The move blocked a pathway for those seeking medical care in the United States, including young children, who have arrived in recent weeks with serious conditions.

Nearly two years of demonstrations have failed to push Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a deal with Hamas that would end the war and free the remaining captives.

Rookie Nolan McLean delivered what the Mets needed in his MLB debut, striking out eight and flashing some clutch leather over 5 scoreless innings in a 3-1 win over the Mariners.

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Lionel Messi scored a brilliant individual strike and then provided a sensational assist for Luis Surez to propel Inter Miami to a 3-1 win over LA Galaxy.

Rookie RB Ashton Jeanty had his "I'm here" moment against the 49ers on Saturday, delivering some big plays -- and big hits -- in the Raiders' second preseason game.

Andruw Monasterio hit a three-run home run in the 11th inning and the Milwaukee Brewers won their franchise-record 14th game.

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Speaking after Fridays summit, President Putin again implied that the war is all about Russias diminished status since the fall of the Soviet Union.

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Jim Harbaugh is refusing to comment on the NCAA's decision to fine Michigan tens of millions of dollars and to suspend football coach Sherrone Moore for a third game due to the sign-stealing scandal that occurred during Harbaugh's tenure there.

Khamzat Chimaev controlled Dricus Du Plessis for more than 21 minutes and set a UFC record for total strikes to win the middleweight title Saturday at UFC 319.

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The UFC main card was one of the best of the year, with a dominant performance by Khamzat Chimaev.

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Dana White, CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, speaks during a news conference following the UFC 313 mixed martial arts event Saturday, March 8, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)2025-08-17T05:18:10Z CHICAGO (AP) Khamzat Chimaev continued his dominance in the UFC, capturing the middleweight belt on Saturday night by defeating Dricus Du Plessis by unanimous decision at UFC 319.With a smile on his face, Chimaev (15-0) shot out of his corner in the first round with a takedown of Du Plessis (23-3) in the opening seconds and had Du Plessis on his back for almost the entire first round.Despite the ground control by Chimaev, Du Plessis avoided significant damage in the first round.Chimaev continued with takedowns in the second and third rounds, and Chimaevs grappling skills took their toll on Du Plessis in the third round, where Chimaev landed a series of blows while Du Plessis was on his back.Chimaev continued the ground game on Du Plessis in the fourth round.Chimaev, who has alluded a championship fight since joining the UFC in 2020, gave credit to Du Plessis for challenging him. That guy is tough to finish. Respect that guy. (Du Plessis) was the only champion to say Im in. This guy has a big heart, said Chimaev.Du Plessis showed life late in the fifth round with a takedown and attempted a guillotine, but it was too little too late. For most of the fight, it was a complete domination of the former champ.Nobody wants to be in a crucifix getting punched in the head like that. Its got to be the most frustrating, suck the heart and soul out of you. Just getting dominated on the ground like the way he did is no fun for everybody, UFC president Dana White said. All three judges scored the fight 50-44.At the end, I went for it, had the back. I can almost taste the victory. He beat me fair and square tonight; he was the better man tonight. Ill be back, said Du Plessis.The UFC returned to Chicago for the first time in six years, making it the highest-grossing event at the United Center.The main card featured two spinning elbow first-round finishes by Carlos Prates and Lerone Murphy. In the co-main event, Murphy (17-0-1), who took the fight on three weeks notice, held off an early rush from Aaron Pico (13-5) with a right spinning elbow to end Picos night with a loss in his UFC debut in the featherweight division. Murphy, with his brilliant finish, put himself in a position to face Alex Volkanovski for the featherweight belt.Prates (22-7) won spectacularly in the first round with the ninth spinning elbow finish in UFC history by knocking out Geoff Neal (16-7), rebounding from his loss to Ian Machado Garry in April.It was the first time Neal suffered a knockout loss. White promised Prates a fight in his home country on Oct. 11 in Rio de Janeiro.Michael Page (24-3) dropped Jared Cannonier (19-10) by knocking him down with a right hand in the first round and sent him back to the ground in the second round with a combination to win by unanimous decision in the middleweight fight.Timothy Elliott (22-13-1) opened the five-fight main card with a guillotine finish in the second round over Kai Askura (21-6). Askura had his way with Elliott most of the first round by outstriking the veteran, but a late takedown in the first round changed the momentum, leading to an upset win for Elliott in the flyweight division.___AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports

