The U.S. military is sending an aircraft carrier to the waters off South America, in the latest escalation and buildup of military forces in the region, the Pentagon announced Friday.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford and its strike group to deploy to U.S. Southern Command to bolster U.S. capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States," Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a social media post.

The USS Ford is currently deployed to the Mediterranean Sea along with three destroyers. It would likely take several days for the ships to make the journey to South America.

Deploying an aircraft carrier is a major escalation of military power in a region that has already seen an unusually large U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean Sea and the waters off Venezuela.

Hours before Parnell announced the news, Hegseth said the military had conducted the 10th strike on a suspected drug-running boat, leaving six people dead and bringing the death count for the strikes that began in early September to at least 43 people.

The Pentagon told reporters it had nothing further to add beyond the statement.

Hegseth said the vessel struck overnight was operated by the Tren de Aragua gang. It was the second time the Trump administration has tied one of its operations to the gang that originated in a Venezuelan prison.

RELATED STORY | US carries out 10th strike on boat suspected of carrying drugs in the Caribbean

The pace of the strikes has quickened in recent days from one every few weeks when they first began to three this week, killing a total of at least 43 people since September. Two of the most recent strikes were carried out in the eastern Pacific Ocean, expanding the area where the military has launched attacks and shifting to where much of the cocaine from the worlds largest producers is smuggled.

In a 20-second black and white video of the strike posted to social media, a small boat can be seen apparently sitting motionless on the water when a long thin projectile descends, triggering an explosion. The video ends before the blast dies down enough for the remains of the boat to be seen again.

Hegseth said the strike happened in international waters and boasted that it was the first one conducted at night.

If you are a narco-terrorist smuggling drugs in our hemisphere, we will treat you like we treat Al-Qaeda, Hegseth said in the post. Day or NIGHT, we will map your networks, track your people, hunt you down, and kill you.

US focus on Venezuela and Tren de Aragua

The strike drew parallels to the first announced by the U.S. last month by focusing on Tren de Aragua, which the Trump administration has designated a foreign terrorist organization and blamed for being at the root of the violence and drug dealing that plague some cities.

While not mentioning the origin of the latest boat, the Republican administration says at least four of the boats it has hit have come from Venezuela.

The attacks and an unusually large U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean Sea and the waters off Venezuela have raised speculation that the administration could try to topple Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro, who faces charges of narcoterrorism in the U.S.

In the latest move, the U.S. military flew a pair of supersonic heavy bombers up to the coast of Venezuela on Thursday.

The Trump administration maintains that its combating drug trafficking into the United States, but Maduro argues that the operations are the latest effort to force him out of office.

Maduro on Thursday praised security forces and a civilian militia for defense exercises along some 2,000 kilometers (about 1,200 miles) of coastline to prepare for the possibility of a U.S. attack.

In the span of six hours, 100% of all the countrys coastline was covered in real time, with all the equipment and heavy weapons to defend all of Venezuelas coasts if necessary, Maduro said during a government event shown on state television.

The U.S. militarys presence is less about drugs than sending a message to countries in the region to align with U.S. interests, according to Elizabeth Dickinson, the International Crisis Groups senior analyst for the Andes region.

An expression that Im hearing a lot is Drugs are the excuse. And everyone knows that, Dickinson said. And I think that message is very clear in regional capitals. So the messaging here is that the U.S. is intent on pursuing specific objectives. And it will use military force against leaders and countries that dont fall in line.

Comparing the drug crackdown to the war on terror

Hegseths remarks around the strikes have recently begun to draw a direct comparison between the war on terrorism that the U.S. declared after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the Trump administrations crackdown on drug traffickers.

President Donald Trump this month declared drug cartels to be unlawful combatants and said the U.S. was in an armed conflict with them, relying on the same legal authority used by the Bush administration after 9/11.

When reporters asked Trump on Thursday whether he would request Congress issue a declaration of war against the cartels, he said that wasnt the plan.

I think were just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country, OK? Were going to kill them, you know? Theyre going to be like, dead, Trump said during a roundtable at the White House with homeland security officials.

Lawmakers from both major political parties have expressed concerns about Trump ordering the military actions without receiving authorization from Congress or providing many details. Democrats have insisted the strikes violate international law.

Ive never seen anything quite like this before, said Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., who previously worked in the Pentagon and the State Department, including as an adviser in Afghanistan.

We have no idea how far this is going, how this could potentially bring in, you know, is it going to be boots on the ground? Is it going to be escalatory in a way where we could see us get bogged down for a long time? he said.

But Republican Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida, who has long been involved in foreign affairs in the hemisphere, said of Trumps approach: Its about time.

While Trump is a president who obviously hates war, he also is not afraid to use the U.S. military in targeted operations, Diaz-Balart said.

I would not want to be in the shoes of any of these narco-cartels, he added.

Target said Thursday that it is eliminating about 1,800 corporate positions in an effort to streamline decision-making and accelerate initiatives to rebuild the flagging discount retailers customer base.

About 1,000 employees are expected to receive layoff notices next week, and the company also plans to eliminate about 800 vacant jobs, a company spokesperson said. The cuts represent about 8% of Target's corporate workforce globally, although the majority of the affected employees work at the company's Minneapolis headquarters, the spokesperson said.

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Chief Operating Officer Michael Fiddelke, who is set to become Target's next CEO on Feb. 1, issued a note to personnel on Thursday announcing the downsizing. He said further details would come on Tuesday, and he asked employees at the Minneapolis offices to work from home next week.

The truth is, the complexity weve created over time has been holding us back, Fiddelke, a 20-year Target veteran, wrote in his note. Too many layers and overlapping work have slowed decisions, making it harder to bring ideas to life.

Target, which has about 1,980 U.S. stores, lost ground to Walmart and Amazon in recent years as inflation caused shoppers to curtail their discretionary spending. Customers have complained of messy stores with merchandise that did not reflect the expensive-looking but budget-priced niche that long ago earned the retailer the jokingly posh nickname Tarzhay.

Fiddelke said in August when he was announced as Target's next CEO that he would step into the role with three urgent priorities: reclaiming the companys position as a leader in selecting and displaying merchandise; improving the customer experience by making sure shelves are consistently stocked and stores are clean; and investing in technology.

He cited the same goals in his message to employees, calling the layoffs a "necessary step in building the future of Target and enabling the progress and growth we all want to see."

"Adjusting our structure is one part of the work ahead of us. It will also require new behaviors and sharper priorities that strengthen our retail leadership in style and design and enable faster execution," he wrote.

Target has reported flat or declining comparable sales those from established physical stores and online channels in nine out of the past 11 quarters. The company reported in August that comparable sales dipped 1.9% in its second quarter, when its net income also dropped 21%.

The job cuts will not affect any store employees or workers in Target's sorting, distribution and other supply chain facilities, the company spokesperson said.

The corporate workers losing their jobs will receive pay and benefits until Jan. 8 as well as severance packages, the spokesperson said.

Alaska Airlines said its operations have resumed Friday after it had to ground its planes for hours because of an information technology outage.

The airline said in a statement that 229 flights were canceled because of the outage and that more flight disruptions were expected as it worked to reposition aircraft and crews.

Alaska Airlines said it is working on getting travelers affected by the disruption to their destinations.

It asked that passengers check their flight status before heading to the airport.

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The grounding Thursday affected Alaska Air and Horizon Air flights.

Hawaiian Airlines, which was bought by Alaska Air Group last year, said its flights were operating as scheduled.

