Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's co-conspirator, is preparing to request a commutation of her 20-year prison sentence from President Donald Trump, according to a whistleblower who contacted House Democrats.

The whistleblower told House Democrats that Maxwell is preparing the request through a series of emails with the subject line "Commutation Application."

The same whistleblower also alleges Maxwell is receiving preferential treatment while incarcerated. The alleged special treatment includes customized meals, after-hours exercise time and playing with a puppy.

RELATED STORY | Supreme Court rejects Ghislaine Maxwell's appeal of sex trafficking conviction

Rep. Jamie Raskin sent a letter to President Trump, demanding he reject Maxwell's request for commutation.

Raskin is the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee. He's also requested that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche be made available for a public hearing to discuss the situation.

The White House says President Trump has not thought about pardoning Maxwell.

Maxwell was convicted in 2021 on federal charges related to her role in Epstein's sex trafficking operation. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

ByHeart is voluntarily recalling two batches of its Whole Nutrition Infant Formula amid a recent outbreak of infant botulism, the company announced.

The recall follows notification from the FDA of an ongoing investigation into approximately 83 cases of infant botulism reported nationwide since August. Thirteen of those infants had consumed ByHeart formula at some point, the company said.

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California health officials said they had "tested a can of powdered infant formula that was fed to an infant with infant botulism. Preliminary results suggest the presence of the bacteria that produce botulinum toxin, consistent with the same toxin reported in the confirmed infant cases."

Infant botulism is a rare but potentially serious illness. Symptoms can include constipation, feeding difficulties, weak muscle tone, drooping eyelids, trouble breathing and, in severe cases, respiratory failure.

The recall affects batch codes 251261P2 and 251131P2, both with a use by date of Dec. 1, 2026. They were sold by national retailers including Amazon, Kroger, Walmart, Whole Foods and Target.

Hormone-based drugs used to treat hot flashes and other menopause symptoms will no longer carry a bold warning label about stroke, heart attack, dementia and other serious risks, the Food and Drug Administration announced Monday.

U.S. health officials said they will remove the boxed warning from more than 20 pills, patches and creams containing hormones like estrogen and progestin, which are approved to ease disruptive symptoms like night sweats.

The change has been supported by some doctors including FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, who has called the current label outdated and unnecessary.

The labeling change reflects a "more nuanced, evidence-based communication of hormone therapy risks," Makary and other FDA officials wrote in a commentary published Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

FDA officials justified the new label by pointing to studies suggesting hormone therapy has few risks when started before age 60 or within 10 years of menopause symptoms.

RELATED STORY | Night sweats and heat surges: New drug takes aim at menopause symptoms

"We're challenging outdated thinking and recommitting to evidence-based medicine that empowers rather than restricts," Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said introducing the change.

The long-standing FDA warning advised doctors that hormone therapy can increase the risk of blood clots, heart problems and other health issues, citing data published more than 20 years ago.

Many doctors and pharmaceutical companies have called for removing or revising the label, which they say discourages prescriptions and scares off women who could benefit.

But other experts have vigorously opposed making changes to the label without a careful, transparent process. They say the FDA should have convened its independent advisers to publicly consider any revisions.

Current medical guidelines generally recommend the drugs for a limited duration in younger women going through early or mid-stage menopause who don't have complicating risks, such as breast cancer or heart problems. FDA's updated prescribing information mostly matches that approach.

But Makary and some other doctors have suggested that hormone therapy's benefits can go far beyond managing uncomfortable mid-life symptoms. Before becoming FDA commissioner, Makary dedicated the first chapter of his most recent book to extolling the overall benefits of hormone therapy and criticizing doctors unwilling to prescribe it.

In Monday's commentary he reiterated that viewpoint, citing figures suggesting hormone-therapy may help reduce heart disease, bone fractures and Alzheimer's.

"With the exception of antibiotics and vaccines, there may be no medication in the modern world that can improve the health outcomes of older women on a population level more than hormone therapy," Makary wrote.

The veracity of those benefits and whether they outweigh the drugs' risks remains the subject of intense debate. Experts including those whose research led to the original warning have disputed overall health claims for the drugs.

