A shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic school kills 2 children, injures 17 people

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A shooter opened fire with a rifle Wednesday through the windows of a Catholic church in Minneapolis and struck some of the nearly 200 children celebrating Mass during the first week of school, killing two and wounding 17 people in an act of violence the police chief called “absolutely incomprehensible.”

Armed with a rifle, shotgun and pistol, 23-year-old Robin Westman approached the side of the church and shot dozens of rounds through the windows toward the children sitting in the pews during Mass at the Annunciation Catholic School just before 8:30 a.m., Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said at news conferences. He said the shooter then died by suicide.

The children who died were 8 and 10. Fourteen other kids and three octogenarian parishioners were wounded but expected to survive, the chief said.

On Wednesday evening, hundreds prayed, wiped away tears and held each other during a packed vigil at a nearby school’s gym where Gov. Tim Walz and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, along with Catholic clergy, joined the mourners.

Archbishop Bernard Hebda talked about the inscription at the front of the Annunciation Church that reads: “House of God and the gate of heaven.”

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What to know about the shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic school

A shooter opened fire Wednesday morning during Mass at a Minneapolis Catholic school, killing two children and injuring 17 other people before dying by suicide, officials said.

The shooting happened at Annunciation Catholic School, just days after the first day of school there on Monday.

Of the 17 injured, police said 14 were children, with their ages ranging from 6 to 15. Authorities said they are all expected to survive.

The shooting comes as school years are starting across the U.S., and some universities have dealt with false alarms about school shootings. At least a dozen college campuses faced hoax active shooter calls — some featuring gunshots sounding in the background.

Here are some of the things to know about the shooting at Annunciation Catholic School.

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CDC director Susan Monarez is fired and other agency leaders resign

NEW YORK (AP) — The director of the nation's top public health agency has been fired after less than one month in the job, and several top agency leaders have resigned.

Susan Monarez isn't “aligned with” President Donald Trump's agenda and refused to resign, so the White House terminated her, spokesman Kush Desai said Wednesday night.

Her lawyers said she was targeted for standing up for science.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services had announced her departure in a brief social media post late Wednesday afternoon. Her lawyers responded with a statement saying Monarez had neither resigned nor been told she was fired.

“When CDC Director Susan Monarez refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts, she chose protecting the public over serving a political agenda. For that, she has been targeted,” attorneys Mark Zaid and Abbe David Lowell wrote in a statement.

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Top Florida official says 'Alligator Alcatraz' will likely be empty within days, email shows

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A top Florida official says the controversial state-run immigration detention facility in the Everglades will likely be empty in a matter of days, even as Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration and the federal government fight a judge's order to shutter the facility dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” by late October. That's according to an email exchange shared with The Associated Press.

In a message sent to South Florida Rabbi Mario Rojzman on Aug. 22 related to providing chaplaincy services at the facility, Florida Division of Emergency Management Executive Director Kevin Guthrie said “we are probably going to be down to 0 individuals within a few days," implying there would soon be no need for the services.

Rojzman, and an executive assistant for the rabbi who sent an original email to Guthrie, confirmed to the AP on Wednesday Guthrie's emailed response to both of them and the veracity of the messages.

A spokesperson for Guthrie, whose agency has overseen the construction and operation of the site, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Questioned about the email exchange by a reporter at an event in Orlando, DeSantis framed the declining population as the result of an uptick in deportations by the Department of Homeland Security.

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Trump extends control over Washington by taking management of Union Station away from Amtrak

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration is taking management of Union Station away from Amtrak in the latest example of the federal government exerting its power over the nation’s capital.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced the takeover Wednesday alongside Amtrak President Roger Harris at Washington's main transportation hub during the launch of an updated version of the rail service's Acela train. The federal government owns Union Station, which is near the Capitol.

Duffy said the station has “fallen into disrepair” when it should be a “point of pride” for the District of Columbia. He said the Republican administration's move would help beautify the landmark in an economical way and was in line with Trump's vision.

“He wants Union Station to be beautiful again. He wants transit to be safe again. And he wants our nation’s capital to be great again. And today is part of that,” Duffy said.

It's Trump's latest attempt to put the city under his control. In recent weeks, Trump has increased the number of federal law enforcement and immigration agents on city streets while also taking over the Metropolitan Police Department and activating thousands of National Guard members. Last week, Trump said he wants $2 billion from Congress to beautify Washington.

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US hosts talks on post-war Gaza as Israel calls Gaza City evacuation ‘inevitable’

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli and U.S. officials met Wednesday in Washington to discuss post-war Gaza, even as Israel's military called the evacuation of Gaza City “inevitable” ahead of a new offensive and no sign of a ceasefire was in sight.