In July, Alaska grounded all of its flights for about three hours after the failure of a critical piece of hardware at a data center.

There has been a history of computer problems disrupting flights in the industry, though most of the time the disruptions are only temporary.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams endorsed Andrew Cuomo in the citys mayoral election Thursday, throwing his weight behind a bitter rival as he cast the Democratic nominee, Zohran Mamdani, as an avatar for radicals and gentrifiers.

Am I angry Im not the one taking down Zohran, the socialist and communist? Youre darn right I am, Adams said, as he stood alongside a smiling Cuomo in Harlem. We're fighting against a snake-oil salesman."

Adams had deemed Cuomo a snake and a liar before dropping his election campaign last month. Brothers fight, Adams said on Thursday. But when families are attacked, brothers come together.

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The endorsement comes as Cuomo has lobbed increasingly caustic attacks on Mamdani, equating his criticism of Israel with antisemitism and warning of a city beset by crime, hatred and disorder if his opponent wins.

Adams, in his endorsement, went a step further.

New York cant be Europe, folks, Adams said. I dont know what is wrong with people. You see whats playing out in other countries because of Islamic extremism, he continued, citing examples of recent terror attacks in Europe and Africa.

The mayor did not elaborate on what those Islamic terror attacks had to do with Mamdani, who would be the city's first Muslim mayor.

Cuomo then thanked Adams for his comments, describing him as a real Democrat and a real New Yorker.

Its not immediately clear if Adams endorsement would help Cuomo in the citys November election. Adams has seen his political capital crumble under the weight of a federal corruption case that was ultimately dismissed following an extraordinary intervention from the Trump administration.

Cuomo's own political image was tarnished following a sexual harassment scandal, which forced him to resign as governor in 2021. He has denied the allegations.

Cuomo, a centrist, has cast himself as the only candidate who can beat Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist and state assemblymember who shocked the political establishment by soundly defeating the former governor in the June primary.

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In a statement Thursday, Mamdani said Andrew Cuomo is running for Eric Adams second term.

Its no surprise to see two men who share an affinity for corruption and Trump capitulation align themselves at the behest of the billionaire class and the president himself, Mamdani said.

Cuomos path to victory rests on his ability to win over moderates and Republicans, but in recent days he has admitted that it is becoming harder mathematically for him as long as Republican Curtis Sliwa remains in the race.

Sliwa, the colorful founder of the Guardian Angels crime patrol group, has steadfastly refused calls to drop out from both Cuomo and his supporters.

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The endorsement would mark a reconciliation between the two longtime New York politicians, each of whom had escalated attacks against the other before Adams ended his campaign.

Shortly before dropping out, Adams accused Cuomo making a career of pushing Black candidates out of races, referring to the former governors past state races.

Cuomo, meanwhile, has described Adams management of the city as a never-ending series of government corruption.

On Wednesday night, immediately after the final mayoral debate, the former governor and mayor were photographed sitting courtside at Madison Square Garden, fueling speculation of an incoming endorsement.

Misty Copeland took one last spin on her pointe shoes Wednesday, showered with golden glitter and bouquets as she retired from American Ballet Theatre after a trailblazing career in which she became an ambassador for diversity in an overwhelmingly white art form.

Copeland, who a decade ago became the first Black female principal dancer in the companys 75-year history, was feted at its star-studded fall gala at Manhattan's Lincoln Center. Oprah Winfrey and Debbie Allen were among those who gave speeches of praise.

Winfrey spoke of the power of young people of color seeing Copeland lead iconic ballets like Swan Lake.

Misty didnt just perform ballet," Winfrey said of the ballerina who has achieved a unique crossover fame. "She changed it. She redefined who belongs, who gets to be seen, and who gets to lead.

In a way, the gala was both a return and a departure for Copeland, 43. She was dancing with the company for the first time in five years. During that time, Copeland has been raising a son, Jackson, with her husband. The 3-year-old came onstage to hug his mother during curtain calls, wearing a tuxedo.

Copeland has also been continuing her career as an author the second volume of her Bunheads series appeared in September and working to increase diversity in the dance world with her namesake foundation, including Be Bold, an afterschool program designed for young children of color.

But she decided to dust off the pointe shoes so she could have one last spin on the ABT stage including as Juliet, one of the most passionate roles in ballet and her personal favorite. Copeland's Romeo in the balcony pas de deux was Calvin Royal III, who in 2020 became ABT's first Black male principal dancer in two decades.

The duo later reappeared for another duet, this time a modern one, in Wrecka Stow, by Kyle Abraham. For Copeland's final performance of the night, she performed Twyla Tharp's Sinatra Suite with another of her favorite partners, Herman Cornejo.

The night, which also celebrated ABT's 85th anniversary and was curated in large part by Copeland herself, included speeches and film clips about her career. And her fellow dancers performed excerpts of ballets in her honor. At the end, a beaming Copeland was given a quintessential ballet farewell, as colleagues, teachers, friends and family came out to greet her, one by one, with hugs and bouquets while glittery confetti poured from the rafters.

On to the next stage

Though Copeland has not closed the door on dancing altogether, its clear an era is ending.

Its been 25 years at ABT, and I think its time, she told The Associated Press in an interview in June, when she announced her retirement. Its time for me to move to the next stage.

She added: You know, Ive become the person that I am today, and have all the opportunities I have today, because of ballet, (and) because of American Ballet Theatre. I feel like this is me saying thank you to the company. So its a farewell. (But) it wont be the end of me dancing. Never say never.

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On the carpet Wednesday before her performance, she said: I feel good. I feel ready to take this next step." She noted that she would be continuing her work promoting diversity: "Theres so much work and effort that has to be continuous.

Allen told reporters that Copeland had "helped to redefine the face of ballet. Shes inspired millions of people around the world and hopefully, American Ballet Theatre will not wait another 50 years before they have another beautiful Black principal dancer.

The evening at Lincoln Centers David H. Koch Theater was streamed live to nearby Alice Tully Hall across the plaza, with attendance free to the public another sign of Copeland's unique brand of fame in the dance world.

Copeland was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and raised in San Pedro, California, where she lived in near poverty and through periods of homelessness as her single mother struggled to support her and five siblings.

For a future professional dancer, she came to ballet relatively late at 13 but soon excelled and went on to study at the San Francisco Ballet School and ABT on scholarship opportunities. After a stint in the junior company, Copeland joined ABT as a member of the corps de ballet in April 2001, becoming a soloist six years later.

In June 2015, Copeland was promoted to principal dancer. Unlike other promotions, which are announced quietly, Copeland's was announced at a news conference a testament to her celebrity. Only days before, shed made a triumphant New York debut in Swan Lake in the starring role of Odette/Odile, drawing a diverse and enthusiastic crowd to the Metropolitan Opera House.

Trying times for DEI efforts

In the AP interview, Copeland acknowledged that its striking that when she leaves ABT, there will no longer be a Black female principal dancer at the company.

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Its definitely concerning, Copeland said. I think Ive just gotten to a place in my career where theres only so much I can do on a stage. Theres only so much that visual representation can do. I feel like its the perfect timing for me to be stepping into a new role, and hopefully still shaping and shifting the ballet world and culture.

She also noted this is an especially trying moment for anyone working in the area of diversity, equity and inclusion.

Its a difficult time, she said. And I think all we can really do is keep our heads down and keep doing the work. Theres no way to stop the people that feel passionate about this work. We will continue doing it.