In the 1990s, millions of U.S. women took estrogen alone or in combination with progestin on the assumption that in addition to treating menopause it would reduce rates of heart disease, dementia and other issues.

But a landmark study of more than 26,000 women upended that idea, linking two different types of hormone pills to higher rates of stroke, blood clots, breast cancer and other serious risks. After the initial findings were published in 2002, prescriptions plummeted among women of all age groups, including those in earlier stages of menopause.

Since then, all estrogen drugs have carried the FDA's boxed warning the most serious type. National health data shows prescribing of the drugs has not increased over the last 20 years.

But continuing analysis has shown a more nuanced picture of the risks.

A new analysis of the 2002 data published in September found that women in their 50s taking estrogen-based drugs faced no increased risk of heart problems, whereas women in their 70s did. The data was unclear for women in their 60s, and the authors advised caution.

Additionally, many newer forms of the drugs have been introduced since the early 2000s, including vaginal creams, rings and tablets which deliver lower hormone doses than pills, patches and other drugs that circulate throughout the bloodstream. Those products will receive their own label, reflecting their unique risks and benefits, the agency said.

The original language contained in the boxed warning will still be available to prescribers, but it will appear lower down in the prescribing information. Additionally the label will retain a boxed warning that women who have not had a hysterectomy should receive a combination of estrogen-progestin due to risks of cancer in the lining of the uterus.

Hanging over Monday's announcement is the way the agency laid the groundwork for the decision.

Rather than convening one of the agency's standing advisory committees on women's health or drug safety, Makary earlier this year invited a dozen doctors and researchers who overwhelmingly supported the health benefits of hormone-replacement drugs.

Many of the panelists invited to the July meeting consult for drugmakers or prescribe the medications in their private practices. Some also had ties to a pharmaceutical-sponsored campaign called Unboxing Menopause, which lobbied the FDA to remove the warning.

Nearly 80 researchers later sent a letter to the FDA calling for an official advisory committee meeting.

Diana Zuckerman of the nonprofit National Center for Health Research, which analyzes medical research, accused Makary of undermining the FDA's credibility by announcing the change "rather than having scientists scrutinize the research at an FDA scientific meeting."

U.S. Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva is expected to be sworn in this week, ahead of the House vote on a government funding bill, Scripps News has confirmed.

Grijalva won a special election in Arizona's 7th congressional district in late September, but House Speaker Mike Johnson refused to swear her in. He said it was due to the House not being in session, which has been prolonged due to the government shutdown.

Grijalva publicly pushed back, noting that the House often holds pro forma sessions during shutdowns, brief meetings that allow members to conduct procedural business even when regular legislative work is paused.

RELATED STORY | 'Let me do my job': Arizona Democrat says Speaker Johnson hasnt contacted her about being sworn in

She and the Arizona attorney general also filed a lawsuit against the U.S. House of Representatives seeking to ensure she is sworn in.

Johnson, however, maintained that Grijalva would be sworn in once the House returned to full session.

Grijalva and some of her supporters have argued that Johnson delayed the swearing-in because she has pledged to sign a discharge petition that would force a House vote to release the so-called Epstein files. Johnson has denied that accusation, saying the delay had nothing to do with the petition.

The Trump administration has notified the Supreme Court that it still plans to seek a stay of a lower court ruling requiring the government to provide full November benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

The administration noted, however, that the matter could become moot if Congress finalizes a bipartisan deal now advancing in the Senate to reopen the government and fully fund SNAP through the fiscal year.

RELATED STORY | Well has run dry: USDA blames Democrats for SNAP funding lapse during shutdown

SNAP funding has been at the center of a back-and-forth legal fight during the shutdown. The administration initially said it could not use contingency funds to cover full November benefits. After several states and nonprofit groups sued, a federal judge in Rhode Island ordered the government to use all available funding to fully cover the benefits, rather than only a partial amount.