This photo taken Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019, shows a detail of the 11th century Bayeux tapestry chronicling the Norman conquest of England, in Bayeux, Normandy, France. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu, File)2025-08-17T07:15:50Z BAYEUX, France (AP) For centuries, the storytelling masterpiece has been a source of wonder and fascination. In vivid and gruesome detail, the 70-meter (230-foot) embroidered cloth recounts how a fierce duke from France conquered England in 1066, reshaping British and European history. The Bayeux Tapestry, with its scenes of sword-wielding knights in ferocious combat and King Harold of Englands famous death, pierced by an arrow to an eye, has since the 11th century served as a sobering parable of military might, vengeance, betrayal and the complexity of Anglo-French relations, long seeped with blood and rivalry but also affection and cooperation.Now, the medieval forerunner of todays comic strips, commissioned as propaganda for the Normandy duke William known as the Conqueror after he took the English throne from Harold, is being readied for a new narrative mission. A homecoming for the tapestryNext year, the fragile artistic and historic treasure will be gingerly transported from its museum in Bayeux, Normandy, to star in a blockbuster exhibition in Londons British Museum, from September 2026 to July 2027. Its first U.K. outing in almost 1,000 years will testify to the warming latest chapter in ties across the English Channel that chilled with the U.K.'s acrimonous departure from the European Union in 2020. The loan was announced in July when French President Emmanuel Macron became the first EU head of state to pay a state visit to the U.K. since Brexit. Bayeux Museum curator Antoine Verney says the cross-Channel trip will be a home-coming of sorts for the tapestry, because historians widely believe that it was embroidered in England, using woolen threads on linen canvas, and because Williams victory at the Battle of Hastings was such a major juncture in English history, seared into the U.K.'s collective consciousness.For the British, the date the only date that all of them know is 1066, Verney said in an interview with The Associated Press. A trip not without risksMoving an artwork so unwieldy made from nine pieces of linen fabric stitched together and showing 626 characters, 37 buildings, 41 ships and 202 horses and mules in a total of 58 scenes is further complicated by its great age and the wear-and-tear of time. There is always a risk. The goal is for those risks to be as carefully calculated as possible, said Verney, the curator. Believed to have been commissioned by Bishop Odo, William the Conquerors half-brother, to decorate a new cathedral in Bayeux in 1077, the treasure is thought to have remained there, mostly stored in a wooden chest and almost unknown, for seven centuries, surviving the French Revolution, fires and other perils. Since then, only twice is the embroidery known to have been exhibited outside of the Normandy city: Napoleon Bonaparte had it shown off in Paris Louvre Museum from late 1803 to early 1804. During World War II, it was displayed again in the Louvre in late 1944, after Allied forces that had landed in Normandy on D-Day, June 6th, of that year had fought onward to Paris and liberated it. The work, seen by more than 15 million visitors in its Bayeux museum since 1983, has the unique characteristic of being both monumental and very fragile, Verney said. The textile fibers are 900 years old. So they have naturally degraded simply due to age. But at the same time, this is a work that has already traveled extensively and been handled a great deal. A renovated museum During the treasures stay in the U.K., its museum in Bayeux will be getting a major facelift costing tens of millions of euros (dollars). The doors will close to visitors from Sept. 1 this year, with reopening planned for October 2027, when the embroidery will be re-housed in a new building, encased on an inclined 70-meter long table that Verney said will totally transform the viewing experience. How, exactly, the treasure will be transported to the U.K. isnt yet clear. The studies required to allow its transfer to London and its exhibition at the British Museum are not finished, are under discussion, and are being carried out between the two governments, Verney said.But he expressed confidence that it will be in safe hands. How can one imagine, in my view, that the British Museum would risk damaging, through the exhibition, this work that is a major element of a shared heritage? he asked. I dont believe that the British could take risks that would endanger this major element of art history and of world heritage.___Leicester reported from Paris.