A federal grand jury indicted a man on a charge he fatally stabbed a Ukrainian refugee on a Charlotte, North Carolina, commuter train

Wednesday's indictment on a charge of causing death on a mass transportation system keeps a possible death sentence on the table for Decarlos Brown Jr. if prosecutors decide to seek it.

Brown allegedly stabbed 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska in an apparently random attack captured on video. Brown is also charged with the killing in state court, but federal prosecutors stepped in after growing questions about why Brown was on the street despite 14 prior criminal arrests.

President Trump's administration has used the case to show how it thinks local leaders, judges and policies in Democratic-led cities like Charlotte are failing to protect their residents from violent crime.

Video from the commuter train showed Zarutska entering a light-rail train on Aug. 22 and taking a seat in front of Brown, who was seated behind her. Minutes later, without any apparent interaction, he pulled out a pocket knife, stood up and slashed her in the neck, investigators said. Passengers screamed and scattered as she collapsed.

RELATED STORY | Man accused of killing Ukrainian refugee on Charlotte light rail could face death penalty

Zarutska had been living in a bomb shelter in Ukraine before coming to to the U.S. to escape the war, according to relatives, who described her as determined to build a safer life.

The indictment indicates the charge against Brown is eligible for the federal death penalty.

Brown had cycled through the criminal justice system for more than a decade including serving five years for robbery with a dangerous weapon in Mecklenburg County, according to court records. He was arrested earlier this year after repeatedly calling 911 from a hospital, claiming people were trying to control him. A judge released him without bail. His mother told local television she sought an involuntary psychiatric commitment this year after he became violent at home. Doctors diagnosed him with schizophrenia.

The federal case will run parallel with the state case charging Brown with first-degree murder.

The death penalty is also a potential punishment for people convicted of first-degree murder in North Carolina. However, the state has not carried out an execution since 2006. Legal challenges over the use of lethal injection drugs have in part delayed action.

North Carolina's legislature passed a package of criminal justice bills last month in response to the killing that limits bail and seeks to ensure more defendants undergo mental health evaluations.

It also could restart the state death penalty by calling for the state Adult Correction Department secretary to find another form of execution if lethal injection is not available.

The NCAA approved a rule change on Wednesday that will allow athletes and athletic department staff members to bet on professional sports.

Two weeks after the Division I cabinet approved the change, Division II and III management councils signed off on it, allowing the new rule to go into effect Nov. 1.

This doesnt change the NCAA rule forbidding athletes from betting on college sports. The NCAA also prohibits sharing information about college competitions with bettors. The institution also doesnt accept advertising or sponsorships of NCAA championships by betting sites.

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Despite the change, the NCAA emphasized that it doesnt endorse betting on sports, particularly for student-athletes.

NCAA President Charlie Baker anticipated the rule change would be passed when he talked with the media on Monday at a Big East Conference roundtable on the future of college basketball.

This change recognizes the realities of todays sports environment without compromising our commitment to protecting the integrity of college competition or the well-being of student-athletes," said Roberta Page, athletic director at Slippery Rock and chair of the Division II Management Council.

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The change comes as NCAA enforcement caseloads involving sports betting violations have increased in recent years. Last month, the NCAA banned three mens college basketball players for sports betting, saying they had bet on their own games at Fresno State and San Jose State and were able to share thousands of dollars in payouts.

We run the largest integrity program in the world on sports betting across all the various games, Baker said Monday. Sadly, we discovered some student-athletes involved with some problematic activity.

Several conservative news outlets said Wednesday they had agreed to a new press policy rejected by virtually all legacy media organizations and will take their place in the Pentagon to cover Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the U.S. military.

The new Pentagon press corps will include the Gateway Pundit, the National Pulse, Human Events, podcaster Tim Pool, the Just the News website founded by journalist John Solomon, Frontlines by Turning Point USA and LindellTV, run by "MyPillow" CEO Mike Lindell.

The Pentagon's announcement came less than a week after dozens of reporters from outlets like The New York Times, The Associated Press, CNN and the Washington Post turned in their access badges rather than agree to a policy the journalists say will restrict them to covering news approved by Hegseth.

Hegseth's spokesman, Sean Parnell, announced the "next generation" of the Pentagon press corps with more than 60 journalists who had agreed to the new policy. He said 26 journalists who had previously been part of the press corps were among the signees. The department wouldn't say who any of them were, but several outlets reposted his message on X saying they had signed on.

There isn't even unanimity among organizations that appeal to conservative consumers. Fox News Channel, by far the most popular news source for fans of President Donald Trump, was among the walkouts, as was Newsmax.

RELATED STORY | Major news outlets refuse to sign Pentagons new press rules

Accusations of 'self-righteous media'

In a post on X, Parnell denounced the "self-righteous media who chose to self-deport from the Pentagon."

"Americans have largely abandoned digesting their news through the lens of activists who masquerade as journalists in the mainstream media," Parnell wrote. "We look forward to beginning a fresh relationship with members of the new Pentagon press corps."

The journalists who left the Pentagon haven't stopped working covering the U.S. military. Many have been reporting aggressively, for example, on stories about strikes against boats in central America alleged to be part of the drug trade.

By not being in the Pentagon, "reporters will have to work harder, there's no question about it," said Barbara Starr, a longtime Pentagon reporter retired from CNN.

"But the real price is paid by the American people and the American military families," Starr said. "Military families who have their sons and daughters serving, they want to know everything and they want to know it fast."

Starr wondered about Hegseth: "What is he so afraid of?" New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd wrote a biting piece about the defense secretary over the weekend titled "Fraidy-Cat at the Pentagon." But Hegseth's boss, President Trump, has expressed support for the new media policy and Hegseth's aggressive moves mirror some of those made by the administration. The president has sued outlets like The New York Times and Wall Street Journal for their coverage of him.

New outlets must add staff

Some of the outlets that accepted Hegseth's rules will have to staff up for their new roles: Just the News, for example, posted an ad online seeking a Pentagon reporter.

The Gateway Pundit's White House correspondent, Jordan Conradson, posted on Wednesday that he was excited to join the Pentagon press corps "and help restore honest journalism after agreeing to follow basic rules ... something the legacy media refuses to do!"

Lindell, whose My Pillow ads once blanketed Fox News before he joined the political media, posted a statement that LindellTV was "proud to be part of a new generation of news organizations reshaping how real information reaches the public."

Some of the publications pronounce themselves conservative in their mission statements. The "about" page on the National Pulse features a picture of Trump.

In the midst of a federal government shutdown, the U.S. governments gross national debt surpassed $38 trillion Wednesday, a record number that highlights the accelerating accumulation of debt on Americas balance sheet.

It's also the fastest accumulation of a trillion dollars in debt outside of the COVID-19 pandemic the U.S. hit $37 trillion in gross national debt in August this year.

The $38 trillion update is found in the latest Treasury Department report, which logs the nations daily finances.

Kent Smetters of the University of Pennsylvanias Penn Wharton Budget Model, who served in President George W. Bushs Treasury Department, told The Associated Press that a growing debt load over time leads ultimately to higher inflation, eroding Americans' purchasing power.

The Government Accountability Office outlines some of the impacts of rising government debt on Americans including higher borrowing costs for things like mortgages and cars, lower wages from businesses having less money available to invest, and more expensive goods and services.

I think a lot of people want to know that their kids and grandkids are going to be in good, decent shape in the future that they will be able to afford a house, Smetters said. That additional inflation compounds" and erodes consumers' purchasing power, he said, making it less possible for future generations to achieve home ownership goals.

