New aircraft carrier heads toward Mideast after reports of issues on long-deployed USS Lincoln
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pacific-based aircraft carrier USS George Washington has begun heading toward the Middle East as reports have emerged of mental health and supply issues aboard the long-deployed USS Abraham Lincoln. The Lincoln has been supporting the U.S. war against Iran, and its deployment has included a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea of more than 240 days. Several Democratic lawmakers are pressing the Pentagon for accountability over conditions aboard the carrier. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday said those were “completely misrepresented.” The Navy acknowledges that the war has created an environment “where traditional supply hubs in the Middle East were disrupted by combat actions.”
Luigi Mangione pleads guilty to federal stalking charges in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO
NEW YORK (AP) — Luigi Mangione has pleaded guilty to federal stalking charges in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. He admitted to following Thompson to an investor conference in 2024 and shooting him on a New York City street. The 28-year-old Mangione acknowledged his actions Friday at a hastily scheduled hearing in Manhattan. At sentencing, he faces life in prison. His lawyers are now seeking to dismiss a separate New York state murder case on double jeopardy grounds. The case has become a fulcrum for debate about the healthcare industry and made Mangione a cause célèbre for some of its critics.
Hawaii's Big Island under rare hurricane landfall threat as Tropical Storm Lala strengthens
HONOLULU (AP) — Tropical Storm Lala is expected to strengthen into a hurricane as it approaches Hawaii's Big Island. The National Hurricane Center predicts that it could be at hurricane status by early Saturday. If it makes landfall as a hurricane, it would be the first to do so since 1871. Forecasters issued a hurricane warning for the island on Friday. Officials and residents prepared for potential impacts including heavy rain and strong winds. Some areas could see up to 25 inches of rain. Shelters have been opened, and various events canceled.
Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon kills 7 people, Lebanese state media say
BEIRUT (AP) — An Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon killed seven people, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said. The early Saturday strike wounded three others. Paramedics are still searching through the rubble, the agency reported. The death toll from the airstrike makes it one of the deadliest since Lebanon and Israel announced a “framework agreement” on June 26, laying out a plan for Israeli forces to withdraw from southern Lebanon, in exchange for the disarmament of the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.
Trump asks Supreme Court to let White House ballroom construction continue during appeal
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's administration has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to allow the White House to continue construction on its $400 million ballroom project while it appeals a lower court’s order to halt the work. Chief Justice John Roberts has set a deadline of Tuesday for a response by plaintiffs challenging the ballroom project. Trump’s solicitor general on Friday petitioned the high court to suspend last week's decision by a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The divided panel ruled last week the Republican president must stop the White House ballroom’s construction because Congress has not approved the project.
Suspect arrested in World War II Memorial vandalism in Washington
WASHINGTON (AP) — A suspect has been arrested and will be charged in connection with the vandalism of the World War II Memorial on the National Mall. Melissa L. Farris will be charged with “Depredation Against Property of the United States and Destruction of Veterans’ Memorials," according to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, who announced the arrest on Friday on her X account. The offenses carry penalties of up to ten years in prison. The Memorial, one of the most popular in Washington, was vandalized with bubbles filling a fountain and “Clean hands dirty $” written in red paint. The vandalism comes weeks after President Donald Trump said the nearby Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was deliberately damaged.
Exhausted health workers in Congo struggle to keep up as Ebola outpaces contact tracing
NIZI, Congo (AP) — Gédéon Banga Ngbape and his team of community health workers are laboring tirelessly in eastern Congo to track the country’s fastest-growing Ebola outbreak. They investigate alerts and try to get symptomatic individuals into care. However, the surveillance system is struggling. Between 60% and 70% of new cases are found in people not previously monitored. The outbreak has killed over 2,100 people out of more than 4,500 cases. Challenges include unpaid health workers, misinformation and insecurity. In Nizi, Ngbape’s team faces enormous difficulties, but they remain committed to saving lives despite exhaustion and limited resources.
There’s a reason why Israel has done little to rein in settler violence. It’s not just Netanyahu
A dayslong standoff in the occupied West Bank points to Israel's reluctance to rein in settler violence against Palestinians. Many of Israel's political leaders have criticized the violence. But most support the larger settlement enterprise aimed at cementing control over the West Bank and preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads the most settler-friendly government in Israel's history and it has eased military restrictions on them. But the settlements, considered illegal by much of the international community, have grown under all of his predecessors.
Trump focuses on violent crime reduction as he boosts GOP candidates at New York police academy
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (AP) — President Donald Trump has highlighted his record on crime and safety during a visit to New York, pivoting to one of his strongest issues as he looks to boost Republicans in battleground races ahead of the November midterms. Trump was visiting the Nassau County police academy on Friday in suburban Long Island. But despite the setting and an array of uniformed local police officers behind him on stage, the event was overwhelmingly a political one, with Trump lashing Democrats and promoting his record and his party’s candidates. The new FBI statistics released Friday showed the homicide rate in the United States dropped to the lowest it’s been in 75 years. The report on 2025 crime statistics also showed that overall violent crime dropped 9.3% last year.
With US-Iran talks stalled, diplomatic efforts expand to unlikely European players
WASHINGTON (AP) — While talks to end the Iran war have stalled, the Trump administration appears to be reaching out to a broader swath of countries that might be able to help pressure Tehran or ease its hardline position where traditional mediators haven't succeeded so far. While discussions between Iran and Oman, as well as Iran and Pakistan, Turkey and Qatar, continue, the administration has been quietly expanding its outreach to include perhaps unlikely interlocutors in Europe. Within days of talks this week with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the foreign ministers of Austria and Greece both held calls with Iran's foreign minister. The State Department said Rubio made no direct asks on Iran in either call.