In this photo released by the Lebanese Presidency press office, Lebanese president Joseph Aoun, left, meets with Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa during the emergency Arab summit at Egypt's New Administrative Capital, just outside Cairo, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency press office via AP, File)2025-08-17T05:26:44Z BEIRUT (AP) A lot has happened in just a year on both sides of the Lebanon-Syria border. A lightning offensive by Islamist insurgents in Syria toppled longtime autocrat Bashar Assad and brought a new government in place in Damascus. In Lebanon, a bruising war with Israel dealt a serious blow to Hezbollah the Iran-backed and Assad-allied Shiite Lebanese militant group that had until recently been a powerful force in the Middle East and a U.S.-negotiated deal has brought a fragile ceasefire.Still, even after the fall of the 54-year Assad family rule, relations between Beirut and Damascus remain tense as they have been for decades past, with Syria long failing to treat its smaller neighbor as a sovereign nation.Recent skirmishes along the border have killed and wounded several people, both fighters and civilians, including a four-year-old Lebanese girl. Beirut and Damascus have somewhat coordinated on border security, but attempts to reset political relations have been slow. Despite visits to Syria by two heads of Lebanons government, no Syrian official has visited Lebanon. Here is whats behind the complicated relations. A coldness that goes way backMany Syrians have resented Hezbollah for wading into Syrias civil war in defense of Assads government. Assads fall sent them home, but many Lebanese now fear cross-border attacks by Syrias Islamic militants. There are new restrictions on Lebanese entering Syria, and Lebanon has maintained tough restrictions on Syrians entering Lebanon. The Lebanese also fear that Damascus could try to bring Lebanon under a new Syrian tutelage. Syrians have long seen Lebanon as a staging ground for anti-Syria activities, including hosting opposition figures before Hafez Assad Bashar Assads father ascended to power in a bloodless 1970 coup.In 1976, Assad senior sent his troops to Lebanon, allegedly to bring peace as Lebanon was hurtling into a civil war that lasted until 1990. Once that ended, Syrian forces much like a colonial power remained in Lebanon for another 15 years. A signature of the Assad family rule, Syrias dreaded security agents disappeared and tortured dissidents to keep the country under their control. They did the same in Lebanon.Syrians feel that Lebanon is the main gateway for conspiracies against them, says Lebanese political analyst Ali Hamadeh.Turbulent timesIt took until 2008 for the two countries to agree to open diplomatic missions, marking Syrias first official recognition of Lebanon as an independent state since it gained independence from France in 1943.The move came after the 2005 truck-bombing assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri that many blamed on Damascus. Two months later, Syria pulled its troops out of Lebanon under international pressure, ending 29 years of near-complete domination of its neighbor.When Syrias own civil war erupted in 2011, hundreds of thousands of Syrians fled across the border, making crisis-hit Lebanon the host of the highest per capita population of refugees in the world. Once in Lebanon, the refugees complained about discrimination, including curfews for Syrian citizens in some areas. Hezbollah, meanwhile, rushed thousands of its fighters into Syria in 2013 to shore up Assad, worried that its supply lines from Iran could dry up.And as much as the Lebanese are divided over their countrys internal politics, Syrias war divided them further into those supporting Assads government and those opposing it. Distrust and deadlockA key obstacle to warming relations has been the fate of about 2,000 Syrians in Lebanese prisons, including some 800 held over attacks and shootings, many without trial. Damascus is asking Beirut to hand them over to continue their prison terms in Syria, but Lebanese judicial officials say Beirut wont release any attackers and that each must be studied and resolved separately. In July, family members of the detainees rallied along a border crossing, demanding their relatives be freed. The protest came amid reports that Syrian troops could deploy foreign fighters in Lebanon, which Damascus officials denied.Another obstacle is Lebanons demand that Syrian refugees go back home now that Assad is gone. About 716,000 Syrian refugees are registered with the U.N. refugee agency, while hundreds of thousands more are unregistered in Lebanon, which has a population of about 5 million.Syria is also demanding the return of billions of dollars worth of deposits of Syrians trapped in Lebanese banks since Lebanons historic financial meltdown in 2019. The worst post-Assad border skirmishes came in mid-March, when Syrian authorities said Hezbollah members crossed the border and kidnapped and killed three Syrian soldiers. The Lebanese government and army said the clash was between smugglers and that Hezbollah wasnt involved.Days later, Lebanese and Syrian defense ministers flew to Saudi Arabia and signed an agreement on border demarcation and boosting their coordination. In July, rumors spread in Lebanon, claiming the northern city of Tripoli would be given to Syria in return for Syria giving up the Golan Heights to Israel. And though officials dismissed the rumors, they illustrate the level of distrust between the neighbors. Beirut was also angered by Syrias appointment this year of a Lebanese army officer Abdullah Shehadeh, who defected in 2014 from Lebanon to join Syrian insurgents as the head of security in Syrias central province of Homs that borders northeastern Lebanon.In Syria, few were aware of Shehadehs real name he was simply known by his nom de guerre, Abu Youssef the Lebanese. Syrian security officials confirmed the appointment. Whats aheadAnalysts say an important step would be for the two neighbors to work jointly to boost security against cross-border smuggling. A U.S.-backed plan that was recently adopted by the Lebanese government calls for moving toward full demarcation of the border.Radwan Ziadeh, a senior fellow at the Arab Center in Washington, says the best way forward would be for Syria and Lebanon to address each problem between them individually not as a package deal. That way, tensions would be reduced gradually, he said and downplayed recent comments by prominent Syrian anti-Assad figures who claimed Lebanon is part of Syria and should return to it.These are individual voices that do not represent the Syrian state, Zaideh said. ___Associated Press writer Ghaith Alsayed in Damascus, Syria, contributed to this report. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Burns are seen on the face of Artem aka "Lisnyk", a Ukrainian soldier of Da Vinci Wolves Battalion who was injured during fighting with Russian forces at the front line on Pokrovsk direction, Ukraine, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)2025-08-17T09:06:44Z In eastern Ukraine, quiet nights in the dim corridors of a front-line medical post can shatter in an instant. Medics roused from sleep rush to meet another stretcher wheeled in from the Donetsk front.They work with urgency chest compressions and shouted commands until it becomes clear that the soldier arrived too late. The room falls silent as his body is sealed in a white bag.He could not be saved, the anesthesiologist said, because evacuation took too long. By the time he reached the stabilization point, he was already dead.It was not an isolated case, but part of a broader shift in the war where medical evacuation has become increasingly difficult.Because of drones ... that can reach far, the danger is there for the wounded themselves and now for the crews working to get them out, said Daryna Boiko, the anesthesiologist from the Ulf medical service of the 108th Da Vinci Wolves Battalion. Thats why the main difficulty now is transport. In the early months of Russias full-scale invasion, evacuation vehicles could reach almost to the front line, giving the wounded a better chance of survival. Now, the heavy use of first-person-view (FPV) drones, which let an operator see the target before striking, has turned areas up to 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the front line into kill zones. Medics say they have not treated gunshot wounds for months, and most injuries now come from FPVs. The drones are the most feared weapon, both because of their precision and because they reduce survival chances for those already injured by complicating the evacuation.For Ukraines outnumbered army, that makes preserving crew even harder. Evacuations in the kill zoneThe growing use of FPVs has also made moving the wounded between points more difficult, said the commander of the 59th Brigade medical unit with call sign Buhor, who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons.Everything is getting harder the work has to be more mobile, the way we operate changes and the level of safety changes, he said.Asked whether those conditions have increased mortality among the wounded, he replied: Significantly. Theres nothing you can do. Everything burns from those FPVs everything, even tanks.He explained that the munitions carry a charge from a rocket-propelled grenade a shoulder-fired weapon that launches an explosive designed to pierce armored vehicles. When it blasts, a jet of molten metal and fragments penetrate the cabin at extreme temperatures. The impact can cause anything from minor cuts and burns to severe wounds, including amputations, depending on where the fragments hit and their size.Buhor said self-aid and self-evacuation are now heavily emphasized during training, but the existence of the kill zone means soldiers can be stuck in position for days or weeks especially if a wound is not immediately life-threatening. On foot to safetyWhen Artem Fursov arrived at the stabilization post late one night with three other soldiers, Buhor inspected his wounds and praised the bandage on his arm, asking who had done it. It was the work of a fellow soldier and an example of effective self-aid, Buhor said.Fursov, 38, was wounded on Aug. 4 by an explosive dropped from a drone, but he didnt reach a medical post until five days later. To get to safety, he had to walk several kilometers. A small wooden cross he wore under his clothes the whole time now hangs against his chest.You cant even lift your head there. This is already a robot war, he said about the front line. And the Russians are coming in like its their own backyard.Valentyn Pidvalnyi, a 25-year-old assault soldier wounded in the back by shrapnel, said that one month on the positions in 2022 was easier than trying to survive one day now as infantry.Its a very hard sector, he said, but if you dont destroy them, theyll take the tree line, then the town, then the whole region. Forced to keep movingBuhor has worked in the Pokrovsk area since late 2022. When troops are forced to retreat, stabilization points must also move. In the past two and a half years, Buhor and his team have relocated 17 times.They left their previous location to the sound of FPV drones.Other stabilization points are facing the same situation.Boiko from the Ulf medical service recalls that at the beginning of winter when the stabilization point was still in Pokrovsk there were still gunshot wounds. That meant there was more direct contact between the infantry, the first line of defense, on both sides.Months later, the situation had changed dramatically.They try to protect themselves as much as possible limiting movement, using camouflage, equipping all vehicles with electronic warfare systems. Their evacuation crews go out only in body armor and helmets.We try to safeguard both ourselves and the wounded, doing everything we can to hold our position as long as possible. If we have to move farther back, the evacuation route for the wounded becomes longer and for those in critical condition, that can be fatal, she said.___Associated Press reporters Vasilisa Stepanenko, Evgeniy Maloletka and Dmytro Zhyhinas in the Donetsk region and Volodymyr Yurchuk in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed to this report. HANNA ARHIROVA Arhirova is an Associated Press reporter covering Ukraine. She is based in Kyiv. twitter instagram mailto