RELATED STORY | Moody's strips U.S. government of top credit rating, citing Washington's failure to rein in debt

The Trump administration says its policies are helping to slow government spending and will shrink the nations massive deficit. A new analysis by Treasury Department officials states that from April to September, the cumulative deficit totaled $468 billion. In a post on X Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that's the lowest reading since 2019.

During his first eight months in office, President Trump has reduced the deficit by $350 billion compared to the same period in 2024 by cutting spending and boosting revenue," White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement, adding that the administration would pursue robust economic growth, lower inflation, tariff revenue, lower borrowing costs and cuts to waste, fraud and abuse.

The Joint Economic Committee estimates that the total national debt has grown by $69,713.82 per second for the past year.

Michael Peterson, chair and CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, said in a statement that reaching $38 trillion in debt during a government shutdown is the latest troubling sign that lawmakers are not meeting their basic fiscal duties."

Along with increasing debt, you get higher interest costs, which are now the fastest growing part of the budget," Peterson added. We spent $4 trillion on interest over the last decade, but will spend $14 trillion in the next ten years. Interest costs crowd out important public and private investments in our future, harming the economy for every American.

The U.S. hit $34 trillion in debt in January 2024, $35 trillion in July 2024 and $36 trillion in November 2024.

Social media platform Reddit sued the artificial intelligence company Perplexity AI and three other entities on Wednesday, alleging their involvement in an industrial-scale, unlawful economy to scrape the comments of millions of Reddit users for commercial gain.

Reddit's lawsuit in a New York federal court takes aim at San Francisco-based Perplexity, maker of an AI chatbot and answer engine that competes with Google, ChatGPT and others in online search.

Also named in the lawsuit are Lithuanian data-scraping company Oxylabs UAB, a web domain called AWMProxy that Reddit describes as a former Russian botnet, and Texas-based startup SerpApi, which lists Perplexity as a customer on its website.

It's the second such lawsuit from Reddit since it sued another major AI company, Anthropic, in June.

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But the lawsuit filed Wednesday is different in the way that it confronts not just an AI company but the lesser-known services the AI industry relies on to acquire online writings needed to train AI chatbots.

Scrapers bypass technological protections to steal data, then sell it to clients hungry for training material. Reddit is a prime target because its one of the largest and most dynamic collections of human conversation ever created, said Ben Lee, Reddits chief legal officer, in a statement Wednesday.

The lawsuit accuses the companies of unfair competition and unjust enrichment and alleges that some of them violated U.S. copyright laws.

Perplexity said it has not yet received the lawsuit but will always fight vigorously for users rights to freely and fairly access public knowledge. Our approach remains principled and responsible as we provide factual answers with accurate AI, and we will not tolerate threats against openness and the public interest.

SerpApi's customer success director, Ryan Schafer, said in an email: We strongly disagree with Reddits allegations and intend to vigorously defend ourselves in court.

Oxylabs said in a statement it was shocked and disappointed and will not hesitate to defend itself against these allegations.

Oxylabs position is that no company should claim ownership of public data that does not belong to them, said a statement from Denas Grybauskas, the company's chief governance and strategy officer. It is possible that it is just an attempt to sell the same public data at an inflated price.

AWMProxy could not immediately be reached for comment.

Scraping for publicly available online data is a common practice used by businesses and researchers but Reddit compares the companies it is suing to would-be bank robbers who can't get into the bank vault, so they break into the armored truck instead. The lawsuit alleges they are evading Reddits own anti-scraping measures while also circumventing Googles controls and scraping Reddit content directly from Googles search engine results."

Lee said that because they're unable to scrape Reddit directly, they mask their identities, hide their locations, and disguise their web scrapers to steal Reddit content from Google Search. Perplexity is a willing customer of at least one of these scrapers, choosing to buy stolen data rather than enter into a lawful agreement with Reddit itself.

Reddit made a similar argument in its lawsuit against Anthropic, alleging that the company ignored Reddit's appeals to cease using its content. That case was initially filed in California Superior Court but was later moved to federal court and has a hearing scheduled for January.

Along with digitized books and news articles, websites such as Wikipedia and Reddit are deep troves of written materials that can help teach an AI assistant the patterns of human language.

Reddit has previously entered licensing agreements with Google, OpenAI and other companies that are paying to be able to train their AI systems on the public commentary of Reddits more than 100 million daily users.

The licensing deals helped the 20-year-old online platform raise money ahead of its Wall Street debut as a publicly traded company last year.

The Supreme Court said on Monday that it will consider whether people who regularly smoke marijuana can legally own guns, the latest firearm case to come before the court since its 2022 decision expanding gun rights.

President Donald Trumps administration asked the justices to revive a case against a Texas man charged with a felony because he allegedly had a gun in his home and acknowledged being a regular pot user. The Justice Department appealed after a lower court largely struck down a law that bars people who use any illegal drugs from having guns.

The Republican administration favors Second Amendment rights, but government attorneys argued that this ban is a justifiable restriction.

They asked the court to reinstate a case against Ali Danial Hemani. His lawyers got the felony charge tossed out after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the blanket ban is unconstitutional under the Supreme Courts expanded view of gun rights. The appellate judges found it could still be used against people accused of being high and armed at the same time, though.

Hemani's attorneys argue the broadly written law puts millions of people at risk of technical violations since at least 20% of Americans have tried pot, according to government health data. About half of states legalized recreational marijuana, but it's still illegal under federal law.

The Justice Department argues the law is valid when used against regular drug users because they pose a serious public safety risk. The government said the FBI found Hemani's gun and cocaine in a search of his home as they probed travel and communications allegedly linked to Iran. The gun charge was the only one filed, however, and his lawyers said the other allegations were irrelevant and were mentioned only to make him seem more dangerous.

The case marks another flashpoint in the application of the Supreme Court's new test for firearm restrictions. The conservative majority found in 2022 that the Second Amendment generally gives people the right to carry guns in public for self-defense and any firearm restrictions must have a strong grounding in the nations history.

The landmark 2022 ruling led to a cascade of challenges to firearm laws around the country, though the justices have since upheld a different federal law intended to protect victims of domestic violence by barring guns from people under restraining orders.

Amazon said its cloud computing service was recovering from a major outage that disrupted online activity around the world on Monday.

Amazon Web Services provides remote computing services to many governments, universities and companies, including The Associated Press.

On DownDetector, a website that tracks online outages, users reported issues with Snapchat, Roblox, Fortnite, online broker Robinhood, the McDonalds app and many other services. Coinbase and Signal both said on X that they were experiencing issues related to the AWS outage.

The first signs of trouble emerged at around 3:11 a.m. Eastern Time, when Amazon Web Services reported on its Health Dashboard that it is investigating increased error rates and latencies for multiple AWS services in the US-EAST-1 Region.

Later the company reported that there were significant error rates and that engineers were actively working on the problem.

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Around 6 a.m. Eastern Time, the company said that it was seeing recovery across most of the affected services. We can confirm global services and features that rely on US-EAST-1 have also recovered, it said, adding that it is working on a full resolution.

AWS customers include some of the worlds biggest businesses and organizations.

So much of the world now relies on these three or four big (cloud) compute companies who provide the underlying infrastructure that when theres an issue like this, it can be really impactful across a broad range, a broad spectrum of online services, said Patrick Burgess, a cybersecurity expert at U.K.-based BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT.