RELATED STORY | Trump admin tells states to 'immediately undo any steps taken' to provide full SNAP benefits

The administration appealed that ruling, eventually bringing the issue to the Supreme Court. On Friday, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson issued a temporary stay to allow the appeals process to play out. On Sunday, the appeals court declined to extend that stay, leaving the lower courts order requiring full benefits in place.

That decision prompted the administration to renew its request with the Supreme Court on Monday.

The Supreme Court is expected to review the filing this week.

Reduced U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports took effect Monday following a trade agreement between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping late last month.

The deal means the U.S. will halve fentanyl-related tariffs from 20% to 10% against China as the country committed to help stem the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. bringing tariffs generally to 45%-47%.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | Trump eases China tariffs, citing progress on fentanyl

We agreed that he was going to work very hard to stop the flow [of fentanyl], President Trump said after the two leaders met in South Korea. You know, its a very complex subject because its used for lots of different reasons, including anesthetics and things, but hes going to work very hard on it precursors and I think youre going to see some real action taken.

Meanwhile, China is suspending restrictions on exports of rare earth minerals. It comes as the U.S. has sought deals with allies on critical minerals, including efforts to increase mining and processing.

Additionally, the U.S. will also suspend measures related to investigations against China's maritime and shipbuilding. China also agreed to agricultural purchases, including the purchase of 12 million metric tons of soybeans by January and at least 25 million metric tons annually through 2028, according to a White House official.

RELATED STORY | What happens to revenue brought in by Trump's tariffs?

The agreement is a "floor" according to USDA Sec. Brooke Rollins, who also noted commitments to buy sorghum, hardwood and the removal of "unwarranted retaliatory tariffs" on agricultural products.

It all comes after President Trump increased tariffs on China earlier this year in retaliation for the nation not doing enough to stop the flow of fentanyl to the United States. The Drug Enforcement Administration says China is the primary source of illegal fentanyl in the U.S.

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether states can continue to count late-arriving mail ballots, which have been a target of President Donald Trump.

The justices took up an appeal from Mississippi after a panel of three judges nominated by the Republican president on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last year that the state law allowing ballots that arrive shortly after Election Day to be counted violated federal law.

Mississippi is among 18 states and the District of Columbia that accept mailed ballots received after Election Day as long as the ballots are postmarked on or before that date, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The list includes swing states such as Nevada and states such as Colorado, Oregon and Utah that rely heavily on mail voting.

An additional 14 states allow the counting of late-arriving ballots from some eligible voters, including overseas U.S. service members and their families, according to a filing from Democratic-led states that urged the justices to reverse the appellate ruling.

The case will be argued in the late winter or early spring. A final ruling almost certainly will come by late June, early enough to govern the counting of ballots in the 2026 midterm congressional elections.

Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, a Republican, told the Supreme Court that the appellate ruling "will have destabilizing nationwide ramifications" if left in place.

RELATED STORY | Supreme Court rejects call to overturn its decision legalizing same-sex marriage

"The stakes are high: ballots cast by but received after election day can swing close races and change the course of the country," Fitch wrote.

Trump has claimed that late-arriving ballots and drawn-out electoral counts undermine confidence in elections. In March, the Republican president signed an executive order on elections that aims to require votes to be "cast and received" by Election Day. The order has been challenged in court.

The Republican National Committee and the Libertarian Party of Mississippi led the challenge to the Mississippi law. A federal judge dismissed a similar challenge to Nevada's law, but the decision has been appealed.

The Supreme Court is separately considering reviving a lawsuit filed by Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., and backed by the Trump administration that challenges Illinois' ballot receipt law. The issue is whether the congressman has the legal right to sue.

Some Republican-led states, including Kansas and North Dakota, have taken steps to stop counting late-arriving ballots. In Ohio, Republican lawmakers are advancing legislation that would require ballots to be received by Election Day, closing the window for mailed ballots. The measure has passed the state Senate.

In the Mississippi case, Judge Andrew Oldham wrote for the appellate panel that Congress established a "singular" Election Day for members of Congress and presidential electors, "by which ballots must be both cast by voters and received by state officials." Judges James Ho and Stuart Kyle Duncan joined Oldham's opinion invalidating the Mississippi law.