Burns are seen on the face of Artem aka "Lisnyk", a Ukrainian soldier of Da Vinci Wolves Battalion who was injured during fighting with Russian forces at the front line on Pokrovsk direction, Ukraine, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)2025-08-17T09:38:16Z Hurricane Erin was downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane early Sunday as a tropical storm warning was issued for the Turks and Caicos Islands and winds and heavy rains whipped the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.Erin, the first Atlantic hurricane of 2025, reached Category 5 status before weakening, with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph (205 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. The storms center was about 155 miles (245 kilometers) north of San Juan, Puerto Rico and nearly 300 miles (500 kilometers) east of the Grand Turk Island, moving west-northwest at 14 mph (22 kph). A tropical storm warning means tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area, and in this case, within 24 hours, the NHC said. Heavy rain is still expected across the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, with rainfall of 3 to 6 inches (about 7.6 to 15 cms), with 8 inches (20 cms) in some isolated areas. Swells were also expected to affect portions of the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, and the Turks and Caicos Islands during the next couple of days, the NHC reported.The government of the Bahamas also issued a tropical storm watch for the Southeast Bahamas.Scientists have linked the rapid intensification of hurricanes in the Atlantic to climate change. Global warming is causing the atmosphere to hold more water vapor and is spiking ocean temperatures, and warmer waters give hurricanes fuel to unleash more rain and strengthen more quickly.

It was unclear how many people would join the planned day of action, which was expected to culminate with a large evening demonstration.

The fact that were talking like Donald Trump could mean that were starting to think like him as well.

The nations most trusted institution must not be reduced to a political tool.

Evacuees at a shelter in eastern Ukraine reacted angrily to talk that land that has long been theirs could be given to Russia in exchange for peace.

An economic crisis and political infighting among the countrys long-dominant socialist party could pave the way for the first right-wing president in decades.

2025-08-17T10:25:59Z KYIV (AP) European and NATO leaders will join Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for his crucial meeting with President Donald Trump, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday.The move in relation to the key White House meeting on Monday is an apparent effort to prevent a repeat of the heated encounter Zelenskyy faced when he met Trump in the Oval Office in February.The European leaders presence at Zelenskyys side, demonstrating Europes support for Ukraine, could potentially help ease concerns in Kyiv and in other European capitals that Zelenskyy risks being railroaded into a peace deal that Trump says he wants to broker with Russia.Von der Leyen, head of the European Unions executive branch, posted on X that at the request of President Zelenskyy, I will join the meeting with President Trump and other European leaders in the White House tomorrow. In a quick succession Sunday, a stream of European leaders also announced that theyll be going. They included French President Emmanuel Macron, the chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, and the secretary general of the NATO military alliance, Mark Rutte.The grouped trip underscored European leaders determination to ensure that Europe has a voice in Trumps attempted peace-making, after the U.S. presidents summit on Friday with Russian leader Vladimir Putin to which Zelenskyy wasnt invited.

Local residents remove mud to recover vehicles from debris after Friday's flash flooding, in Mingora, the main town of Swat Valley, in Pakistan's northwest, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Sherin Zada)2025-08-17T06:27:19Z BUNER, Pakistan (AP) Rescue workers in northwestern Pakistan expanded relief operations Sunday after flash floods killed more than 220 people in a single district, officials said.Buner, a mountainous district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, was struck by cloudbursts and torrential monsoon downpours on Friday, triggering flash floods and landslides.An emergency services spokesman in Buner, Mohammad Sohail, said more than half of the damaged roads in the district have been reopened, allowing vehicles and heavy machinery to reach isolated villages.Crews are clearing piles of rocks and mud dumped by the floods. They were using heavy machinery on Sunday to remove the rubble of collapsed homes after families reported that some of their relatives were missing.In one of the deadliest incidents, 24 people from one family died in the village of Qadar Nagar when floodwaters swept through their home on the eve of a wedding. The head of the family, Umar Khan, said he survived the floods because he was out of the house at the time. Four of his relatives have yet to be found, he added. Provincial chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur visited Buner on Saturday and announced that families of the dead will receive payments of 2 million rupees ($7,200) each. He said tents, food, and clean drinking water are being provided to prevent outbreaks of waterborne diseases. According to a government statement, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is monitoring the relief operations and has ordered faster distribution of aid, evacuation of stranded people, and intensified searches for the missing. Pakistans disaster management authority has warned of more deluges and possible landslides between Aug. 17 and 19, urging local administrations to remain on alert. Higher-than-normal monsoon rains have lashed the country since June 26 and killed more than 600.Pakistan is highly vulnerable to climate-induced disasters. In 2022, a record-breaking monsoon killed nearly 1,700 people and destroyed millions of homes. The country also suffers regular flash floods and landslides during the monsoon season, which runs from June to September, particularly in the rugged northwest, where villages are often perched on steep slopes and riverbanks. Experts say climate change is intensifying the frequency and severity of such extreme weather events in South Asia.In Indian-controlled Kashmir, torrential rains triggered flash floods in two villages in Kathua district that killed at least seven people and injured five overnight, officials said. Rescue and relief operations are underway.In Kishtwar district, teams are continuing their efforts in the remote village of Chositi, looking for dozens of missing people after the area was hit by flash floods three days earlier. At least 60 were killed and some 150 injured, about 50 in critical condition, in the disaster.Thursdays floods struck during an annual Hindu pilgrimage. Authorities rescued over 300 people, while some 4,000 pilgrims were evacuated to safety.