The meeting took place amid mounting outrage over this week's double Israeli strike on a southern Gaza hospital that killed journalists, emergency responders and others. The toll from the attack on Nasser Hospital rose to 22 after two more people died Wednesday, Gaza health officials said.

The Israeli military, which has said it will investigate, offered no immediate explanation for striking twice and no evidence for an assertion that six of the dead were militants.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar at the State Department, with both countries saying they discussed cooperation on Iran, ending the war in Gaza, the situations in Lebanon and Syria, and next month’s session of the U.N. General Assembly, at which the Israel-Hamas conflict is likely to be a hot topic.

The State Department said Rubio reaffirmed America's “unwavering commitment to Israel’s security.”

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FDA approves updated COVID-19 shots with limits for some kids and adults

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. regulators approved updated COVID-19 shots Wednesday but limited their use for many Americans — and removed one of the two vaccines available for young children.

The new shots from Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax are approved for all seniors. But the Food and Drug Administration narrowed their use for younger adults and children to those with at least one high-risk health condition, such as asthma or obesity. That presents new barriers to access for millions of Americans who would have to prove their risk — and millions more who may want to get vaccinated and suddenly no longer qualify.

Additionally, Pfizer’s vaccine will no longer be available for any child under 5, because the FDA said it was revoking the shot’s emergency authorization for that age group.

Parents will still be able to seek out shots from rival drugmaker Moderna, the other maker of mRNA vaccines, which has full FDA approval for children as young as 6 months. But the company’s Spikevax vaccine is only approved for children with at least one serious health problem.

The revamped vaccines target a newer version of the continuously evolving virus and are set to begin shipping soon. But it could be days or weeks before many Americans know if they’ll be able to get one, with access dependent on decisions by federal health advisers, health insurers, pharmacies and state authorities.

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Kilmar Abrego Garcia requests asylum in the US, hoping to prevent his deportation to Uganda

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose case has come to encapsulate much of President Donald Trump ’s hard-line immigration agenda, wants to seek asylum in the United States, his lawyers told a federal judge Wednesday.

The asylum request — Abrego Garcia’s second, after a denial in 2019 — has been submitted in a Maryland immigration court, further complicating his complex immigration case that intensified in March when he was wrongfully deported to a notorious prison in his native El Salvador.

The Trump administration maintains that Abrego Garcia, 30, is part of the dangerous MS-13 gang — an allegation he denies — and has said it intends to deport him to the African country of Uganda.

If Abrego Garcia's new asylum request is approved, it could provide a green card and a path to citizenship. But his petition must go through the U.S. immigration court system, which is not part of the judiciary but an arm of the Department of Justice and under the Trump administration's authority.

Immigration courts have become a key focus of Trump’s renewed immigration enforcement efforts. The president has fired more than 50 immigration judges since he returned to the White House in January.

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Dispatcher shakes it off after announcing Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's engagement over scanner

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Police dispatcher Julia Jordan accidentally added a dash of celebrity gossip to her public service this week when she shared “Taylor Swift is engaged” over a hot microphone.

That appears to be how officers in the Lansing, Michigan, area learned about the superstar singer’s betrothal to Kansas City Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce.

The official announcement, made in a five-photo joint post on Instagram, marks the fairytale culmination of a courtship that for two years and has thrilled and fascinated millions around the world.

Joyful chaos ensued nationwide, with oddsmakers taking bets on when and where the celebrity couple will wed. Swifties, the pop star’s enormous and ardent fan base, can even wager on the flavor of the wedding cake.

Kansas City-based tax preparer H&R Block sent out a light-hearted email to staff, telling them they could head home early to check social media feeds and debate potential wedding playlists.

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NFL eases restrictions on Tom Brady's role as Fox Sports analyst

The NFL is easing some of its restrictions on Tom Brady as he prepares for his second season as Fox Sports' top analyst.

The league will allow Brady to participate in production meetings with teams, as long as they are conducted virtually or via Zoom. He still isn't allowed to watch practices or set foot in a team's training complex.

The Brady rules were put in place due to the seven-time Super Bowl winning quarterback having a 5% stake as a limited owner in the Las Vegas Raiders.

Brady was allowed to attend production meetings with Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles players and coaches before Super Bowl 59. He wasn't able to view practices.

“The ability to join and be able to talk to a coach, coordinators or players and help him prepare for his job was one that felt like a natural step forward,” Hans Schroeder, the NFL’s executive vice president of media distribution, told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

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