Associated Press

that has bolstered Liberal poll numbers.

Nation and world at a glance

Israeli forces push deeper into Gaza, destroy hospital

JERUSALEM -- Israeli forces have destroyed Gaza's only specialized cancer hospital as ground forces advanced deeper into the Gaza Strip.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said Friday that operations would continue "with increasing intensity" until Hamas releases its remaining hostages.

The hospital in central Gaza had long been inaccessible to Palestinian patients and doctors. The Israeli military said it destroyed the hospital in a strike Friday because it was being used by Hamas militants. The Turkish government, which helped build the hospital, accused Israel of targeting medical facilities in an effort to render Gaza uninhabitable.

Columbia accepts changes

NEW YORK -- Columbia University agreed to implement a host of policy changes, including overhauling its rules for protests and conducting an immediate review of its Middle Eastern studies department.

The announcement Friday came one week after the Trump administration presented the Ivy League school with a list of demands to continue receiving federal funding. That ultimatum was widely seen in academia as a stunning attack on academic freedom. In a letter, the university's interim president vowed to appoint a senior vice provost to review the Middle East studies department and to ban the wearing of face masks to conceal one's identity on campus.

Trump shuttered Voice of

America illegally, suit says

A lawsuit filed by Voice of America reporters, some unions and a press freedom group charged the Trump administration with unlawfully shutting down the news outlet.

They said the demise of the agency, which has beamed news into countries around the world for decades, would be a boon to authoritarian regimes that back censorship.

The administration, working largely through representative Kari Lake, has described the outlet as filled with "rot" that needs to be stripped to the core. Republicans have long complained that the agency, ordered by Congress to report news objectively, is instead dominated by liberal propaganda.

Trump: Don't share war

plans with Elon Musk

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump says war plans should not be shared with his adviser Elon Musk because of his business interests. It's a rare suggestion the billionaire entrepreneur's expansive role in the Trump administration will face limits. The Republican president made the comments Friday during an Oval Office meeting on developing a new fighter jet, rejecting reports Musk would be briefed on how the U.S. would fight a hypothetical war with China. Trump says Musk has businesses in China and "would be susceptible, perhaps, to that." Musk's businesses include Tesla, an electric-vehicle manufacturer trying to expand in China. Trump says Musk visited the Pentagon earlier to discuss reducing costs.

Boeing gets contract for

Air Force's future fighter

WASHINGTON -- Boeing will build the Air Force's future fighter jet. President Donald Trump announced the choice Friday.

The Pentagon says the new jet fleet will have stealth and penetration capabilities that far exceed its current fleet and is essential in a potential conflict with China. Known as Next Generation Air Dominance, or NGAD, the manned jet will serve as a quarterback to a fleet of future drone aircraft that would be able to penetrate China's air defenses. But critics have questioned the cost and necessity of the program.

The Pentagon is still struggling to fully produce its most advanced jet and its future stealth bomber will have many of the same advanced technologies.

Russian drones strike

Ukrainian city of Odessa

KYIV, Ukraine -- Russian drones have pummeled the Ukrainian Black Sea port city of Odesa, injuring three people and sparking fires.

The attack late on Thursday night underlined Moscow's intention to pursue aerial attacks even as it agreed to temporarily halt strikes on energy facilities. The head of the Odesa region, Oleh Kiper, said the city suffered "local emergency power outages" in three of its districts, an indication that the energy infrastructure of the city could have been damaged. Ukraine and Russia agreed in principle Wednesday to a limited ceasefire after U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with the countries' leaders this week. But it remained unclear what possible targets would be off limits to attack.

Sudan military retakes palace

CAIRO -- Sudan's military says it retook the Republican Palace in Khartoum, the last heavily guarded bastion in the capital of rival paramilitary forces, after nearly two years of fighting. Social media videos showed its soldiers inside giving the date as the 21st day of Ramadan, which was Friday.

The Associated Press

TThe fall of the Republican Palace -- a compound along the Nile River that was the seat of government before the war erupted and is immortalized on Sudanese banknotes and postage stamps -- marks another battlefield gain for Sudan's military. It has made steady advances in recent months under army chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan.