Pope Leo XIV is cheered by faithful as he arrives to celebrate a Mass at the Santa Maria della Rotonda Sanctuary in Albano Laziale, Sunday, Aug. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)2025-08-17T09:30:49Z CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (AP) Pope Leo XIV spent the last Sunday of his summer vacation with several dozen homeless and poor people and the church volunteers who help them, celebrating a special Mass for them and inviting them into the Vaticans lakeside estate for a lunch of lasagna and roast veal.Leo celebrated Mass in the St. Mary sanctuary of Albano, near the papal summer retreat in Castel Gandolfo where he is vacationing. The Mass was attended by around 110 people cared for by the local Caritas church charity, and the volunteers who run the dioceses shelters, clinics and social service offices.In his homily, Leo celebrated the fire of charity that had brought them together.And I encourage you not to distinguish between those who assist and those who are assisted, between those who seem to give and those who seem to receive, between those who appear poor and those who feel they have something to offer in terms of time, skills, and help, he said. In the church, he said, everyone is poor and precious, and all share the same dignity.Leo, the former Robert Prevost, spent most of his adult life working with the poor people of Peru, first as an Augustinian missionary and then as bishop. Former parishioners and church workers say he greatly reinforced the work of the local Caritas charity, opening soup kitchens and shelters for migrants and rallying funds to build oxygen plants during the COVID-19 pandemic. Later Sunday, Leo was to preside over a luncheon with the guests at the Borgo Laudato Si, the Vaticans environmental educational center in the gardens of the papal villa in Castel Gandolfo. The center is named for Pope Francis 2015 landmark environmental encyclical, Laudato Si (Praised Be). According to the Albano diocese, local caterers were providing a menu of lasagna, eggplant parmesan and roast veal. For dessert, the menu called for fruit salad and sweets named for the pope, Dolce Leone.___Rosa reported from Albano, Italy, and Winfield from Rome.___Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. NICOLE WINFIELD Winfield has been on the Vatican beat since 2001, covering the papacies of St. John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI and the Francis pontificate and traveling the world with them.

A fruit vendor waits for customers in La Paz, Bolivia, Aug. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Juan Karita, File)2025-08-17T04:05:57Z LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) Bolivians headed to the polls on Sunday to vote in presidential and congressional elections that could spell the end of the Andean nations long-dominant leftist party and see a right-wing government elected for the first time in over two decades.The election on Sunday is one of the most consequential for Bolivia in recent times and one of the most unpredictable.Even at this late stage, a remarkable 30% or so of voters remain undecided. Polls show the two leading right-wing candidates, multimillionaire business owner Samuel Doria Medina and former President Jorge Fernando Tuto Quiroga, locked in a virtual dead heat. Many undecided votersBut a right-wing victory isnt assured. Many longtime voters for the governing Movement Toward Socialism, or MAS, party, now shattered by infighting, live in rural areas and tend to be undercounted in polling.With the nations worst economic crisis in four decades leaving Bolivians waiting for hours in fuel lines, struggling to find subsidized bread and squeezed by double-digit inflation, the opposition candidates are billing the race as a chance to alter the countrys destiny.I have rarely, if ever, seen a situational tinderbox with as many sparks ready to ignite, Daniel Lansberg-Rodriguez, founding partner of Aurora Macro Strategies, a New York-based advisory firm, writes in a memo. Breaking the MAS partys monopoly on political power, he adds, pushes the country into uncharted political waters amid rising polarization, severe economic fragility and a widening ruralurban divide. Bolivia could follow rightward trendThe outcome will determine whether Bolivia a nation of about 12 million people with the largest lithium reserves on Earth and crucial deposits of rare earth minerals follows a growing trend in Latin America, where right-wing leaders like Argentinas libertarian Javier Milei, Ecuadors strongman Daniel Noboa and El Salvadors conservative populist Nayib Bukele have surged in popularity.A right-wing government in Bolivia could trigger a major geopolitical realignment for a country now allied with Venezuelas socialist-inspired government and world powers such as China, Russia and Iran. Conservative candidates vow to restore US relationsDoria Medina and Quiroga have praised the Trump administration and vowed to restore ties with the United States ruptured in 2008 when charismatic, long-serving former President Evo Morales expelled the American ambassador. The right-wing front-runners also have expressed interest in doing business with Israel, which has no diplomatic relations with Bolivia, and called for foreign private companies to invest in the country and develop its rich natural resources. After storming to office in 2006 at the start of the commodities boom, Morales, Bolivias first Indigenous president, nationalized the nations oil and gas industry, using the lush profits to reduce poverty, expand infrastructure and improve the lives of the rural poor. After three consecutive presidential terms, as well as a contentious bid for an unprecedented fourth in 2019 that set off popular unrest and led to his ouster, Morales has been barred from this race by Bolivias constitutional court. His ally-turned-rival, President Luis Arce, withdrew his candidacy for the MAS on account of his plummeting popularity and nominated his senior minister, Eduardo del Castillo.As the party splintered, Andrnico Rodrguez, the 36-year-old president of the senate who hails from the same union of coca farmers as Morales, launched his bid.Ex-president Morales urges supports to deface ballotsRather than back the candidate widely considered his heir, Morales, holed up in his tropical stronghold and evading an arrest warrant on charges related to his relationship with a 15-year-old girl, has urged his supporters to deface their ballots or leave them blank.Voting is mandatory in Bolivia, where some 7.9 million Bolivians are eligible to vote.Doria Medina and Quiroga, familiar faces in Bolivian politics who both served in past neoliberal governments and have run for president three times before, have struggled to stir up interest as voter angst runs high.Theres enthusiasm for change but no enthusiasm for the candidates, said Eddy Abasto, 44, a Tupperware vendor in Bolivias capital of La Paz torn between voting for Doria Medina and Quiroga. Its always the same, those in power live happily spending the countrys money, and we suffer. Conservative candidates say austerity neededDoria Medina and Quiroga have warned of the need for a painful fiscal adjustment, including the elimination of Bolivias generous food and fuel subsidies, to save the nation from insolvency. Some analysts caution this risks sparking social unrest.A victory for either right-wing candidate could have grave repercussions for Bolivias Indigenous and impoverished communities, said Kathryn Ledebur, director of the Andean Information Network, a Bolivian research group. Both candidates could bolster security forces and right-wing para-state groups, paving the way for violent crackdowns on protests expected to erupt over the foreign exploitation of lithium and drastic austerity measures. All 130 seats in Bolivias Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Parliament, are up for grabs, along with 36 in the Senate, the upper house.If, as is widely expected, no one receives more than 50% of the vote, or 40% of the vote with a lead of 10 percentage points, the top two candidates will compete in a runoff on Oct. 19 for the first time since Bolivias 1982 return to democracy. ISABEL DEBRE DeBre writes about Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay for The Associated Press, based in Buenos Aires. Before moving to South America in 2024, she covered the Middle East reporting from Jerusalem, Cairo and Dubai. twitter mailto