The ruling reversed a decision by U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola Jr., who had held that there was no conflict between the state and federal laws. "All that occurs after election day is the delivery and counting of ballots cast on or before election day," wrote Guirola, who was nominated by President George W. Bush, a Republican.

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a call to overturn its landmark decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.

The justices, without comment, turned away an appeal from Kim Davis, the former Kentucky court clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples after the high court's 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges.

Davis had been trying to get the court to overturn a lower-court order for her to pay $360,000 in damages and attorney's fees to a couple denied a marriage license.

Her lawyers repeatedly invoked the words of Justice Clarence Thomas, who alone among the nine justices has called for erasing the same-sex marriage ruling.

Thomas was among four dissenting justices in 2015. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito are the other dissenters who are on the court today.

RELATED STORY | 'We don't know what the future will hold': Same-sex couples concerned about the future of marriage equality

Roberts has been silent on the subject since he wrote a dissenting opinion in the case. Alito has continued to criticize the decision, but he said recently he was not advocating that it be overturned.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who was not on the court in 2015, has said that there are times when the court should correct mistakes and overturn decisions, as it did in the 2022 case that ended a constitutional right to abortion.

But Barrett has suggested recently that same-sex marriage might be in a different category than abortion because people have relied on the decision when they married and had children.

Human Rights Campaign president Kelley Robinson praised the justices' decision not to intervene. The Supreme Court made clear today that refusing to respect the constitutional rights of others does not come without consequences, Robinson said in a statement.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | Supreme Court allows Trump administration to limit gender markers on passports to 'male' or 'female'

Davis drew national attention to eastern Kentucky's Rowan County when she turned away same-sex couples, saying her faith prevented her from complying with the high court ruling. She defied court orders to issue the licenses until a federal judge jailed her for contempt of court in September 2015.

She was released after her staff issued the licenses on her behalf but removed her name from the form. The Kentucky legislature later enacted a law removing the names of all county clerks from state marriage licenses.

Davis lost a reelection bid in 2018.

President Donald Trump has pardoned his former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, his former chief of staff Mark Meadows and others accused of backing the Republican's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, a Justice Department official says.

Ed Martin, the government's pardon attorney, posted on social media a signed proclamation of the full, complete, and unconditional" pardon, which also names conservative attorneys Sidney Powell and John Eastman. The proclamation, posted online late Sunday, explicitly says the pardon does not apply to Trump.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | Trump says he's awarding former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Presidential pardons apply only to federal crimes, and none of the Trump allies named were charged in federal cases over the 2020 election. But the move underscores President Donald Trump's continued efforts to rewrite the history of the election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. It follows the sweeping pardons of the hundreds of Trump supporters charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, including those convicted of attacking law enforcement.

The proclamation described efforts to prosecute those accused of aiding Trump's efforts to cling to power as a grave national injustice perpetrated on the American people and said the pardons were designed to continue the process of national reconciliation.

The White House didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment Monday.

Also pardoned were Republicans who acted as fake electors for Trump in 2020 and were charged in state cases of submitting false certificates that confirmed they were legitimate electors despite Biden's victory in those states.

IN RELATED NEWS | Trump says 'Puff Daddy' has contacted him about a pardon

Trump himself was indicted on felony charges accusing him of working overturn his 2020 election defeat, but the case brought by Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith was abandoned in November after Trump's victory over Democrat Kamala Harris because of the department's policy against prosecuting sitting presidents.

Giuliani, Meadows and others who were named in the proclamation had been charged by state prosecutors over the 2020 election, but the cases have hit a dead end or are just limping along. A judge in September dismissed the Michigan case against 15 Republicans accused of attempting to falsely certify Trump as the winner of the election in that battleground state.

Two Major League Baseball pitchers were indicted Sunday on charges they took bribes to give sports bettors advance notice of the types of pitches they'd throw and intentionally tossed balls instead of strikes to ensure successful bets.

Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz, both of whom pitched for the Cleveland Guardians, have been on non-disciplinary paid leave since July while Major League Baseball investigated unusually high in-game betting activity when they pitched.

