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Nation and world at a glance

NASA revamping

Artemis moon plans

NASA is revamping its Artemis moon landing program. NASA’s new administrator Jared Isaacman announced the shake-up in the flight lineup Friday, days after the space agency’s new moon rocket returned to its Florida hangar for more repairs. Artemis II — a lunar fly-around by four astronauts — is off until at least April.

The follow-up mission Artemis III had been targeting a landing near the moon’s south pole by another pair of astronauts. But Isaacman says that mission will now focus on testing a lunar lander in orbit around Earth with astronauts aboard an Orion capsule in 2027. That would be followed by one and possibly two moon landings by astronauts in 2028.

Trump: A ‘friendly’

Cuba takeover possible

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says the United States is talking with Cuba and raised the possibility of a “friendly ç” of the island without explaining what that means.

Trump told reporters on Friday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is speaking with Cuban leaders at a “very high level,” but the White House offered no further details. Trump suggested that Cuba is facing economic collapse.

His comments come as Cuba says it is communicating with U.S. officials after a deadly shooting involving a Florida-registered speedboat in waters off the island.

30 more indicted in

Minn. church protest

Attorney General Pam Bondi said federal prosecutors have indicted 30 more people tied to a protest at a Minnesota church over an immigration enforcement crackdown.

Bondi says 25 of those people are already under arrest. The protest on Jan. 18 also led to the arrests of independent journalist Don Lemon and local activist Nekima Levy Armstrong. Both have pleaded not guilty to civil rights charges. Trump officials have strongly condemned the protest for interrupting a church service. Protesters took the action after learning a pastor there is also an immigration enforcement official.

Pakistan in ‘open war’

with Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan and Afghanistan have traded attacks in a dramatic escalation of tensions between the countries.

Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif said Friday the two countries are now in “open war.”

Afghanistan launched a cross-border attack on Pakistan late Thursday, saying it was in retaliation for earlier Pakistani airstrikes. Pakistan then carried out airstrikes in Kabul and two other Afghan provinces Friday.

Tensions have been high between the neighbors for months. Pakistan accuses Afghanistan’s Taliban government of harboring militant groups that then stage attacks across the border and also of allying with its archrival India.

The Associated Press

A ceasefire ended intense fighting in October, although the two sides have occasionally traded fire since then.

Pentagon and Scouting America reach deal to keep ties after Hegseth’s anti-DEI push

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon has made a deal with Scouting America that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says would maintain their century-old partnership but refocus the organization away from “woke” policies. Hegseth put heavy emphasis on Scouting America’s acceptance of transgender youth, saying Friday that the organization will require members to use their “biological sex at birth and not gender identity.” But Scouting America President and CEO Roger Krone told The Associated Press that the agreement doesn’t change existing policies regarding transgender youth and that they are welcome. Several of the negotiated changes mirror what the organization suggested to the Pentagon last month, including adding or losing some badges and waiving registration fees for the children of military personnel.

Nation and world at a glance

Shooter killed his ex-wife, son in Rhode Island ice hockey rink attack

PAWTUCKET, R.I. — Authorities say the person who opened fire during a youth hockey game at an ice rink in Rhode Island targeted and killed an ex-wife and one son.

Pawtucket Chief of Police Tina Goncalves says the victims were the shooter’s ex-wife Rhonda Dorgan and adult son Aidan Dorgan.

The shooter injured three others during the shooting Monday afternoon in Pawtucket, among them Goncalves says was the shooter’s ex-wife’s parents and a family friend.

Police have identified the shooter as 56-year-old Robert Dorgan, who also went by the name Roberta Esposito. Police say Dorgan died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Police in Nancy Guthrie probe say glove DNA matches nothing

Investigators in the Nancy Guthrie disappearance say DNA from gloves did not match any entries in a national database.

CODIS is a valuable storehouse of DNA taken from crime suspects or people with convictions. Any hits could identify possible suspects in the Guthrie saga, which reached a 17th day Tuesday.

The 84-year-old mother of NBC “Today” co-anchor Savannah Guthrie was reported missing from her Tucson-area home on Feb. 1 after spending the previous night with family.