An empty Air Canada bag drop area is shown as Air Canada flight attendants strike at MontrealTrudeau International Airport in Montreal, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)2025-08-17T10:11:39Z TORONTO (AP) Air Canada said it plans to resume flights on Sunday after the Canadian government intervened and forced the airline and its striking flight attendants back to work and into arbitration. The strike stranded more than 100,000 travelers around the world during the peak summer travel season.The countrys largest airline said in a release that the first flights will resume Sunday evening but that it will take several days before its operations return to normal. It said some flights will be canceled over the next seven to 10 days until the schedule is stabilized. Less than 12 hours after workers walked off the job, Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu ordered the 10,000 flight attendants back to work, saying now is not the time to take risks with the economy and noting the unprecedented tariffs the U.S. has imposed on Canada. Hajdu referred the work stoppage to the Canada Industrial Relations Board. The airline said Sunday the Canada Industrial Relations Board has extended the term of the existing collective agreement until a new one is determined by the arbitrator.The shutdown of Canadas largest airline early Saturday was impacting about 130,000 people a day. Air Canada operates around 700 flights per day. According to numbers from aviation analytics provider Cirium, Air Canada had canceled a total of 671 flights by Saturday afternoon following 199 on Friday. And another 96 flights scheduled for Sunday were already suspended. The bitter contract fight escalated Friday as the union turned down Air Canadas prior request to enter into government-directed arbitration, which allows a third-party mediator to decide the terms of a new contract.Flight attendants walked off the job around 1 a.m. EDT on Saturday. Around the same time, Air Canada said it would begin locking flight attendants out of airports.Last year, the government forced the countrys two major railroads into arbitration with their labor union during a work stoppage. The union for the rail workers is suing, arguing the government is removing a unions leverage in negotiations. The Business Council of Canada had urged the government to impose binding arbitration in this case, too. And the Canadian Chamber of Commerce welcomed the intervention.Hajdu maintained that her Liberal government is not anti-union, saying it is clear the two sides are at an impasse.Passengers whose flights are impacted will be eligible to request a full refund on the airlines website or mobile app, according to Air Canada.The airline said it would also offer alternative travel options through other Canadian and foreign airlines when possible. Still, it warned that it could not guarantee immediate rebooking because flights on other airlines are already full due to the summer travel peak.Air Canada and the Canadian Union of Public Employees have been in contract talks for about eight months, but they have yet to reach a tentative deal.Both sides have said they remain far apart on the issue of pay and the unpaid work flight attendants do when planes arent in the air. The airlines latest offer included a 38% increase in total compensation, including benefits and pensions, over four years, that it said would have made our flight attendants the best compensated in Canada.But the union pushed back, saying the proposed 8% raise in the first year didnt go far enough because of inflation. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