Nation and world at a glance

Firing squad executes man

convicted of murder in SC

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- A South Carolina man has been executed by firing squad, becoming the first U.S. prisoner in 15 years to die by this method. Brad Sigmon was pronounced dead at 6:08 p.m. Friday after being shot by three prison employee volunteers with rifles.

Sigmon killed his ex-girlfriend's parents with a baseball bat in their Greenville County home in 2001 in a botched plot to kidnap their daughter. The 67-year-old chose the firing squad because his lawyers said he considered it a better option than the electric chair or lethal injection. He is the first South Carolina prisoner to be executed by bullets.

see spikes in measles cases

Health officials say West Texas now has almost 200 measles cases and New Mexico's case number has tripled to 30. The case counts were updated on Friday. A child died of measles in Texas last week.

New Mexico health officials said Thursday they are investigating a possible adult measles death. Federal health officials announced they would send a team to Texas this week. Most of the cases are in people younger than 18 and people who are unvaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status.

Panama to let 112 migrants

from the US move freely

PANAMA CITY -- Panama's Security Minister Frank Ábrego says Panama will begin the process of issuing humanitarian passes to 112 migrants deported from the United States who have been held in a remote camp in the Darien region since last month. The passes would allow the migrants from a number of mostly Asian nations to move freely about Panama while they determine their next moves. Ábrego said on Friday that the migrants would find their own places to stay while they decide where they are going next. Rights groups have pressured Panama for holding the migrants without their passports or cell phones in harsh conditions. Lawyers had petitioned the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

States sue US agencies

over firings of workers

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Maryland and 19 other states are suing multiple federal agencies in a lawsuit alleging that President Donald Trump's administration has illegally fired thousands of federal probationary workers. Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown is leading the coalition of attorneys general in the federal lawsuit that was filed late Thursday in Maryland.

The lawsuit says the mass firings will cause irreparable burdens and expenses on the states, because they will have to support recently unemployed workers and adjudicate claims of unemployment assistance. The lawsuit also says the layoffs will hurt state finances due to lost tax revenue and additional services for the suddenly unemployed.

against Russia over war

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump says he is "strongly considering" levying new sanctions and tariffs on Russia for its war against Ukraine. He's floating the possibility of applying new pressure on Moscow after the White House this week paused U.S. military aid and assistance to Kyiv. In a post on his Truth Social platform Friday, Trump said he is considering the action "based on the fact that Russia is absolutely 'pounding' Ukraine on the battlefield right now."

Nation and world at a glance

Trump grants exemption

from tariffs for automakers

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump is granting a one-month exemption on his stiff new tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada for U.S. automakers. Worries persist that the newly launched trade war could crush domestic manufacturing.

The announcement came after Trump spoke with leaders of the "Big 3" automakers, Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis on Wednesday.

Asked if 30 days was enough for the auto sector to prepare for the new taxes, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says Trump told them: "He told them that they should get on it, start investing, start moving, shift production here to the United States of America where they will pay no tariff."

Vance promotes Trump's

immigration crackdown

EAGLE PASS, Texas -- Vice President J.D. Vance has visited the U.S.-Mexico border to showcase how arrests for illegal crossings have fallen sharply under President Donald Trump.

Vance said the improvement has occurred because Trump is demanding that all of government prioritize the immigration issue in ways former President Joe Biden never did. Vance was joined by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, for an aerial tour of the area around Eagle Pass, Texas. They also visited a Border Patrol facility and sat for a roundtable with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and national, state and local officials. Vance says Trump has demanded that the whole government "take the task of border control seriously."

Trump issues 'last warning'

to Hamas leaders in Gaza

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump has issued what he calls a "last warning" to Hamas to release all remaining hostages held in Gaza. Trump, in a statement on his Truth Social platform soon after meeting eight former hostages at the White House on Wednesday, added that he was "sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job." The sharp language from Trump came as the White House said Wednesday that U.S. officials have engaged in "ongoing talks and discussions" with Hamas officials, stepping away from a long-held U.S. policy of not directly engaging in the militant group.

snow piled 10 stories high

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- An avalanche has trapped three skiers under a pile of snow nearly as deep as a 10-story building in the Alaska backcountry.