The fragile ceasefire in Gaza faced its first major test Sunday as an Israeli security official said the transfer of aid into the territory was halted until further notice after a Hamas ceasefire violation, and Israeli forces launched a wave of strikes.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity pending a formal announcement on the halt in aid, a little over a week since the start of the U.S.-proposed ceasefire aimed at ending two years of war.

Israels military earlier Sunday said its troops came under fire from Hamas militants in southern Gaza, and later said two soldiers were killed there.

Israels military said then it struck dozens of what it called Hamas targets. Health officials said at least 29 Palestinians were killed across Gaza, including children.

RELATED STORY | Israel identifies the remains of one more hostage while 9 Palestinians are killed in Gaza City

A senior Egyptian official involved in the ceasefire negotiations said round-the-clock contacts were underway to deescalate the situation. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasnt authorized to speak to reporters.

There was no immediate U.S. comment.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directed the military to take strong action against any ceasefire violations but didn't threaten to return to war.

Israel's military said militants had fired at troops in areas of Rafah city that are Israeli-controlled according to agreed-upon ceasefire lines.

Hamas, which continued to accuse Israel of multiple ceasefire violations, said communication with its remaining units in Rafah had been cut off for months and we are not responsible for any incidents occurring in those areas.

Strikes in Gaza

Palestinians quickly feared the return of war.

It will be a nightmare, said Mahmoud Hashim, a father of five from Gaza City, who appealed to U.S. President Donald Trump and other mediators to prevent the ceasefire's collapse.

An Israeli airstrike on a makeshift coffeehouse in Zawaida town in central Gaza killed at least six Palestinians, according to Gazas Health Ministry, part of the Hamas-run government.

Another strike killed at least two people near the Al-Ahly soccer club in the Nuseirat refugee camp, the ministry said. The strike hit a tent and wounded eight others, said Al-Awda Hospital, which received the casualties.

The hospital said it also received the bodies of four people killed in a strike on a school sheltering displaced families in Nuseirat. Six others were killed in a tent in Nuseirat, one killed at a charging point west of Nuseirat and four killed at a house in Bureij camp.

Another strike hit a tent in the Muwasi area of Khan Younis in the south, killing at least four people, including a woman and two children, according to Nasser Hospital.

A strike in Beit Lahiya in the north killed two men, according to Shifa hospital.

More bodies of hostages identified

Israel identified the remains of two hostages released by Hamas overnight.

Netanyahu's office said the bodies belonged to Ronen Engel, a father from Kibbutz Nir Oz, and Sonthaya Oakkharasri, a Thai agricultural worker from Kibbutz Be'eri.

Both were believed to have been killed during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which sparked the war. Engel's wife, Karina, and two of his three children were kidnapped and released in a ceasefire in November 2023.

Hamas in the past week has handed over the remains of 12 hostages.

Hamas' armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, said that it found the body of a hostage and would return it on Sunday if circumstances in the field allowed. It warned that any escalation by Israel would hamper search efforts.

RELATED STORY | Palestinians, Israel disagree on whether Gaza's crucial Rafah crossing will reopen Monday

Israel on Saturday pressed Hamas to fulfill its ceasefire role of returning the remains of all 28 deceased hostages, saying the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt would stay closed until further notice."

Hamas says the war's devastation and Israeli military control of certain areas of Gaza have slowed the handover. Israel believes Hamas has access to more bodies than it has returned.

Israel has released 150 bodies of Palestinians back to Gaza, including 15 on Sunday, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Israel has neither identified the bodies nor said how they died. The ministry posts photos of bodies on its website to help families attempting to locate loved ones. Some are decomposed and blackened. Some are missing limbs and teeth.

Only 25 bodies have been identified, the Health Ministry said.

Israel and Hamas earlier exchanged 20 living hostages for more than 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

Ceasefire's second phase

A Hamas delegation led by chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya arrived in Cairo to follow up the implementation of the ceasefire deal with mediators and other Palestinian groups, Hamas said in a statement.

The next stages are expected to focus on disarming Hamas, Israeli withdrawal from additional areas it controls in Gaza, and future governance of the devastated territory.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Kassem said late Saturday that the second phase of negotiations requires national consensus. He said Hamas has begun discussions to solidify its positions.

The U.S. plan proposes the establishment of an internationally backed authority to run Gaza.

Kassem reiterated that Hamas wont be part of the ruling authority in a postwar Gaza. He called for the prompt establishment of a body of Palestinian technocrats to run day-to-day affairs.

For now, government agencies in Gaza continue to perform their duties, as the (power) vacuum is very dangerous, he said.

Rafah border crossing

The Rafah crossing was the only one not controlled by Israel before the war. It has been closed since May 2024, when Israel took control of the Gaza side.

A fully reopened crossing would make it easier for Palestinians to seek medical treatment, travel or visit family in Egypt, home to tens of thousands of Palestinians.

On Sunday, the Palestinian Authoritys Interior Ministry in Ramallah announced procedures for Palestinians wishing to leave or enter Gaza through the Rafah crossing. For those who want to leave, Palestinian Embassy staff from Cairo will be at the crossing to issue temporary travel documents for entry into Egypt. Palestinians who wish to enter Gaza will need to apply at the embassy.

The Israel-Hamas war has killed more than 68,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesnt distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count. The ministry maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. Israel has disputed them without providing its own toll.

Thousands more people are missing, according to the Red Cross.

Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 people in the attack that sparked the war.

Large crowds of protesters marched and rallied in cities across the U.S. Saturday for No Kings demonstrations decrying what participants see as the government's swift drift into authoritarianism under President Donald Trump.

People carrying signs with slogans such as Nothing is more patriotic than protesting or Resist Fascism" packed into New York Citys Times Square and rallied by the thousands in parks in Boston, Atlanta and Chicago. Demonstrators marched through Washington and downtown Los Angeles and picketed outside capitols in several Republican-led states, a courthouse in Billings, Montana, and at hundreds of smaller public spaces.

Trump's Republican Party disparaged the demonstrations as Hate America rallies, but in many places the events looked more like a street party. There were marching bands, huge banners with the U.S. Constitutions We The People preamble that people could sign, and demonstrators wearing inflatable costumes, particularly frogs, which have emerged as a sign of resistance in Portland, Oregon.

It was the third mass mobilization since Trump's return to the White House and came against the backdrop of a government shutdown that not only has closed federal programs and services but is testing the core balance of power, as an aggressive executive confronts Congress and the courts in ways that protest organizers warn are a slide toward authoritarianism.

In Washington, Iraq War Marine veteran Shawn Howard said he had never participated in a protest before but was motivated to show up because of what he sees as the Trump administrations disregard for the law. He said immigration detentions without due process and deployments of troops in U.S. cities are un-American and alarming signs of eroding democracy.

I fought for freedom and against this kind of extremism abroad, said Howard, who added that he also worked at the CIA for 20 years on counter-extremism operations. And now I see a moment in America where we have extremists everywhere who are, in my opinion, pushing us to some kind of civil conflict.

Trump, meanwhile, was spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.

They say theyre referring to me as a king. Im not a king, the president said in a Fox News interview that aired early Friday, before he departed for a $1 million-per-plate MAGA Inc. fundraiser at his club.

A Trump campaign social media account mocked the protests by posting a computer-generated video of the president clothed like a monarch, wearing a crown and waving from a balcony.

