Live updates: Trump visits main U.S. military base in Middle East as violence flares in Gaza
Live updates: President Donald Trump is to visit the main U.S. military base in the Middle East even as he uses his four-day visit to Gulf states to reject the “interventionism” of America’s past in the region. The president has held up Gulf nations like Saudi Arabia and Qatar as models for economic development in a region plagued by conflict. In other parts of the Middle East violence flared in the West Bank and a hospital in southern Gaza says 54 people have been killed in overnight airstrikes on the city of Khan Younis.
54 people killed in overnight airstrikes on southern Gaza city, hospital says
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — A hospital in southern Gaza says 54 people have been killed in overnight airstrikes on the city of Khan Younis. An Associated Press cameraman counted 10 airstrikes on the city overnight into Thursday and saw numerous bodies taken to the morgue in Nasser Hospital. Some bodies arrived in pieces, with some body bags containing the remains of multiple people. The hospital’s morgue confirmed 54 people had been killed. The strikes come as U.S. President Donald Trump visits the Middle East, visiting Gulf states but not Israel. There had been hope that Trump’s regional visit could usher in a ceasefire or renewal of humanitarian aid to Gaza. An Israeli blockade of the territory is now in its third month.
Rubio and other top NATO diplomats meet in Turkey ahead of possible Ukraine-Russia talks
ANTALYA, Turkey (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his NATO counterparts meet in Turkey to prepare a pivotal summit of alliance leaders next month that will set the course for future European security as America focuses on challenges elsewhere. The meeting Thursday in the Mediterranean coastal city of Antalya comes amid a flurry of negotiations aimed at producing a ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine. That includes talks in Istanbul that Rubio and President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff are to attend on Friday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is due to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday in Ankara. It’s an open question whether either Trump or Russian President Vladimir Putin will participate.
South African leader and Trump will meet next week after US took in white South Africans as refugees
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — President Donald Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa are scheduled to hold talks at the White House next week. The South African government announced the meeting Wednesday. It follows allegations by Trump, which South Africa denies, that “genocide” is being committed against white farmers there. The meeting also comes after the Trump administration’s resettlement of 59 white South Africans as refugees in the United States earlier this week. Ramaphosa says Trump’s criticisms are based on misinformation about South Africa’s laws. He says whites in the majority Black country are not being singled out for persecution.
Missouri lawmakers approve referendum to repeal abortion-rights amendment
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri lawmakers have approved a referendum seeking to repeal an abortion-rights amendment passed by voters six months ago. The Republican-led Senate voted Wednesday to place a new amendment on the statewide ballot that would instead impose a ban on most abortions, with exceptions for rape and incest. The vote came after the GOP majority used a rare procedural move to cut off debate by Democrats who opposed the measure. The new referendum would go before voters in November 2026 unless Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe calls a special election sooner than that. Missouri senators also passed legislation that would repeal a voter-approved paid sick leave law.
Those who’ve worked with Pope Leo XIV are optimistic he’ll elevate women’s roles — with limits
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Before becoming Pope Leo XIV, Cardinal Robert Prevost presided over one of the most revolutionary reforms of Pope Francis’ pontificate by having women serve on the Vatican board that vets nominations for bishops. But he also has said women cannot be ordained as priests. Despite working for years in Peru, where women often lead church communities, he seems noncommittal on whether they could ever serve in any ministerial capacity. Still, the women who’ve worked closely with Prevost praise his leadership style, ability to listen and respect for their opinions. They tell The Associated Press that they expect him as pope to continue to promote women in church governance positions — but with limits.
Cassie testifies that Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs raped her and threatened to release sex videos
NEW YORK (AP) — The R&B singer Cassie has testified that her ex-boyfriend Sean “Diddy” Combs’ raped her in 2018 and kept control over her life by threatening to release recordings of her with male sex workers during encounters he arranged. Cassie testified for a second day at Combs’ sex trafficking trial. Combs is accused of exploiting his status as a powerful music executive to coerce women including Cassie into drugged-up sexual encounters he watched. He has pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers say all sexual acts were consensual. The 55-year-old Combs faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
The Menendez brothers case reflects a shifting culture across decades
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The trials of Lyle and Erik Menendez and their conviction for killing their parents came at a time when televised trials captured national audiences in the 1990s. The brothers’ resentencing Tuesday for the 1989 murder of their parents, and the possibility that they’ll go free, comes at time of similar cultural obsession, reflected by true-crime documentaries and docudramas. The initial trial was the first major case aired on Court TV, and came just before the O.J. Simpson trial made televised murder trials much bigger. The Menendez brothers had mostly faded from memory, but two Netflix shows brought renewed attention to their case.
In India, Indigenous women and their ‘dream maps’ seek to protect lands from climate change
KORAPUT, India (AP) — Indigenous women in India have watched their villages’ common areas under threat from climate change. Now they are leading their communities’ most significant effort yet to speak up for their needs. Armed with “dream maps” of how their lands should be, they are making a pitch to Indian authorities to protect and restore them. The nation of more than 1.4 billion people is trying to adapt to a warming world. India is among the most vulnerable nations to climate change, and its Indigenous peoples are even more so. The women have never led an outward-facing project like this and feel confident about it.
Harvard thought it had a cheap copy of the Magna Carta. It turned out be extremely rare
BOSTON (AP) — Harvard University for decades assumed it had a cheap copy of the Magna Carta in its collection, a stained and faded document it had purchased for less than $30. But two researchers have concluded it has something much more valuable — a rare version from 1300 issued by Britain’s King Edward I. The original Magna Carta established in 1215 the principle that the king is subject to law, and it has formed the basis of constitutions globally. There are four copies of the original and, until now, there were believed to be only six copies of the 1300 version. Harvard’s copy of the Magna Carta is worth millions of dollars, but Harvard has no plans to sell it.