The heli-skiers are believed to be dead after being swept away and buried Tuesday near the skiing community of Girdwood, about 40 miles south of Anchorage. If the deaths are confirmed, it would be the deadliest U.S. avalanche since three climbers were killed in Washington's Cascade Mountains in 2023. The National Avalanche Center says 25 to 30 people die in avalanches each winter in the country. Most deaths occur in the wilderness.

Court rejection sets stage for

execution by firing squad

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- The South Carolina Supreme Court has rejected what is likely the final appeal of condemned man Brad Sigmon, clearing the way for Friday's firing squad execution. Sigmon's lawyers wanted to delay his death so they could get a fuller hearing in court to learn more about the drug South Carolina uses in lethal injections. Sigmon says the lack of information forced him to choose to be shot to death. The state also has an electric chair, but Sigmon said he didn't want to suffer being cooked alive by electricity. Sigmon killed his ex-girlfriend's parents with a baseball bat in 2001.

IRS plans 45,000 job cuts

WASHINGTON -- The IRS is drafting plans to try to cut its workforce of roughly 90,000 people in half through a mix of layoffs, attrition and incentivized buyouts, according to two people familiar with the situation and not authorized to speak on the record. A reduction in force of tens of thousands of people would render the IRS "dysfunctional," said John Koskinen, a former IRS Commissioner. The federal tax collector employs roughly 90,000 employees total across the United States, according to the latest IRS data.

The Associated Press

Nation and world at a glance

Pope had coughing fit, inhaled vomit

ROME -- The Vatican says Pope Francis suffered a coughing fit that resulted in him breathing in vomit, requiring non-invasive mechanical ventilation.

The Vatican says he responded well, with a good level of gas exchange, and remained conscious and alert at all times.

The episode, reported late Friday by the Vatican, resulted in doctors keeping his prognosis from a two-week battle with double pneumonia as guarded. It marked a setback after two days of increasingly upbeat reports about an improved condition.

Consumers slashed spending in Feb.

WASHINGTON -- Ongoing tariff threats from Washington and potentially sweeping government job cuts have darkened consumers' mood and may be weighing on an otherwise mostly healthy economy. Data released Friday showed that consumers slashed their spending by the most since February 2021, even as their incomes rose.

On a positive note, inflation cooled, but President Donald Trump's threats to impose large import taxes on Canada, Mexico, and China -- the United States' top trading partners -- will likely push prices higher, economists say. Some companies are already planning to raise prices in response.

Mourners bury one of last hostages

JERUSALEM -- Mourners buried the remains of one of the last hostages released in the first phase of the ceasefire between Hamas militants and Israel.

Negotiators are seeking to iron out a second phase of the deal that could end the war in Gaza and see the remaining live hostages returning home. T

he body of Tsachi Idan was one of four released by Hamas this week in exchange for over 600 Palestinian prisoners, the last planned swap of the ceasefire's first phase, which began in January. The relatives of hostages still held in Gaza are ramping up pressure on Netanyahu to secure their release.

Texas measles cases increase to 146

DALLAS -- Texas health officials say the number of people with measles has increased to 146 in rural West Texas outbreak that led this week to the death of a school-aged child who was not vaccinated. The Texas Department of State Health Services said Friday that the number of cases in the outbreak had increased by 22 since Tuesday. Health officials said cases span over nine counties, and 20 patients have been hospitalized.

WHO fears water contamination

BASANKUSU, Congo -- The World Health Organization says that authorities investigating the deaths of at least 60 people in northwestern Congo suspect the water source in one of the areas may have been contaminated. But the agency said it's too early for any definitive conclusion. Doctors are investigating more than 1,000 illnesses that emerged since late January in five villages in Congo's Equateur province, where high rates of malaria complicated efforts to diagnose the cases. Officials have said they've been unable so far to confirm the main cause. WHO emergencies chief Dr. Michael Ryan said during an online briefing Friday that for one of the villages there is strong suspicion of some kind of poisoning in the water source.

The Associated Press