Israel accepts a US proposal for a temporary Gaza ceasefire and Hamas gives a cool response

The White House says Israel has accepted a new U.S. proposal for a temporary ceasefire with Hamas. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday said special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump submitted a ceasefire proposal that Israel has "backed and supported." Hamas officials gave the Israeli-approved draft a cool response, but said they wanted to study the proposal more closely before giving a formal answer.

Federal judge extends order blocking Trump administration ban on foreign students at Harvard

BOSTON (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday extended an order blocking the Trump administration’s attempt to bar Harvard University from enrolling foreign students. U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs extended the block she imposed last week with a temporary restraining order on the government action. Harvard sued the Department of Homeland Security on Friday after Secretary Kristi Noem revoked its ability to host foreign students at its campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts.Harvard sued the Department of Homeland Security after Noem revoked its ability to host foreign students at its campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. On Wednesday, the Trump administration announced a new effort to revoke Harvard’s certification to enroll foreign students.

What happens to Trump’s tariffs now that a court has knocked them down?

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has audaciously claimed virtually unlimited power to bypass Congress and impose sweeping taxes on foreign products. Now a federal court has said: Not so fast. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled Wednesday that Trump overstepped his authority when he invoked the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act to declare a national emergency and plaster taxes – tariffs – on imports from almost every country in the world. The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Thursday allowed the president to temporarily continue collecting the tariffs under the emergency powers law while he appeals the trade court’s decision.

Trump's latest pardons benefit an array of political allies and public figures

WASHINGTON (AP) — The latest pardons by President Donald Trump are another example of him flexing his power to bestow clemency on political allies and prominent public officials, including those convicted of defrauding the public. The moves not only take aim at criminal cases once touted as just by the Justice Department but also come amid a continuing Trump administration erosion of public integrity guardrails, including the firing of the department’s pardon attorney and the near-dismantling of a prosecution unit established to hold public officials accountable for abusing the public trust.

Witnesses in Gaza describe more chaos at food distribution sites

NUSEIRAT, Gaza Strip (AP) — Chaos erupted again as tens of thousands of desperate Palestinians tried to collect food from distribution sites in the Gaza Strip run by a new U.S.- and Israeli-backed foundation. Multiple witnesses on Thursday reported a free-for-all of people grabbing aid, and they said Israeli troops opened fire to control crowds. In central Gaza, Associated Press video showed smoke bombs arching through the air around a distribution center, and gunfire was audible as an Israeli tank moved nearby. Witnesses said it was Israeli troops who fired the projectiles to clear large crowds of Palestinians after the center ran out of supplies. The Israeli military said Hamas was responsible for the crisis by stealing aid and refusing to release the remaining hostages in Gaza.

Google, Justice Department face off in climactic showdown in search monopoly case

Google will return to federal court Friday to fend off the U.S. Justice Department’s attempt to topple its internet empire at the same time it’s navigating a pivotal shift to artificial intelligence that could undercut its power. The legal and technological threats facing Google are among the key issues that will be dissected during the closing arguments of a legal proceeding that will determine the company's fate in the wake of its dominant search engine being declared an illegal monopoly.  The Justice Department is trying to persuade a federal judge to order a radical shakeup that would ban Google's lucrative deals with Apple and force the sale of its Chrome browser

Trump administration increases pressure on 'sanctuary jurisdictions' with public listing

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Homeland Security is putting hundreds of “sanctuary jurisdictions” across the country on notice. The department Thursday is publishing a list of the jurisdictions and said each one will receive formal notification that the government has deemed them noncompliant and if they’re believed to be in violation of any federal criminal statutes. There’s no specific definition of a “sanctuary jurisdiction” but the term is often used to refer to communities that don’t cooperate with immigration enforcement. Those communities often say it's because immigrants feel safer coming forward if they’re a witness to or victim of a crime and they need to focus their limited dollars on fighting crime.

Elon Musk came to Washington wielding a chain saw. He leaves behind upheaval and unmet expectations

WASHINGTON (AP) — Elon Musk arrived in the nation’s capital with the chain saw-wielding swagger of a tech titan who had never met a problem he couldn’t solve with lots of money, long hours or a well-calibrated algorithm. Now that’s over. Musk said this week that he’s leaving his job as a senior adviser, an announcement that came after he revealed his plan to curtail political donations and he criticized the centerpiece of Trump’s legislative agenda. It’s a quiet exit after a turbulent entrance, and he’s trailed by upheaval and unmet expectations.

Asian shares mostly decline as uncertainty grows about what's next with Trump's tariffs

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares are trading mostly lower, as uncertainty grew about what will happen next after a U.S. court blocked many of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 1.1% in Friday afternoon trading after government data showed Tokyo core inflation, excluding fresh food, rising to a higher-than-expected 3.6% in May. Some analysts say that makes it more likely the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates. Shares fell in Seoul, Hong Kong and Shanghai, while rising in Sydney. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 0.4%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.4%.

Faizan Zaki overcomes a shocking, self-inflicted flub and wins the Scripps National Spelling Bee

OXON HILL, Md. (AP) — Faizan Zaki has seized the title of best speller in the English language at the Scripps National Spelling Bee. The 13-year-old from Allen, Texas, was runner-up last year after he lost in a lightning-round tiebreaker. He ousted eight other accomplished spellers to win the title on Thursday night, including two that he let back into the competition after his own careless flub. Told to take a deep breath before his final word, “eclaircissement,” he didn’t ask a single question before spelling it correctly. He pumped his fists and collapsed to the stage after saying the final letter.