Pope Francis is in critical condition after long respiratory crisis, requiring oxygen at high flow
ROME (AP) — The Vatican says Pope Francis is in critical condition after he suffered a long asthmatic respiratory crisis that required high flows of oxygen. Francis has been hospitalized for a week with a complex lung infection. The Vatican said on Saturday that Francis also received blood transfusions after tests showed a condition associated with anemia. The statement said that the “ Holy Father continues to be alert and spent the day in an armchair although in more pain than yesterday. At the moment the prognosis is reserved.”
Hamas frees 6 hostages but questions cloud Gaza ceasefire’s future
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Hamas has released the last six living hostages expected under the first phase of its ceasefire with Israel with a week remaining. Growing questions over the next phase are clouding the fragile deal’s future. Saturday’s release of Palestinian prisoners has been delayed without explanation. The hostages released include three Israeli men seized from a music festival and another taken while visiting family in southern Israel when Hamas-led militants attacked on Oct. 7, 2023. Two other released hostages were held by Hamas for around a decade after each entered Gaza on their own. Talks on the ceasefire’s second phase are yet to start.
Trump-Putin summit preparations are underway, Russia says
A senior Russian official says preparations have begun for a face-to-face meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Russian state media on Saturday that a possible summit could involve broad talks on global issues, including the war in Ukraine. But he said efforts to bring it about are at an early stage. Trump. Russian and U.S. representatives meeting in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday agreed to start working toward ending the war in Ukraine and improving their diplomatic and economic ties, an extraordinary about-face in U.S. foreign policy under Trump.
Trump moves with light speed and brute force in shaking the core of what America has been
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is moving with light speed and brute force to reshape America at home and abroad. In his first month back in office, he’s performed a pirouette in foreign policy as he pulls the U.S. back from historic alliances, reaches out to Russia and chokes foreign aid. At home, he’s fired thousands of federal workers and mandated an about-face in the missions of department after department. How much of this sticks will largely depend on courts, which appear to be the only check on Trump’s expansive use of executive power. Congress has so far been compliant as Trump pursues his ends by edict instead of legislation.
Musk’s cost-cutting team is laying off workers at the auto safety agency overseeing his car company
NEW YORK (AP) — Elon Musk’s cost-cutting team is eliminating jobs at the vehicle safety agency that oversees Tesla and has launched investigations into deadly crashes involving his company’s cars. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has cut a “modest” amount of positions, according to a statement from the agency. Musk has accused NHTSA of holding back progress on self-driving technology with its investigations and recalls. Asked about whether the cuts would impact any probes into Tesla, the agency referred to a statement saying it will enforce the law on all automobile manufacturers.
Hospital official says gunman killed after shots were fired at a Pennsylvania hospital
YORK, Pa. (AP) — A hospital official says a gunman has been killed after shots were fired at a hospital in central Pennsylvania. Officials at UPMC Memorial in York said that no patients were injured and that the gunman is dead. The extent of any other injuries was unclear. Law enforcement is on premises and is managing the situation. UPMC Memorial is a five-story, 104-bed hospital in York that opened in 2019.
Shooting at Air Force Base in New Mexico kills airman, wounds another
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Military officials say a shooting at a U.S. Air Force base in New Mexico has left one airman dead and another wounded. A spokesperson for Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque says the shooting happened near one of the entrances at about 2 a.m. Saturday and was not a terrorist act or an attack by an outsider. One airman died at the scene and the other was taken to a hospital with a gunshot wound to a hand and later discharged. The Air Force released few other details and did not immediately say whether someone was in custody or if there was a search for a suspect.
Leading contenders make their final appeals to German voters before a landmark election
BERLIN (AP) — The contenders in Germany’s election are making their final appeals to voters. The opposition leader and front-runner vowed Saturday to revive the stagnant economy and defend Europe’s interests in the face of a confrontational U.S. administration. Chancellor OIaf Scholz insisted that he still hopes for an improbable last-minute comeback. Germans are electing a new parliament Sunday after a campaign focused on the state of Europe’s biggest economy and calls to curb migration. Uncertainty has grown rapidly about the future of Ukraine and the strength of Europe’s alliance with the United States.
Cholera kills 58 and sickens about 1,300 others over 3 days in a Sudanese city, health officials say
CAIRO (AP) — Health officials in Sudan say a cholera outbreak in a southern city has killed nearly 60 people and sickened about 1,300 others over the last three days. The outbreak in the city of Kosti was blamed mainly on contaminated drinking water after the city’s water plant stopped due to an attack by a notorious paramilitary group. The group has been fighting the country’s military for about two years. The ministry said in a statement Saturday that the disease killed 58 people and sickened 1,293 others between Thursday and Saturday.
Warren Buffett offers Donald Trump some advice while celebrating Berkshire Hathaway’s success
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Warren Buffett is celebrating the successes of Berkshire Hathaway’s companies last year and in the 60 years since he took over a struggling New England textile company and began converting it into a massive conglomerate. Buffett opened his annual letter to shareholders Saturday by acknowledging that he has occasionally made mistakes over the years without offering many specific examples. But he assured shareholders that the man he has chosen to one day succeed him as CEO, Greg Abel, isn’t one of them. Buffett also offered some subtle advice for President Donald Trump by urging Uncle Sam to be responsible with the $26.8 billion in income taxes Berkshire paid last year and take care of the many who get a short straw in life.