Zelenskyy rejects formally ceding Ukrainian territory, says Kyiv must be part of any negotiations
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday rejected the idea that his country would give up land to end the war with Russia after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested a peace deal could include “some swapping of territories.”
Zelenskyy said Ukraine “will not give Russia any awards for what it has done” and that “Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier.”
Later Saturday, European and Ukrainian officials met with U.S. Vice President JD Vance in England to discuss how to end the more than three-year war. The talks came after Trump said he would meet with Vladimir Putin even if the Russian leader would not meet with Zelenskyy.
Representatives from the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Finland and Poland attended the meeting in Kent, Zelenskyy said in a post on X, calling the talks constructive.
“I have not heard any partners express doubts about America’s ability to ensure that the war ends,” Zelenskyy said. “The President of the United States has the levers and the determination.”
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Israel faces growing condemnation over military expansion in Gaza
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — International condemnation grew Saturday over Israel's decision for a military takeover of Gaza City, while tens of thousands of Israelis rallied in what local media called one of the largest anti-government protests in recent months following 22 months of war.
Ceasefire efforts appeared to be reviving with Israel’s announcement. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff was expected to meet with Qatar’s prime minister in Spain on Saturday to discuss a new proposal to end the war, according to two officials familiar with the talks, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak with the media.
Mediators Egypt and Qatar are preparing a new ceasefire framework that would include the release of all hostages — dead and alive — in one go in return for the war’s end and the withdrawal of Israeli forces, two Arab officials have told The Associated Press.
Health officials said that 20 Palestinians seeking aid were shot dead Saturday and 11 adults died of malnutrition-related causes in the past 24 hours, as the criticism of Israel came with pleas to allow far more food to reach people in the besieged enclave.
Hostages' families pressured Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government amid new fears for the 50 remaining hostages, with 20 of them thought to be alive and struggling.
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CDC shooter believed COVID vaccine made him suicidal, his father tells police
ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia man who opened fire on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters, shooting dozens of rounds into the sprawling complex and killing a police officer, had blamed the COVID-19 vaccine for making him depressed and suicidal, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Saturday.
The 30-year-old shooter 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 late Friday afternoon, the official said. He 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.
DeKalb County Police Officer David Rose was mortally wounded while responding.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., whose skepticism of vaccines has been a cornerstone of his career, voiced support for CDC employees Saturday. But some laid-off CDC employees said Kennedy shares responsibility for the violence and should resign.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation named Patrick Joseph White as the shooter, but authorities haven't said whether he was killed by police or killed himself.
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The nation's capital waits for Trump's next move as a federal takeover threat looms
WASHINGTON (AP) — Around 2 a.m., noisy revelers emerging from clubs and bars packed the sidewalks of U Street in Washington, many of them seeking a late-night slice or falafel. A robust but not unusual contingent of city police cruisers lingered around the edges of the crowds. At other late-night hot spots, nearly identical scenes unfolded.
What wasn't apparent in Friday's earliest hours: any sort of security lockdown by a multiagency flood of uniformed federal law enforcement officers. That's what President Donald Trump had promised Thursday, starting at midnight, in the administration's latest move to impose its will on the nation's capital.
In short, that law enforcement surge to take control of the District of Columbia's streets did not appear to unfold on schedule. A two-hour city tour, starting around 1 a.m. Friday, revealed no overt or visible law enforcement presence other than members of the Metropolitan Police Department, the city's police force.
That still might change in the coming evenings as Trump puts into action his long-standing plans to “take over” a capital city he has repeatedly slammed as unsafe, filthy and badly run. According to his Thursday declaration, the security lockdown will run for seven days, “with the option to extend as needed.” In an online post Saturday, the Republican president said the Democratic-led city would soon be one of the country's safest and he announced a White House news conference for Monday, though he offered no details.
On Friday night, a White House official said Thursday night's operations included arrests for possession of two stolen firearms, suspected fentanyl and marijuana. The official was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The official said more than 120 members of various federal agencies — the Secret Service, the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service — were to be on duty Friday night, upping the complement of federal officers involved.
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Some Democrats want new leadership. Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden says he has what it takes to resist Trump
WASCO, Ore. (AP) — Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden is in his fifth decade in Congress and showing no inclination to step aside even as pressure builds on aging Democratic officeholders to give way to a new generation.
He says he plans to seek another term in 2028, when he will be 79 years old. He has traveled to all 36 Oregon counties every year he has been in the Senate and intends to keep doing so.
After a recent town hall in Wasco in conservative Sherman County, Wyden said questions about age are “fair game for debate” but that he is still up to the job and the fight against Republican President Donald Trump's policies.
“I believe you ought to be held accountable,” he told The Associated Press in an interview. “But I think that the Founding Fathers wanted a results-oriented, commonsense approach to government, and that’s what I’m trying to do. And I’ve got the energy.”