Nationwide demonstrations

In San Francisco hundreds of people spelled out No King! and other phrases with their bodies on Ocean Beach. Hayley Wingard, who was dressed as the Statue of Liberty, said she too had never been to a protest before. Only recently she began to view Trump as a dictator.

I was actually OK with everything until I found that the military invasion in Los Angeles and Chicago and Portland Portland bothered me the most, because I'm from Portland, and I don't want the military in my cities. That's scary, Wingard said.

Tens of thousands of people gathered in Portland for a peaceful demonstration downtown. Later in the day, tensions grew as a few hundred protesters and counterprotesters showed up at a U.S. Immigration and Customs enforcement building, with federal agents at times firing tear gas to disperse the crowd and city police threatening to make arrests if demonstrators blocked streets.

The building has been the site of mostly small nightly protests since June the reason the Trump administration has cited for trying to deploy National Guard troops in Portland, which a federal judge has at least temporarily blocked.

About 3,500 people gathered in Salt Lake City outside the Utah State Capitol to share messages of hope and healing after a protester was fatally shot during the citys first No Kings march in June.

And more than 1,500 people gathered in Birmingham, Alabama, evoking and the citys history of protests and the critical role it played in the Civil Rights Movement two generations ago.

It just feels like were living in an America that I dont recognize, said Jessica Yother, a mother of four. She and other protesters said they felt camaraderie by gathering in a state where Trump won nearly 65% of the vote last November.

It was so encouraging, Yother said. I walked in and thought, Here are my people.

Organizers hope to build opposition movement

Big rallies like this give confidence to people who have been sitting on the sidelines but are ready to speak up, Democratic U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy said in an interview with The Associated Press.

While protests earlier this year against Elon Musk's cuts and Trumps military parade drew crowds, organizers say this one is uniting the opposition. Top Democrats such as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders are joining what organizers view as an antidote to Trump's actions, from the administration's clampdown on free speech to its military-style immigration raids.

More than 2,600 rallies were planned Saturday, organizers said. The national march against Trump and Musk this spring had 1,300 registered locations, while the first No Kings day in June registered 2,100.

Were here because we love America, Sanders said, addressing the crowd from a stage in Washington. He said the American experiment is in danger under Trump but insisted, We the people will rule.

Republican critics denounce the demonstrations

Republicans sought to portray protesters as far outside the mainstream and a prime reason for the government shutdown, now in its 18th day.

From the White House to Capitol Hill, GOP leaders called them communists and Marxists. They said Democratic leaders including Schumer are beholden to the far-left flank and willing to keep the government shut to appease those liberal forces.

I encourage you to watch we call it the Hate America rally that will happen Saturday, said House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana.

Lets see who shows up for that," Johnson said, listing groups including antifa types, people who hate capitalism and Marxists in full display.

Many demonstrators, in response, said they were meeting such hyperbole with humor, noting that Trump often leans heavily on theatrics such as claiming that cities he sends troops to are war zones.

So much of what weve seen from this administration has been so unserious and silly that we have to respond with the same energy, said Glen Kalbaugh, a Washington protester who wore a wizard hat and held a sign with a frog on it.

New York police reported no arrests during the protests.

Democrats try to regain their footing amid shutdown

Democrats have refused to vote on legislation that would reopen the government as they demand funding for health care. Republicans say they are willing to discuss the issue later, only after the government reopens.

The situation is a potential turnaround from just six months ago, when Democrats and their allies were divided and despondent. Schumer in particular was berated by his party for allowing an earlier government funding bill to sail through the Senate without using it to challenge Trump.

What we are seeing from the Democrats is some spine, said Ezra Levin, a co-founder of Indivisible, a key organizing group. The worst thing the Democrats could do right now is surrender.

In a brazen, seven-minute strike, thieves used a basket lift to reach the Louvre on Sunday morning and, as tourists were already inside, forced a window, smashed display cases and fled with jewels of inestimable value, France's interior minister said.

The worlds most visited museum closed for the day as police sealed gates and ushered visitors out during the investigation.

A robbery took place this morning at the opening of the Louvre Museum, Culture Minister Rachida Dati wrote on X. The museum cited exceptional reasons for the closure. No injuries were reported.

Around 9:30 a.m. several intruders forced open a window, stole jewels from vitrines and escaped on two-wheelers, according to the Interior Ministry. It said forensic work is underway and a precise inventory of the stolen objects is being compiled, adding that the items have inestimable historical value. Dati and Nuez were on site with museum leadership.

Video from the scene showed confused tourists being ushered out of the glass pyramid and surrounding courtyards as officers shut the iron gates and closed nearby streets along the Seine.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuez called it a major robbery, saying the intruders entered from the outside using a basket lift. He said on France Inter radio that the heist took seven minutes and the thieves used a disc cutter to slice through the panes. He said it was manifestly a team that had done scouting.

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The heist occurred in the Galerie dApollon, a vaulted hall in the Denon wing that displays part of the French Crown Jewels beneath a ceiling painted by King Louis XIVs court artist, according to the ministry.

French daily Le Parisien reported the thieves entered via the Seine-facing facade, where construction is underway, and used a freight elevator to reach the gallery. After breaking windows, they reportedly took nine pieces from the jewelry collection of Napoleon and the Empress. One stolen jewel was later found outside the museum, the paper reported, adding that the item was believed to be Empress Eugnies crown and that it had been broken.

Security and staffing at the Louvre in the spotlight

Security around marquee works remains tight. The Mona Lisa is protected by bulletproof glass and a custom high-tech display system as part of broader anti-theft measures across the museum.

Staffing and protection have been flashpoints at the Louvre. The museum delayed opening during a June staff walkout over overcrowding and chronic understaffing. Unions have warned that mass tourism strains security and visitor management.

It wasnt immediately clear whether staffing levels played any role in Sundays theft.

In January, President Emmanuel Macron announced a decadelong Louvre New Renaissance plan roughly 700 million to modernize infrastructure, ease crowding and give the Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece its own dedicated gallery by 2031 but workers say relief has been slow to reach the floor.

Other European museums have been robbed

The theft, less than half an hour after doors opened, echoes other recent European museum raids.

In 2019, thieves smashed vitrines in Dresdens Green Vault and carried off diamond-studded royal jewels worth hundreds of millions of euros. In 2017, burglars at Berlins Bode Museum stole a 100-kilogram (220-pound) solid-gold coin. In 2010, a lone intruder slipped into Pariss Museum of Modern Art and escaped with five paintings, including a Picasso.

The Louvre has a long history of thefts and attempted robberies. The most famous came in 1911, when the Mona Lisa vanished from its frame, stolen by Vincenzo Peruggia, a former worker who hid inside the museum and walked out with the painting under his coat. It was recovered two years later in Florence an episode that helped make Leonardo da Vincis portrait the worlds best-known artwork.

Home to more than 33,000 works spanning antiquities, sculpture and painting from Mesopotamia, Egypt and the classical world to European masters the Louvres star attractions include the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory of Samothrace. The museum can draw up to 30,000 visitors a day.

Israel's military said it struck multiple targets on Sunday in Gaza, using aircraft and artillery, after it said Hamas militants shot at Israeli soldiers who were inside the area still under Israeli control, the first major test of the ceasefire reached over a week ago.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held consultations with Israels security heads and directed the military to take strong action against any ceasefire violations, but did not threaten to return to war.

Hamas said that it was not connected to any clashes in Rafah in Southern Gaza.

