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AP Top News at 5:30 a.m. EDT

AP Top News at 5:30 a.m. EDT

Northern Gaza's main hospital is forced to close as Israel escalates offensive, officials say

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Health Ministry in Gaza says that the main hospital serving people in the territory’s north has been forced to close because of escalating Israeli strikes and what it said was a siege of the facility. The Indonesian Hospital was the last remaining functioning public hospital in the war-battered area. The Israeli military had no immediate comment on claims of fighting around the hospital. Northern Gaza’s previous main hospital, Kamal Adwan, was forced to stop serving Palestinians last year because of Israeli strikes, as was a second facility, Beit Hanoun Hospital. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE.

Russia launches biggest drone attack on Ukraine since start of war, killing at least 1

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia overnight launched its most intense drone attack on Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion in 2022. Russia fired a total of 273 exploding drones and decoys, Ukraine’s air force said Sunday. Of those, 88 were intercepted and a further 128 lost, likely having been electronically jammed. The attacks targeted the country's Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions. Yuriy Ihnat, Head of the Communications Department of the Ukrainian Air Force, told The Associated Press that the barrage was the biggest drone attack since the start of the full-scale invasion. Russia’s previous largest known single drone attack was on the eve of the war’s third anniversary, when Russia pounded Ukraine with 267 drones.

Pope Leo XIV vows to work for unity so Catholic Church becomes sign of peace in world

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV, history’s first American pope, is vowing to work for unity so that the Catholic Church becomes a sign of peace in the world. The 69-year-old Augustinian missionary is offering a message of communion during an inaugural Mass in St. Peter’s Square before tens of thousands of people, presidents, patriarchs and princes. In his homily, Leo said he wanted to be a servant to the faithful through the two dimensions of the papacy: love and unity. He said: “I would like that our first great desire be for a united church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world.” His call for unity was significant, given the polarization in the Catholic Church in the United States and beyond.

At least 18 killed as severe weather lashes Kentucky, and 9 more die elsewhere

LONDON, Ky. (AP) — Storms that swept across part of the Midwest and South killed least 27 people including 18 in Kentucky, where another 10 were hospitalized in critical condition, authorities said. A devastating tornado in Kentucky damaged homes, tossed vehicles and left many people homeless. Seventeen of the deaths were in Laurel County, located in the state's southeast, and one was in Pulaski County: Fire Department Maj. Roger Leslie Leatherman, a 39-year veteran who was fatally injured while responding to the deadly weather. Parts of two dozen state roads were closed, and some could take days to reopen, according to Gov.

The FBI is investigating the explosion at a California fertility clinic as an act of terrorism

The person believed responsible for an attack targeting a Southern California fertility clinic Saturday posted rambling online writings before an explosion that investigators are treating as an act of terrorism, according to a law enforcement official. The suspect, who died in the explosion that tore through the clinic and rattled the upscale California city of Palm Springs, also attempted to record video or stream the attack, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss details of the attack and spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press. “Make no mistake: This is an intentional act of terrorism,” Akil Davis, the head of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, told an evening news conference.

Mexican tall ship strikes Brooklyn Bridge, snapping masts and killing 2 crew members

NEW YORK (AP) — A Mexican navy sailing ship on a global goodwill tour struck the Brooklyn Bridge in New York on Saturday, snapping its three masts, killing two crew members and leaving some sailors dangling from harnesses high in the air waiting for help. New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the 142-year-old bridge was spared major damage but at least 19 people aboard the ship needed medical treatment. Two of the four people who suffered serious injuries later died, Adams announced on social media early Sunday. The cause of the collision was under investigation. In a scene captured in multiple eyewitness videos, the ship, called the Cuauhtemoc, could be seen traveling swiftly in reverse toward the bridge near the Brooklyn side of the East River.

Poles vote for a new president as security concerns loom large

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poles were voting Sunday in a presidential election at a time of heightened security concerns stemming from the ongoing war in neighboring Ukraine and growing worry that the U.S. commitment to Europe’s security could be weakening under President Donald Trump. The top two front-runners are Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, a liberal allied with Prime Minister Donald Tusk, and Karol Nawrocki, a conservative historian with no prior political experience who is supported by the national conservative Law and Justice party. Recent opinion polls show Trzaskowski with around 30% support and Nawrocki in the mid-20s. A second round between the two is widely expected to take place on June 1.

Congo's coltan miners dig for world's tech — and struggle regardless of who is in charge

RUBAYA, Congo (AP) — Nestled in the green hills of Masisi territory in Congo, the artisanal Rubaya mining site hums with the sound of generators, as hundreds of men labor by hand to extract coltan, a key mineral crucial for producing modern electronics and defense technology — and fiercely sought after worldwide. Rubaya lies in the heart of eastern Congo, a mineral-rich part of the Central African nation which for decades has been ripped apart by violence from government forces and different armed groups, including the Rwanda-backed M23, whose recent resurgence has escalated the conflict, worsening an already acute humanitarian crisis.

FDA approves Novavax COVID-19 shot but with unusual restrictions

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration has issued a long-awaited approval of Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine but with unusual restrictions. Novavax makes the nation’s only traditional protein-based coronavirus vaccine – and until now it had emergency authorization from FDA for use in anyone 12 and older. But late Friday, the FDA granted the company full approval for its vaccine for use only in adults 65 and older – or those 12 to 64 who have at least one health problem that puts them at increased risk from COVID-19. Vaccines made by Novavax’s competitors Pfizer and Moderna already are fully licensed for use in anyone 12 and older, and also are authorized for use in children as young as 6 months.

Wes Anderson talks 'The Phoenician Scheme,' Gene Hackman and his Cannes bus

CANNES, France (AP) — Wes Anderson isn’t driving the bus. Laurent is. That’s the name of the driver who’s bringing Anderson, and his bus, to the Cannes Film Festival. As they drive from his home in Paris to the South of France, Anderson explains by phone: “I don’t drive the bus. You have to have, like, four years of training and an EU bus driver’s license. The thing is, if you’re going to drive a bus like this, you’ve got to be able to drive it in reverse, too.” For years, Anderson has, in favor of the normal festival cars that shuttle guests, brought his own bus to Cannes so his whole cast can arrive together at the premiere.