Police say Minneapolis church shooter was filled with hatred and admired mass killers

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The shooter who killed two Catholic school students and wounded more than a dozen youngsters sitting in the pews of a Minneapolis church once attended the same school and was “obsessed” with the idea of killing children, authorities said Thursday.

The shooter, identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, fired 116 rifle casings through stained-glass windows while the children celebrated Mass during the first week of classes at the Annunciation Catholic School, said Minneapolis police Chief Brian O’Hara.

“It is very clear that this shooter had the intention to terrorize those innocent children,” O’Hara said.

Acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson said videos and writings the shooter left behind show that the shooter "expressed hate towards almost every group imaginable.”

The only group Westman did not hate was “mass murderers,” Thompson said. “In short, the shooter appeared to hate all of us.”

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CDC gets new acting director as leadership turmoil leaves agency reeling

NEW YORK (AP) — The nation’s top public health agency was left reeling Thursday as the White House worked to expel the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director and replace her with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 's current deputy.

The turmoil triggered rare bipartisan alarm as Kennedy tries to advance anti-vaccine policies that are contradicted by decades of scientific research.

Two administration officials said Jim O'Neill, the second-in-command at the Department of Health and Human Services, would supplant Susan Monarez, a longtime government scientist. O'Neill, a former investment executive who also served at the federal health department under President George W. Bush, does not have a medical background. The officials, who confirmed the change, requested anonymity to discuss personnel decisions before a public announcement.

A flashpoint is expected in the coming weeks as a key advisory committee, which Kennedy has reshaped with vaccine skeptics, is expected to issue new recommendations on immunizations. The panel is scheduled to review standard childhood shots for measles, hepatitis and other diseases.

Two Republican senators called for congressional oversight and some Democrats said Kennedy should be fired. He is scheduled to testify on Capitol Hill on Sept. 4.

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New trial ordered for 3 Memphis ex-officers in connection with the beating death of Tyre Nichols

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A judge ordered a new trial Thursday for three former Memphis police officers who were convicted of federal charges in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, after defense lawyers argued that another judge who presided over their trial was biased in his belief that at least one of the men was in a gang.

U.S. District Judge Sheryl H. Lipman issued the order for a new trial for Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith, who were found guilty in October 2024 of obstruction of justice through witness tampering.

The ruling marks the latest setback for prosecutors in a case that shocked the country when videos were released showing officers violently kicking and punching Nichols during a traffic stop. The officers who have been granted a new trial in the federal case were acquitted of state murder charges in May. And last year federal prosecutors were unable to secure convictions on the most severe counts against Bean and Smith.

Two other officers charged, Emmitt Martin and Desmond Mills Jr., pleaded guilty before the federal trial.

Lipman took over the case in June after U.S. District Judge Mark S. Norris, who presided over the case and the trial, recused himself days before the sentencings for the five officers.

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Trump administration asks military base near Chicago for support on immigration operations

CHICAGO (AP) — The Trump administration asked a military base outside of Chicago for support on immigration operations this week, offering a clue of what an expanded law enforcement crackdown might look like in the nation's third-largest city.

The Department of Homeland Security asked Naval Station Great Lakes for “limited support in the form of facilities, infrastructure, and other logistical needs to support DHS operations,” Matt Mogle, spokesperson for the base 35 miles (56 kilometers) north of Chicago, said Wednesday.

The request came weeks after the Republican administration deployed National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., to target crime, immigration and homelessness, and two months after it sent troops to Los Angeles.

Although details of the administration’s plans for Chicago are scarce, city leaders said Thursday that they are preparing for multiple possible scenarios, from troops assisting in immigration arrests to patrolling in the streets.

“We don’t want to raise any fears,” Police Superintendent Larry Snelling told reporters. “We don’t want to create any speculation around what’s going on.”

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Fed official sues Trump over attempt to fire her, challenging his power over the independent agency

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook has sued the Trump administration in an effort to overturn the president’s attempt to fire her, launching an unprecedented legal battle that could significantly reshape the Fed’s longstanding political independence.

The lawsuit seeks an emergency injunction to block her firing and “confirm her status” as a member of the Fed's governing board.

“The President’s effort to terminate a Senate-confirmed Federal Reserve Board member is a broadside attack on the century-old independence of the Federal Reserve System,” Cook's lawyer, Abbe David Lowell, wrote in a court filing.

The case could become a turning point for the 112-year old Federal Reserve, which was designed by Congress to be insulated from day-to-day political influence. Economists prefer independent central banks because they can more easily take unpopular measures, such as lifting interest rates to combat inflation, than elected officials can.

The case was assigned to Judge Jia Cobb, an appointee of former President Joe Biden. A hearing was scheduled for Friday.