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One of the U.S. Postal Service's new zero-emission electric Next Generation Delivery Vehicles (NGDV) is displayed in front of the organization's headquarters in Washington, on Aug. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Susan Haigh)2025-08-17T11:37:59Z WASHINGTON (AP) A year after being lauded for its plan to replace thousands of aging, gas-powered mail trucks with a mostly electric fleet, the U.S. Postal Service is facing congressional attempts to strip billions in federal EV funding.In June, the Senate parliamentarian blocked a Republican proposal in a major tax-and-spending bill to sell off the agencys new electric vehicles and infrastructure and revoke remaining federal money. But efforts to halt the fleets shift to clean energy continue in the name of cost savings.Donald Maston, president of the National Rural Letter Carriers Association, said canceling the program now would have the opposite effect, squandering millions of dollars.I think it would be shortsighted for Congress to now suddenly decide theyre going to try to go backwards and take the money away for the EVs or stop that process because thats just going to be a bunch of money on infrastructure thats been wasted, he said.Beyond that, many in the scientific community fear the government could pass on an opportunity to reduce carbon emissions that contribute to global warming when urgent action is needed. Electrified vehicles reduce emissionsA 2022 University of Michigan study found the new electric postal vehicles could cut total greenhouse gas emissions by up to 20 million tons over the predicted, cumulative 20-year lifetime of the trucks. Thats a fraction of the more than 6,000 million metric tons emitted annually in the United States, said professor Gregory A. Keoleian, co-director of the universitys Center for Sustainable Systems. But he said the push toward electric vehicles is critical and needs to accelerate, given the intensifying impacts of climate change. Were already falling short of goals for reducing emissions, Keoleian said. Weve been making progress, but the actions being taken or proposed will really reverse decarbonization progress that has been made to date.Many GOP lawmakers share President Donald Trumps criticism of the Biden-era green energy push and say the Postal Service should stick to delivering mail.Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said it didnt make sense for the Postal Service to invest so heavily in an all-electric force. She said she will pursue legislation to rescind what is left of the $3 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act allocated to help cover the $10 billion cost of new postal vehicles.Ernst has called the EV initiative a boondoggle and a textbook example of waste, citing delays, high costs and concerns over cold-weather performance. You always evaluate the programs, see if they are working. But the rate at which the company thats providing those vehicles is able to produce them, they are so far behind schedule, they will never be able to fulfill that contract, Ernst said during a recent appearance at the Iowa State Fair, referring to Wisconsin-based Oshkosh Defense.For now, she added, gas-powered vehicles use some ethanol in them I think is wonderful.Corn-based ethanol is a boon to Iowas farmers, but the effort to reverse course has other Republican support. Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, a co-sponsor of the rollback effort, has said the EV order should be canceled because the project has delivered nothing but delays, defective trucks, and skyrocketing costs.The Postal Service maintains that the production delay of the Next Generation Delivery Vehicles, or NGDVs, was very modest and not unexpected.The production quantity ramp-up was planned for and intended to be very gradual in the early months to allow time for potential modest production or supplier issues to be successfully resolved, spokesperson Kim Frum said. EVs help in modernization effort The independent, self-funded federal agency, which is paid for mostly by postage and product sales, is in the middle of a $40 billion, 10-year modernization and financial stabilization plan. The EV effort had the full backing of Democratic President Joe Biden, who pledged to move toward an all-electric federal fleet of car and trucks. The Deliver for America plan calls for modernizing the ground fleet, notably the Grumman Long Life Vehicle, which dates back to 1987 and is fuel-inefficient at 9 mpg. The vehicles are well past their projected 24-year lifespan and are prone to breakdowns and even fires. Our mechanics are miracle workers, said Mark Dimondstein, president of the American Postal Workers Union. The parts are not available. They fabricate them. They do the best they can.The Postal Service announced in 2022 it would deploy at least 66,000 electric vehicles by 2028, including commercial off-the-shelf models, after years of deliberation and criticism it was moving too slowly to reduce emissions. By 2024, the agency was awarded a Presidential Sustainability Award for its efforts to electrify the largest fleet in the federal government. Building new postal trucksIn 2021, Oshkosh Defense was awarded a contract for up to 165,000 battery electric and internal combustion engine Next Generation vehicles over 10 years. The first of the odd-looking trucks, with hoods resembling a ducks bill, began service in Georgia last year. Designed for greater package capacity, the trucks are equipped with airbags, blind-spot monitoring, collision sensors, 360-degree cameras and antilock brakes. Theres also a new creature comfort: air conditioning.Douglas Lape, special assistant to the president of the National Association of Letter Carriers and a former carrier, is among numerous postal employees who have had a say in the new design. He marvels at how Oshkosh designed and built a new vehicle, transforming an old North Carolina warehouse into a factory along the way.I was in that building when it was nothing but shelving, he said. And now, being a completely functioning plant where everything is built in-house they press the bodies in there, they do all of the assembly its really amazing in my opinion.Where things stand nowThe agency has so far ordered 51,500 NGDVs, including 35,000 battery-powered vehicles. To date, it has received 300 battery vehicles and 1,000 gas-powered ones.Former Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said in 2022 the agency expected to purchase chiefly zero-emissions delivery vehicles by 2026. It still needs some internal combustion engine vehicles that travel longer distances.Frum, the Postal Service spokesperson, said the planned NGDV purchases were carefully considered from a business perspective and are being deployed to routes and facilities where they will save money. The agency has also received more than 8,200 of 9,250 Ford E-Transit electric vehicles it has ordered, she said.Ernst said its fine for the Postal Service to use EVs already purchased. But you know what? We need to be smart about the way we are providing services through the federal government, she said. And that was not a smart move.Maxwell Woody, lead author of the University of Michigan study, made the opposite case. Postal vehicles, he said, have low average speeds and a high number of stops and starts that enable regenerative braking. Routes average under 30 miles and are known in advance, making planning easier.Its the perfect application for an electric vehicle, he said, and its a particularly inefficient application for an internal combustion engine vehicle.____Associated Press writer Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed to this report. SUSAN HAIGH Based in Connecticut, Haigh covers state government, politics, state and federal public policy matters and more for The Associated Press. She has worked for The AP since 2002. twitter mailto