Investigators are also working with experts to try to locate Nancy Guthrie by somehow detecting her heart pacemaker.

Authorities say 6 backcountry skiiers are found alive, 10 missing in Calif.

SAN FRANCISCO — Authorities say six backcountry skiers have been found alive and 10 others are missing after an avalanche in Northern California that occurred during a powerful winter storm moving through the state.

Search and rescue crews were dispatched to the Castle Peak area, northwest of Lake Tahoe, after someone called 911 to report an avalanche with people buried.

Ashley Quadros, a spokesperson with the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office, said the six skiers located were still awaiting rescue.

She said there are 46 emergency first responders trying to reach them and that the backcountry group included four ski guides.

Police arrest 18-year-old who ran toward US Capitol holding shotgun

WASHINGTON — U.S. Capitol Police in Washington, D.C., have arrested an 18-year-old man after he ran toward the west side of the Capitol Building armed with a shotgun.

Capital Police Chief Michael Sullivan said Carter Camacho of Smyrna, Georgia, parked a Mercedes SUV near the Capitol on Tuesday, got out and ran “several hundred yards” toward the building before officers intercepted him and ordered him to the ground. Sullivan says the gunman was wearing a tactical vest and gloves and had a Kevlar helmet and gas mask in the vehicle.

The shotgun was loaded and the man had additional rounds on him, the chief says. Congress is not in session.

Minnesota’s Legislature braces for immigration fight as surge nears end

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Democrats’ top priority as the 2026 session of the Minnesota Legislature gets underway is reining in the power of federal law enforcement to conduct immigration crackdowns.

For Republican lawmakers, who have largely supported the Trump administration’s methods in the state, their priority is curbing the massive fraud that has plagued taxpayer funded programs.

President Donald Trump has cited such fraud as justification for sending thousands of federal immigration officers into the state. While the immigration enforcement surge is winding down, the aftermath will reverberate at the state Capitol.

Iran closes Strait of Hormuz as it conducts indirect talks with the US

GENEVA — Iran has announced the temporary closure of the Strait of Hormuz for live fire military drills. The rare show of force came as its negotiators held another round of indirect talks with the United States over its disputed nuclear program. It was the first time Iran has announced the closure of the key international waterway since the U.S. began threatening Iran and rushing military assets to the region. Iran’s foreign minister expressed optimism about Tuesday’s talks. U.S. Vice President JD Vance was more circumspect, saying, “In some ways, it went well,” but noting it was clear that wide gaps remained. The two sides are expected to hold more negotiations in two weeks.

Nation and world at a glance

Walmart aids Guthrie investigation

Investigators working on the disappearance of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie’s mother are consulting with Walmart management to develop leads.

That’s because a backpack the suspect was wearing is sold exclusively at Walmart stores. Chris Nanos, the sheriff of Pima County, Arizona, told The Associated Press in a text message on Monday that the suspect’s “Ozark Trail Hiker Pack” is the only clothing item that has been “definitively identified.”

Nancy Guthrie was last seen at her Arizona home on Jan. 31 and was reported missing the following day. The Federal Bureau of Investigation released surveillance videos of a masked person wearing a handgun holster outside Guthrie’s front door the night she vanished.

US troops to train Nigerian military

ABUJA, Nigeria — The Nigerian military says about 100 U.S. troops plus equipment have arrived in Nigeria to help train soldiers in the West African country.

The arrival followed a request by the Nigerian government to the U.S government to for training, technical support intelligence-sharing, the military said in a statement Monday.

The deployment follows an easing of tensions that had flared between the U.S. and Nigeria when U.S. President Donald Trump had issued threats against Nigeria over allegations that the government was not protecting its Christian citizens.

Winter storm wallops California

California is being walloped by a powerful winter storm carrying thunderstorms, strong winds and heavy snow in the mountains. Millions of residents in Los Angeles County were facing a flash flood warning as rain pounded the region. Residents in some areas scarred by last year’s devastating wildfires faced an evacuation warning. Meanwhile, state emergency officials are deploying rescue resources for flooding and debris flows. Forecasters expect extreme Sierra snow through late Wednesday. The storm comes amid a snow drought across much of the West.

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