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UN food agency chief says women and children are starving in Gaza and pressed Netanyahu on aid

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The head of the U.N. food agency said Thursday that it was “very evident” during her visit to Gaza this week that there isn't enough food in the Palestinian territory and that she spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the urgent need for more aid.

The world’s leading authority on food crises said last week the Gaza Strip’s largest city is gripped by famine, and that it was likely to spread across the territory without a ceasefire and an end to restrictions on humanitarian aid.

Cindy McCain, the World Food Program's executive director, told The Associated Press that starvation was underway in Gaza.

“I personally met mothers and children who were starving in Gaza," she said. "It is real and it is happening now,”

Netanyahu, she said, was “obviously very concerned that people aren’t getting enough food.” In the past, he has denied that there is famine in Gaza and said the claims about starvation are a propaganda campaign launched by Hamas.

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A major Russian drone and missile attack on Kyiv kills at least 21 people

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched a major air attack on Kyiv early on Thursday that included a rare strike on the center of Ukraine's capital, killing at least 21 people, wounding 48 and damaging European Union diplomatic offices, authorities said.

The bombardment of drones and missiles was the first major Russian attack on Kyiv in weeks as U.S.-led peace efforts to end the three-year war struggled to gain traction. Britain said the attack sabotaged peace efforts, while top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas summoned Russia’s EU envoy to Brussels over the strikes that damaged EU offices.

The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting on airstrikes against Ukraine on Friday afternoon at the request of Ukraine and the five European council members — Britain, France, Slovenia, Denmark and Greece. Two of Ukraine’s top envoys were set to meet Friday with the Trump administration regarding mediation.

The Kremlin said Russia remained interested in continuing peace talks despite Thursday's air attack, which was one of the war's biggest since it began in 2022.

Among the dead were four children between 2 and 17, said Tymur Tkachenko, the head of Kyiv’s city administration. He said more people could still be under the rubble, and search and rescue efforts continued on Thursday evening.

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UK, France and Germany initiate 'snapback' sanctions on Iran over status of nuclear program

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — France, Germany and the United Kingdom moved Thursday to reimpose United Nations sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, further isolating Tehran after its atomic sites were repeatedly bombed during a 12-day war with Israel.

The process, termed a “snapback” by the diplomats who negotiated it into Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, was designed to be veto-proof at the U.N. and could take effect in a month.

It would again freeze Iranian assets abroad, halt arms deals with Tehran and penalize any development of Iran's ballistic missile program, among other measures, further squeezing the country’s reeling economy.

The move starts a 30-day clock for sanctions to return, a period that likely will see intensified diplomacy from Iran, whose refusal to cooperate with inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, started the crisis. Iran will also probably emerge as a top focus of the U.N. General Assembly when it meets next month in New York.

The British, French and German foreign ministers suggested that they viewed the snapback as a way to spur negotiations with Tehran.

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Florida may lose $218M on empty 'Alligator Alcatraz' as judge orders shutdown

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Florida could be on the hook for $218 million the state spent to convert a remote training airport in the Everglades into an immigration detention center dubbed “ Alligator Alcatraz.”

The center may soon be completely empty as a judge upheld her decision late Wednesday ordering operations to wind down indefinitely.

Shutting down the facility for the time being would cost the state $15 million to $20 million immediately, and it would cost another $15 million to $20 million to reinstall structures if Florida is allowed to reopen it, according to court filings by the state.

The Florida Division of Emergency Management will lose most of the value of the $218 million it has invested in making the airport suitable for a detention center, a state official said in court papers.

Built in just a few days, the facility consists of chain-link cages surrounding large white tents filled with rows of bunk beds.

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Micah Parsons traded to the Green Bay Packers from the Cowboys after contract dispute

Micah Parsons is headed to the Green Bay Packers after a blockbuster trade on Thursday, leaving the Dallas Cowboys following a lengthy contract dispute.

The Packers gave up first-round picks in 2026 and 2027 along with three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark to get the two-time All-Pro edge rusher, who agreed to a contract extension with Green Bay.

A person with knowledge of the details told The Associated Press the Packers are giving Parsons a record-setting $188 million, four-year contract that includes $136 million guaranteed. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he offered Parsons more guaranteed money. The person, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the terms weren't announced, said that wasn't accurate.

Parsons becomes the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.

“I never wanted this chapter to end, but not everything was in my control,” Parsons wrote in a statement he posted on X. “My heart has always been here, and still is. Through it all, I never made any demands. I never asked for anything more than fairness. I only asked that the person I trust to negotiate my contract be part of the process.”

News from © The Associated Press, 2025