The strikes came as Israel identified the remains of two hostages released by Hamas overnight, and the Palestinian group said talks to launch the second phase of ceasefire negotiations have begun.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the bodies belonged to Ronen Engel, a father of three from Kibbutz Nir Oz, and Sonthaya Oakkharasri, a Thai agricultural worker killed at Kibbutz Be'eri.

Both were believed to have been killed during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and their bodies were taken to Gaza. Engel's wife, Karina, and two of his three children were kidnapped and released in a ceasefire in November 2023.

RELATED STORY | Israel identifies the remains of one more hostage while 9 Palestinians are killed in Gaza City

Meanwhile, Israel threatened to keep the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt closed until further notice. The statement by Netanyahus office said reopening Rafah would depend on how Hamas fulfills its ceasefire role of returning the remains of all 28 deceased hostages.

In the past week, Hamas has handed over the remains of 13 bodies, 12 of which have been identified as hostages. Israel said one of the bodies released did not belong to a hostage.

Israel has released 150 bodies of Palestinians back to Gaza, including 15 on Sunday, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, part of the Hamas-run government. Israel has neither identified the bodies nor said how they died. The ministry has posted photos of dozens of bodies on its website to help families and relatives attempting to locate their loved ones, but the bodies were decomposed, blackened and some were missing limbs and teeth. Only 25 bodies have been identified, the Health Ministry said.

After Israel and Hamas exchanged 20 living hostages for more than 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, the handover of the remains of deceased hostages and prisoners remains a major issue in the first stage of the ceasefire proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. A major scale-up of aid, including the opening of the Rafah border crossing, for humanitarian aid and people entering or leaving Gaza, is the other central issue.

The next stages of the ceasefire will focus on disarming Hamas, Israeli withdrawal from additional areas it controls in Gaza, and future governance of the devastated territory.

Second phase

The Israeli military said on Sunday that militants shot at troops in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, in the Israeli-controlled areas, according to the agreed-upon ceasefire lines. No injuries were reported. A senior Hamas official denied that Hamas was involved. Hamas and Israel have each accused each other of violating the fragile ceasefire.

Meanwhile, Hamas says that talks with mediators to start the second phase of the ceasefire have begun.

Hazem Kassem, a Hamas spokesman, said in a statement late Saturday that the second phase of negotiations requires national consensus. He also said Hamas has begun discussions to "solidify its positions," without providing further details.

According to Trump's plan, the negotiations will include disarming Hamas and the establishment of an internationally backed authority to run the embattled Gaza Strip.

Kassem reiterated that the group wont be part of the ruling authority in a postwar Gaza. Hamas-run government bodies in the Gaza Strip are running day-to-day affairs to avoid a power void, he said.

Government agencies in Gaza continue to perform their duties, as the vacuum is very dangerous, and this will continue until an administrative committee is formed and agreed upon by all Palestinian factions, he said.

Kassem called for a Community Support Committee, a body of Palestinian technocrats, to run the day-to-day affairs, to be established promptly.

Rafah border crossing

Israel didn't open the Rafah border crossing on Sunday, in an attempt to pressure Hamas to return more hostages' bodies. Hamas says it needs special equipment to locate the bodies of additional hostages, but Israel believes Hamas has access to more bodies than it has returned.

The Rafah crossing was the only one not controlled by Israel before the war. It has been closed since May 2024, when Israel took control of the Gaza side. A fully reopened crossing would make it easier for Palestinians to seek medical treatment, travel or visit family in Egypt, home to tens of thousands of Palestinians.

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On Sunday, the Palestinian Authoritys Interior Ministry in Ramallah announced procedures for Palestinians wishing to leave or enter Gaza through the Rafah crossing. For those who want to leave Gaza, Palestinian Embassy staff from Cairo will be at the crossing to issue temporary travel documents that allow entry into Egypt. Palestinians who wish to enter the Gaza Strip will need to apply at the embassy in Cairo for relevant entry documents.

The Israel-Hamas war has killed more than 68,000 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government in the territory. Its figures are seen as a reliable estimate of wartime deaths by U.N. agencies and many independent experts. Israel has disputed them without providing its own toll.

Thousands more people are missing, according to the Red Cross.

Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 people in the attack that sparked the war.

Hamas rejects US claim

The group rejected on Sunday a claim by the U.S. State Department that said it had credible reports of an imminent planned attack by Hamas against residents of Gaza.

This planned attack against Palestinian civilians would constitute a direct and grave violation of the ceasefire agreement and undermine the significant progress achieved through mediation efforts, the U.S. State Department said in a statement Saturday.

Hamas called the claim false allegations, and accused Israel of supporting armed groups operating in Israeli-controlled areas. Hamas urged the U.S. administration to pressure Israel to stop supporting the gangs and providing them a safe haven.

Hamas-led fighters clashed with at least two armed groups in eastern Gaza City that the group alleges are involved in looting aid and collaborating with Israel. They executed a handful of suspects in public, in widely condemned street killings.

The Interior Ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, says its forces were working to restore law and order across areas Israels military withdrew from following the ceasefire.

The two survivors of an American military strike on a suspected drug-carrying vessel in the Caribbean will be sent to Ecuador and Colombia, their home countries, President Donald Trump said Saturday.

The military rescued the pair after striking a submersible vessel Thursday, in what was at least the sixth such attack since early September.

It was my great honor to destroy a very large DRUG-CARRYING SUBMARINE that was navigating towards the United States on a well known narcotrafficking transit route, Trump said in a social media post. U.S. Intelligence confirmed this vessel was loaded up with mostly Fentanyl, and other illegal narcotics.

The Republican president said two people onboard were killed one more than was previously reported and the two who survived are being sent to their home countries for detention and prosecution.

The repatriation avoids questions for the Trump administration about what the legal status of the two would have been in the U.S. justice system.

With Trumps confirmation on his Truth Social platform of the death toll, that means U.S. military action against vessels in the region have killed at least 29 people.

The president has justified the strikes by asserting that the United States is engaged in an armed conflict with drug cartels. He is relying on the same legal authority used by the George W. Bush administration when it declared a war on terrorism after the Sept. 11 attacks and is treating the suspected traffickers as if they were enemy soldiers in a traditional war.

The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will reopen Monday for people returning to Gaza, the Palestinian embassy in Egypt said Saturday, but the territory's sole gateway to the outside world will remain closed to people trying to leave.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office issued a statement within minutes, saying that the Rafah crossing wouldn't reopen "until further notice," adding that it would depend on how Hamas fulfills its role in returning all the bodies of the dead hostages.

Israel's foreign ministry on Thursday had said that the crossing would likely reopen Sunday another step in the fragile ceasefire.

The Rafah crossing is the only one not controlled by Israel before the war. It has been closed since May 2024, when Israel took control of the Gaza side. A fully reopened crossing would make it easier for Gazans to seek medical treatment, travel or visit family in Egypt, home to tens of thousands of Palestinians.

It's unclear who will operate the crossing's heavily damaged Gaza side once the war ends.

Meanwhile, Gaza's ruins were being scoured for the dead, over a week into the ceasefire. Newly recovered bodies brought the Palestinian toll above 68,000, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Thousands of people are still missing, according to the Red Cross.

The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count. But the ministry maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. Israel has disputed them without providing its own toll.

Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 people in the attack on southern Israel that sparked the war on Oct. 7, 2023.

Hostages' remains

Israel on Saturday said that the remains of a 10th hostage that Hamas handed over the day before were identified as Eliyahu Margalit.