Worshippers listen to Imam Ibrahima Diane, advocate for an end to gender-based violence and practices like female genital mutilation, deliver his sermon at the Great Mosque of Nietty Mbar in Thiaroye, a suburb of Dakar, Senegal, Friday, July 4, 2025.(AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui)2025-08-17T05:15:56Z DAKAR, Senegal (AP) On a recent evening in Senegal s capital of Dakar, an imam named Ibrahima Diane explained to a group of men why they should be more involved in household chores.The Prophet himself says a man who does not help support his wife and children is not a good Muslim, the 53-year-old said, as he described bathing his baby and helping his wife with other duties.Some of the 14 men chuckled, not quite sold. Others applauded.Diane was taking part in a school for husbands, a United Nations-backed initiative where respected male community members learn about positive masculinity in health and social issues and promote them in their communities.In Senegal, as in many other West African countries with large rural or conservative populations, men often have the final say in major household decisions, including ones related to health. Women may need their permission for life-changing decisions on accessing family planning or other reproductive health services, along with hospital deliveries or prenatal care. A woman prays in the designated womens section at the Great Mosque of Nietty Mbar in Thiaroye, a suburb of Dakar, Senegal, Friday, July 4, 2025.(AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui) A woman prays in the designated womens section at the Great Mosque of Nietty Mbar in Thiaroye, a suburb of Dakar, Senegal, Friday, July 4, 2025.(AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Following his sessions at the school for husbands, Diane regularly holds sermons during Friday prayers where he discusses issues around gender and reproductive health, from gender-based violence to fighting stigma around HIV.Many women appreciate my sermons, he said. They say their husbands behavior changed since they attended them. He said some men have told him the sermons inspired them to become more caring husbands and fathers. Habib Diallo, a 60-year-old former army commando, said attending the sermons and discussions with the imam taught him about the risks of home births.When my sons wife was pregnant, I encouraged him to take her to the hospital for the delivery, Diallo said. At first, he was hesitant. He worried about the cost and didnt trust the hospital. But when I explained how much safer it would be for both his wife and the baby, he agreed. No more barking ordersThe program launched in Senegal in 2011 but in recent years has caught the attention of the Ministry of Women, Family, Gender and Child Protection, which sees it an effective strategy to combat maternal and infant mortality.Without mens involvement, attitudes around maternal health wont change, said 54-year-old Aida Diouf, a female health worker who collaborates with the program. Many husbands prefer their wives not be treated by male health workers, she said. Worshippers listen to Imam Ibrahima Diane, advocate for an end to gender-based violence and practices like female genital mutilation, deliver his sermon at the Great Mosque of Nietty Mbar in Thiaroye, a suburb of Dakar, Senegal, Friday, July 4, 2025.(AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui) Worshippers listen to Imam Ibrahima Diane, advocate for an end to gender-based violence and practices like female genital mutilation, deliver his sermon at the Great Mosque of Nietty Mbar in Thiaroye, a suburb of Dakar, Senegal, Friday, July 4, 2025.(AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More The classes for husbands follow similar efforts in other African countries, particularly Niger, Togo, and Burkina Faso, where the United Nations Population Fund says it improved womens access to reproductive health services by increasing male involvement, growing the use of contraceptives by both men and women and expanding access to prenatal care and skilled birth attendants.Discussions for men also have focused on girls rights, equality and the harmful effects of female genital mutilation.The program now operates over 20 schools in Senegal, and over 300 men have been trained. In some communities, men who once enforced patriarchal norms now promote gender equality, which has led to a reduction in the number of forced marriages and more acceptance of family planning, according to Senegals ministry of gender. Imam Ibrahima Diane, left, advocate for an end to gender-based violence and practices like female genital mutilation, discusses with El Hadj Malick, coordinator of the cole des Maris program at the Great Mosque of Nietty Mbar in Thiaroye, a suburb of Dakar, Senegal, Friday, July 4, 2025.(AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui) Imam Ibrahima Diane, left, advocate for an end to gender-based violence and practices like female genital mutilation, discusses with El Hadj Malick, coordinator of the cole des Maris program at the Great Mosque of Nietty Mbar in Thiaroye, a suburb of Dakar, Senegal, Friday, July 4, 2025.(AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Men join the groups after being recruited based on trust, leadership and commitment. Candidates must be married, respected locally and supportive of womens health and rights.After training, the men act as peer educators, visiting homes and hosting informal talks.My husband used to not do much around the house, just bark orders. Now he actually cooks and helps out with daily tasks, said Khary Ndeye, 52. Still too many dying in childbirthWhile maternal and infant deaths in Senegal have declined over the past decade, experts say it still has a long way to go. It recorded 237 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births in 2023, while 21 newborns out of every 1,000 died within their first month. The U.N. globally wants to reduce maternal deaths to 70 deaths per 100,000 live births and newborn deaths to under 12 per 1,000 by 2030. One key problem was that many women have been giving birth at home, said El Hadj Malick, one of the Senegal programs coordinators. Merchants ride past the Great Mosque of Nietty Mbar in Thiaroye, a suburb of Dakar, Senegal, Friday, July 4, 2025.(AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui) Merchants ride past the Great Mosque of Nietty Mbar in Thiaroye, a suburb of Dakar, Senegal, Friday, July 4, 2025.(AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More By educating men about the importance of supporting their wives during pregnancy, taking them to the hospital and helping with domestic work at home, youre protecting peoples health, Malick said.He said he still experiences difficulty changing mindsets on some issues.When we just talk to them about gender, there is sometimes tension because its seen as something abstract or even foreign, Malick said. Some men mistakenly believe such talk will promote LGBTQ+ issues, which remain largely taboo in much of West Africa.But when we focus on womens right to be healthy, it puts a human face on the concept and its becomes universal, Malick said.___For more on Africa and development: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse___The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. MARK BANCHEREAU Banchereau covers 22 countries across West and Central Africa for The Associated Press. He is based in Dakar, Senegal. twitter mailto

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