Many Democrats have lingering anguish about Joe Biden’s decision to seek a second White House term despite persistent concerns about whether he was up to the job at age 81. He dropped out in July 2024 and Trump went on to defeat then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
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London police arrest 365 people as pro-Palestinian protesters defy new law
LONDON (AP) — British police said they arrested 365 people in central London on Saturday as supporters of a recently banned pro-Palestinian group intentionally flouted the law as part of their effort to force the government to reconsider the ban.
Parliament in early July passed a law banning Palestine Action and making it a crime to publicly support the organization. That came after activists broke into a Royal Air Force base and vandalized two tanker planes to protest against Britain’s support for Israel’s offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Backers of the group, who have held a series of protests around the U.K. over the past month, argue that the law illegally restricts freedom of expression.
More than 500 protesters filled the square outside the Houses of Parliament on Saturday, many daring police to arrest them by displaying signs reading “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.” That was enough for police to step in.
But as the demonstration began to wind down, police and protest organizers sparred over the number of arrests as the organizers sought to show that the law was unworkable.
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Justice Department targets New York attorney general, a Trump foe. Here's what to know
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — President Donald Trump’s Justice Department is zeroing in on New York Attorney General Letitia James with a subpoena for records related to the $454 million civil judgement she won against Trump for lying about his wealth, a person familiar with the matter has told The Associated Press.
The subpoena is part of an investigation into whether James violated Trump’s civil rights, another person said. The people could not publicly discuss details of the investigation and spoke Friday to the AP on the condition of anonymity.
Another subpoena seeks records related to James' lawsuit involving the National Rifle Association, a person familiar with the matter said. On top of that, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi recently named a special prosecutor to help conduct a mortgage fraud investigation into James.
James has sued Trump and his Republican administration dozens of times over his policies as president and over how he conducted his private business empire. Trump vowed on the campaign trail to seek retribution against his opponents, and the moves against James are among the most serious yet against Trump’s political foes by the Justice Department.
Here’s what to know about James and the escalating investigations:
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Astronauts return to Earth with SpaceX after 5 months at the International Space Station
Four astronauts returned to Earth on Saturday after hustling to the International Space Station five months ago to relieve the stuck test pilots of Boeing’s Starliner.
Their SpaceX capsule parachuted into the Pacific off the Southern California coast a day after departing the orbiting lab.
“Welcome home,” SpaceX Mission Control radioed.
Splashing down were NASA’s Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan’s Takuya Onishi and Russia’s Kirill Peskov. They launched in March as replacements for the two NASA astronauts assigned to Starliner’s botched demo.
Starliner malfunctions kept Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams at the space station for more than nine months instead of a week. NASA ordered Boeing’s new crew capsule to return empty and switched the pair to SpaceX. They left soon after McClain and her crew arrived to take their places. Wilmore has since retired from NASA.
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A top Federal Reserve official says dour jobs data backs the case for 3 rate cuts
NEW YORK (AP) — A top official at the Federal Reserve said Saturday that this month's stunning, weaker-than-expected report on the U.S. job market is strengthening her belief that interest rates should be lower.
Michelle Bowman was one of two Fed officials who voted a week and a half ago in favor of cutting interest rates. Such a move could help boost the economy by making it cheaper for people to borrow money to buy a house or a car, but it could also threaten to push inflation higher.
Bowman and a fellow dissenter lost out after nine other Fed officials voted to keep interest rates steady, as the Fed has been doing all year. The Fed's chair, Jerome Powell, has been adamant that he wants to wait for more data about how President Donald Trump's tariffs are affecting inflation before the Fed makes its next move.
At a speech during a bankers' conference in Colorado on Saturday, Bowman said that “the latest labor market data reinforce my view” that the Fed should cut interest rates three times this year. The Fed has only three meetings left on the schedule in 2025.
The jobs report that arrived last week, only a couple of days after the Fed voted on interest rates, showed that employers hired far fewer workers last month than economists expected. It also said that hiring in prior months was much lower than initially thought.
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Jen Pawol breaks MLB's gender barrier as the first female umpire to work a regular-season game
ATLANTA (AP) — Jen Pawol felt love and support from fans, family, peers and players as she made history as the first female umpire to work a regular-season game in the major leagues.
“It was amazing when we took the field,” Pawol said. “It seemed like quite a few people were clapping and calling my name. That was pretty intense and emotional.”
Pawol's much-anticipated debut came as the first base umpire for Saturday's first game of a split doubleheader between the Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins. It was a smooth debut.
“She did a good job,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “You can tell she knows what she does.”
Pawol said she had a group of about 30 friends and family members, including her father, at the game and she immediately identified a major difference of working in a major league stadium. Those familiar faces were not so easy to find at Truist Park.
The Associated Press