The handover of 28 hostages' remains is among key points along with aid deliveries into Gaza and the devastated territory's future in the ceasefire process meant to end two years of war.

The 76-year-old Margalit was abducted from kibbutz Nir Oz during the Oct. 7 attack. His remains were found after bulldozers plowed up pits in the southern city of Khan Younis.

U.S. President Donald Trump has warned that he would greenlight a resumption of the war by Israel, if Hamas doesn't return the remains of all dead hostages.

Hamas has said it is committed to the ceasefire deal, but that the retrieval of remains is hampered by the devastation and the presence of unexploded ordnance. The group has told mediators that some remains are in areas controlled by Israeli troops.

In a statement, the hostage forum that supports the families of those abducted said it will continue holding weekly rallies until all are returned.

As part of the ceasefire agreement, Israel on Saturday returned the bodies of a further 15 Palestinians to Gaza. Gaza's Health Ministry said the International Committee of the Red Cross handed them over to Nasser Hospital, bringing the total Israel has returned to 135.

Hamas accuses Israel of violations

Hamas again accused Israel of continuing attacks and violating the ceasefire, asserting that 38 Palestinians had been killed since it began. There was no immediate response from Israel, which still maintains control of about half of Gaza.

On Friday, Gaza's Civil Defense, first responders operating under the Hamas-run Interior Ministry, said nine people were killed, including women and children, when their vehicle was hit by Israeli fire in Gaza City. The Civil Defense said the car crossed into an Israeli-controlled area in eastern Gaza.

The Civil Defense said Israel could have warned the people in a manner that wasn't lethal. The group recovered the bodies Saturday with coordination from the United Nations, it said.

Israel's army said it saw a "suspicious vehicle" crossing the so-called yellow line and approaching troops. It said it fired warning shots, but the vehicle continued to approach in a manner that posed an "imminent threat." The army said it acted in accordance with the ceasefire.

Aid demands

Hamas has urged mediators to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza for its 2 million people, expedite the full opening of the Rafah border crossing and start reconstruction of the battered territory.

There are continued closures of crossings and Israeli restrictions on aid groups.

U.N. data on Friday showed 339 trucks have been offloaded for distribution in Gaza since the ceasefire began. Under the agreement, about 600 aid trucks per day should be allowed to enter.

COGAT, the Israeli defense body overseeing aid in Gaza, reported 950 trucks including commercial trucks and bilateral deliveries crossing on Thursday and 716 on Wednesday, the U.N. said.

Throughout the war, Israel restricted aid to Gaza, sometimes halting it altogether.

International food security experts declared famine in Gaza City, and the U.N. says it has verified more than 400 people who died of malnutrition-related causes, including over 100 children.

Israel has long said it let in enough food and accused Hamas of stealing much of it. The U.N. and other aid agencies deny the claim.

Shohei Ohtani propelled the Los Angeles Dodgers back to the World Series with a two-way performance for the ages.

Ohtani hit three mammoth homers and struck out 10 while pitching shutout ball into the seventh inning, and the Dodgers swept the Milwaukee Brewers out of the National League Championship Series with a 5-1 victory in Game 4 on Friday night.

"That was probably the greatest postseason performance of all time," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "There's been a lot of postseason games. And there's a reason why he's the greatest player on the planet."

The Dodgers will have a chance to become baseball's first repeat World Series champions in a quarter-century after this mind-blowing night for the three-time MVP, who emphatically ended a quiet postseason by his lofty standards. Ohtani was selected the NLCS MVP essentially on the strength of this one unforgettable game.

"This time around it was my turn to be able to perform," he said through his interpreter.

After striking out three in the top of the first inning, Ohtani hit the first leadoff homer by a pitcher in major league history off Brewers starter Jose Quintana.

Ohtani followed with a 469-foot drive in the fourth, clearing a pavilion roof in right-center.

He added a third solo shot in the seventh, becoming the 12th big league player to hit three homers in a postseason game. His three homers traveled a combined 1,342 feet.

Ohtani also thoroughly dominated the Brewers in his second career postseason start on the mound, allowing just two hits during his first double-digit strikeout game in a Dodgers uniform. He didn't give up a hit until the fourth, and he fanned two Brewers in the fourth, fifth and sixth.

"Sometimes you've got to check yourself and touch him to make sure he's not just made of steel," said teammate Freddie Freeman, last season's World Series MVP. "Absolutely incredible. Biggest stage, and he goes out and does something like that. It'll probably be remembered as the Shohei Ohtani game."

After the Brewers' first two batters reached in the seventh, Ohtani left the mound to a stadium-shaking ovation and after Alex Vesia escaped the jam, Ohtani celebrated by hitting his third homer in the bottom half.

The powerhouse Dodgers are the first team to win back-to-back pennants since Philadelphia in 2009. Los Angeles is back in the World Series for the fifth time in nine seasons, and it will attempt to become baseball's first repeat champs since the New York Yankees won three straight World Series from 1998 to 2000.

"That was special," Freeman said. "We've just been playing really good baseball for a while now, and the inevitable kind of happened today Shohei. Oh my God. I'm still speechless."

Following a 9-1 rampage through the NL playoffs, the Dodgers are headed to the World Series for the 23rd time in franchise history, including 14 pennants since moving from Brooklyn to Los Angeles. Only the Yankees, last year's opponent, have made more appearances in the Fall Classic (41).

Los Angeles will have a week off before the World Series begins next Friday, either in Toronto or at Dodger Stadium against Seattle. The Mariners beat the Blue Jays 6-2 earlier Friday to take a 3-2 lead in the ALCS, which continues Sunday at Rogers Centre.

The Dodgers had never swept an NLCS in 16 previous appearances, but they became only the fifth team to sweep this series while thoroughly dominating a Milwaukee club that led the major leagues with 97 wins during the season. Los Angeles is the first team to sweep a best-of-seven postseason series since 2022, and the first to sweep an NLCS since Washington in 2019.

"Before this season started, they said the Dodgers are ruining baseball," Roberts shouted to the crowd during the on-field celebration. "Let's get four more wins and really ruin baseball!"

The NL Central champion Brewers were eliminated by the Dodgers for the third time during their current stretch of seven playoff appearances in eight years. Even after setting a franchise record for wins this season, Milwaukee is still waiting for its first World Series appearance since 1982.

"We were part of tonight an iconic, maybe the best individual performance ever in a postseason game," Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. "I don't think anybody can argue with that. A guy punches out 10 and hits three homers."

The Brewers had never been swept in a playoff series longer than a best-of-three, but their bats fell silent in the NLCS against the Dodgers' brilliant starting rotation. Los Angeles' four starters combined to pitch 28 2/3 innings with two earned runs allowed and 35 strikeouts.

"I really think that to beat us four games in a row, you've got to do a lot of things right," outfielder Blake Perkins said. "Some things had to go their way that didn't go our way. We hit a lot of balls at people. But either way, Ohtani did great today. Is he the greatest player ever? I don't know. But he sure seemed like it tonight."

The Dodgers added two more runs in the first after Ohtani's tone-setting homer, with Mookie Betts and Will Smith both singling and scoring.

Jackson Chourio doubled leading off the fourth for Milwaukee's first hit, but Ohtani stranded him.

Struggling Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen allowed two more baserunners in the eighth, and Caleb Durbin scored when Brice Turang beat out his potential double-play grounder before Anthony Banda ended the inning.

Roki Sasaki pitched the ninth in the latest successful relief outing for the Dodgers' unlikely rookie closer.