Netanyahu defends new military offensive in Gaza and says it will be wider than announced

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday defended a new military offensive in Gaza that's more sweeping than previously announced, declaring in the face of growing condemnation at home and abroad that Israel “has no choice but to finish the job and complete the defeat of Hamas.”

Even as more Israelis express concern over the 22-month war, Netanyahu said the security Cabinet last week instructed the dismantling of Hamas strongholds not only in Gaza City but also in the “central camps” and Muwasi. A source familiar with the operation, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media, confirmed that Israel plans it in both areas.

The camps — sheltering well over a half-million displaced people, according to the U.N. — had not been part of Israel's announcement Friday. It was not clear why, though Netanyahu faced criticism this weekend within his ruling coalition that targeting Gaza City was not enough. Netanyahu said there would be “safe zones," but such designated areas have been bombed in the past.

Late Sunday, heavy bombardment was reported in Gaza City. Shortly before midnight local time, broadcaster Al Jazeera said correspondent Anas al-Sharif was killed in a strike. Rami Mohanna, administrative director at the nearby Shifa Hospital, said the strike hit a tent for Al Jazeera journalists outside the hospital’s walls. Along with al-Sharif, three other journalists and a driver were killed.

Israel’s military confirmed it, asserting al-Sharif had “posed as a journalist” and alleging he was with Hamas. Al-Sharif had denied having any political affiliations. The Committee to Protect Journalists last month said it was gravely concerned for his safety and said he was a “targeted by an Israeli military smear campaign.”

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UK police say more than 500 people arrested in pro-Palestinian events over weekend

LONDON (AP) — London police said Sunday that 532 people were arrested the previous day when supporters of a pro-Palestinian group recently outlawed as a terrorist organization intentionally broke the law to test the government’s ability to enforce the ban.

The Metropolitan Police Service released the updated figures as protesters demanding the immediate release of the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza held their own march through central London on Sunday afternoon.

The vast majority of those detained on Saturday were arrested for displaying placards declaring their support for the group known as Palestine Action. Police updated their earlier totals and said 522 people were arrested for supporting a proscribed organization in violation of anti-terror laws. Another 10 people were arrested on a variety of charges, including assaulting and obstructing police officers.

Backers of Palestine Action staged the protest to underscore their belief that the government is illegally restricting freedom of expression by banning a direct action organization that has challenged its policies.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, who oversees law enforcement in Britain, rejected that characterization, saying Palestine Action was banned after committing serious attacks involving violence, significant injuries and extensive criminal damage.

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Russia and Ukraine hold fast to their demands ahead of a planned Putin-Trump summit

The threats, pressure and ultimatums have come and gone, but Russian President Vladimir Putin has maintained Moscow's uncompromising demands in the war in Ukraine, raising fears he could use a planned summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Alaska to coerce Kyiv into accepting an unfavorable deal.

The maximalist demands reflect Putin’s determination to reach the goals he set when he launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

Putin sees a possible meeting with Trump as a chance to negotiate a broad deal that would not only cement Russia’s territorial gains but also keep Ukraine from joining NATO and hosting any Western troops, allowing Moscow to gradually pull the country back into its orbit.

The Kremlin leader believes time is on his side as the exhausted and outgunned Ukrainian forces are struggling to stem Russian advances in many sectors of the over 1,000-kilometer (over 600-mile) front line while swarms of Russian missiles and drones batter Ukrainian cities.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also has stood firm in his positions, agreeing to a ceasefire proposed by Trump while reaffirming the country's refusal to abandon seeking NATO membership and rejecting acknowledgment of Russia’s annexation of any of its regions.

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European leaders rally behind Ukraine ahead of Trump-Putin meeting

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — European nations have rallied behind Ukraine, saying peace in the war-torn nation can’t be resolved without Kyiv, ahead of an upcoming meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Alaska.

Trump said next Friday’s meeting with his Russian counterpart on U.S. soil would focus on ending the war, now in its fourth year.

In response, Zelenskyy thanked European allies in a post on X, writing Sunday: “The end of the war must be fair, and I am grateful to everyone who stands with Ukraine and our people."

Saturday's statement by top European leaders came after the White House confirmed the U.S president was willing to grant Putin the one-on-one meeting Russia has long pushed for, and suggestions from Trump that a peace deal could include “some swapping of territories." That raised fears that Kyiv may be pressured into giving up land or accepting other curbs on its sovereignty.

A White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity as they aren’t allowed to speak publicly, told The Associated Press that Trump remained open to a trilateral summit with both the Russian and Ukrainian leaders, but for now, he will have a bilateral meeting requested by Putin.

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Flooding cancels last day of Wisconsin State Fair as severe storms knock out power and close roads

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Flash flooding canceled the final day of the Wisconsin State Fair on Sunday as continued heavy rainfall in half a dozen Midwest states forced motorists to abandon their vehicles, cut power to thousands of households and closed busy roadways.

Organizers of the Wisconsin State Fair said they were scrapping the final day of the 11-day event after rains flooded the fairgrounds in West Allis, which is just outside Milwaukee.

“We are saddened we cannot deliver this final day of the Wisconsin State Fair, but know that this is the best decision with current conditions and the forecast ahead,” organizers said in a statement.

The National Weather Service issued flood watches and warnings for parts of Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois and Wisconsin. After rainfall began on Saturday in some areas forecasters predicted “repeated rounds of heavy rain,” along with hail, damaging winds and isolated tornadoes into Monday.

Among the worst hit was the Milwaukee area, where up to 14 inches (36 centimeters) of rain had fallen in some areas by Sunday, according to the National Weather Service, which also noted river flooding in Milwaukee and Waukesha counties. Some motorists left their stranded cars on roads. Nearly 18,000 customers of We Energies in southeast Wisconsin were without power late Sunday. In the suburban village of Wauwatosa, an overflowing and fast-moving Menomonee River submerged a popular playground.

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6.1 earthquake hits Turkey's Balikesir province, killing 1 and collapsing buildings

ISTANBUL (AP) — A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck Turkey’s northwestern province of Balikesir on Sunday, killing at least one person and causing more than a dozen buildings to collapse, officials said. At least 29 people were injured.

The earthquake, with an epicenter in the town of Sindirgi, sent shocks that were felt some 200 kilometers (125 miles) to the north in Istanbul - a city of more than 16 million people.

An elderly woman died shortly after being pulled out alive from the debris of a collapsed building in Sindirgi, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya told reporters. Four other people were rescued from the building.

Yerlikaya said a total of 16 buildings collapsed in the region - most of them derelict and unused. Two mosque minarets also tumbled down, he said.

None of the injured were in serious condition, the minister said.

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A Congolese refugee's 8-year struggle to reunite with her family in the US

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The Congolese woman’s search for safety sent her on a terrifying trek of nearly 2,300 miles (3,700 kilometers) through southern Africa on foot when she was just 15.

Reuniting with her family has been a more difficult journey. For eight years, she clung to hope through delays and setbacks as she navigated a U.S. program that reconnects refugees with family members already in the country, and her dream of seeing them again seemed close to becoming a reality.

But President Donald Trump signed an executive order halting the refugee program just hours after he took office on Jan. 20, ?leaving her and thousands of other refugees stranded.

“It was horrible. I would never wish for anyone to go through that, ever. When I think about it, I just ...” she said, pausing to take a long breath. “Honestly, I had given up. I told my mom maybe it was just not meant for us to see each other again.”

During a brief block on the order, the woman made it into the U.S., one of only about 70 refugees to arrive in the country since Trump took office. She asked that her name not be used because she fears retaliation.

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Trump has said abortion is a state issue. His judicial picks could shape it nationally for decades

CHICAGO (AP) — One called abortion a “barbaric practice.” Another referred to himself as a “zealot” for the anti-abortion movement. Several have played prominent roles in defending their state's abortion restrictions in court and in cases that have had national impact, including on access to medication abortion.

As President Donald Trump pushes the Senate to confirm his federal judicial nominees, a review by The Associated Press shows that roughly half of them have revealed anti-abortion views, been associated with anti-abortion groups or defended abortion restrictions.

Trump has offered shifting positions on the issue while indicating he wants to leave questions of abortion access to the states. But his court nominees will have lifetime appointments and be in position to roll back abortion access long after the Republican president leaves the White House.

Bernadette Meyler, a professor of constitutional law at Stanford University, said judicial nominations “are a way of federally shaping the abortion question without going through Congress or making a big, explicit statement.”

"It’s a way to cover up a little bit what is happening in the abortion sphere compared to legislation or executive orders that may be more visible, dramatic and spark more backlash,” she said.

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CDC shooter blamed COVID vaccine for depression; union demands statement against misinformation

A Georgia man who had blamed the COVID-19 vaccine for making him depressed and suicidal has been identified as the shooter who opened fire late Friday on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters, killing a police officer.

The 30-year-old suspect, who died during the incident, had also tried to get into the CDC’s headquarters in Atlanta but was stopped by guards before driving to a pharmacy across the street and opening fire, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Saturday.

The man, identified as Patrick Joseph White, was armed with five guns, including at least one long gun, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation.

A union representing workers at the CDC said the incident was not random and “compounds months of mistreatment, neglect, and vilification that CDC staff have endured." It demanded federal officials condemn vaccine misinformation, saying it was putting scientists at risk.

Here's what to know about the shooting and the continuing investigation:

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Tourist from US mainland who flew to Puerto Rico for Bad Bunny concert was fatally shot, police say

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A tourist from the U.S. mainland who was visiting Puerto Rico for Bad Bunny's residency was fatally shot early Sunday at La Perla, a popular seaside shantytown, police said.

The victim was identified as Kevin Mares, a 25-year-old who lived in New York, according to a police statement.

The shooting happened in the predawn hours at a nightspot called “Refuge for Mistreated Men” in La Perla, a coastal community that has struggled to shed its dark reputation.

Homicide detective Sgt. Arnaldo Ruiz said in a phone interview that the shooting took place when several people near Mares began arguing and one pulled out a gun and shot at least three people, including Mares. A brother and a sister in their mid-40s who live in La Perla were injured and remain hospitalized.

Ruiz said Mares was an innocent bystander. He was with three other friends who told police they were in Puerto Rico for one of Bad Bunny's 30 concerts, which have attracted tens of thousands of visitors to the U.S. territory.

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