RELATED STORY | 6 players accused of throwing games, gambling ties lose NCAA eligibility

Clase, 27, and Ortiz, 26, were both charged with wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery and money laundering conspiracy. The top charges carry a potential punishment of up to 20 years in prison in the event of a conviction.

Ortiz was arrested by the FBI on Sunday morning at Boston Logan International Airport. He is expected to appear in federal court in Boston on Monday.

Major League Baseball said it contacted federal law enforcement when it began investigating the unusual betting activity and has fully cooperated with authorities. We are aware of the indictment and todays arrest, and our investigation is ongoing, its statement said.

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In a statement, the Guardians said: We are aware of the recent law enforcement action, We will continue to fully cooperate with both law enforcement and Major League Baseball as their investigations continue.

A lawyer for Ortiz declined to comment when contacted by The Associated Press and a lawyer for Clase did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

A Milwaukee family is spreading holiday cheer by donating their 38-foot Colorado blue spruce to the city for the 112th annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony.

Kaitlyn Schmidt Thabet, Amgad Thabet and their dog, Zelda, watched as crews carefully removed the towering tree from their property Wednesday morning.

It was all out of a whim. We were just, you know, in the spirit of the moment, Amgad Thabet said.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | Time to deck the halls: White House staff pick official Christmas tree from Michigan farm for 2025

The tree is now being displayed in what city officials are calling Cheer District for the holiday season. The 38-foot spruce is significantly shorter than last years 64-foot tree, but Chris Kling, urban forestry manager for the city, selected it anyway.

Its got everything we look for: size, shape, color, access, Kling said.

For the Thabet family, donating their tree represents their deep connection to Milwaukee.

Milwaukee means a lot to us. Its where we met, its where we got married, its where we started our careers our young professional careers and still are here. So its really cool to get to give back and let it sparkle in Cheer District, Kaitlyn Schmidt Thabet said.

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The couple is already looking forward to the holiday season and seeing their former backyard tree illuminated in front of Fiserv Forum. Amgad Thabet said hes particularly excited about how the tree will enhance this years Bucks season.

Extra special, for sure. So Giannis, I need some tickets, he added with a laugh.

The official tree lighting ceremony will take place Nov. 21 at 6 p.m. in Deer District.

This story was originally published by Meryl Hubbard with the

Scripps News Group in Milwaukee.

The Trump administration has ordered states to "immediately undo any steps" that were taken to provide full November benefits to millions of low-income Americans through the Supplemental and Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), claiming that the move was "unauthorized."

According to a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) memo that was sent out late Saturday and obtained by Scripps News, the Trump administration also threatened to cancel federal funding for states who did not abide by the order.

RELATED STORY | Well has run dry: USDA blames Democrats for SNAP funding lapse during shutdown

"States must not transmit full benefit issuance files to EBT processors," the memo says. "Instead, States must continue to process and load the partial issuance files that reflect the 35 percent reduction of maximum allotments."

Initially, the Trump administration said last month that it would not be able to fully fund SNAP benefits for November because of the ongoing federal government shutdown, which stretched into day 40 on Sunday. However, some states on Friday began issuing full SNAP benefits after a federal judge in Rhode Island ordered the Trump administration to provide the funding.

Adding to the twists and turns, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson late Friday lifted a deadline imposed by the Rhode Island judge, which ordered the USDA to tap into a separate account to provide full SNAP funding for November. Under the Supreme Court's order, full payouts will remain paused while an appeal of the initial order plays out in the First Circuit Court of Appeals.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | Some states got SNAP benefits overnight heres why others havent

"IT IS ORDERED that the District Courts orders are hereby administratively stayed pending disposition of the motion for a stay pending appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit," the Friday night order read.

Meanwhile, with no end to the government shutdown in sight, it remains unclear what could happen to SNAP benefits after the contingency funds are drained. More than 40 million Americans rely on SNAP each month for food assistance.

Air traffic in the U.S. could slow to a trickle if the federal government shutdown lingers into the busy Thanksgiving travel holiday season, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned Sunday.

The Federal Aviation Administration last week ordered flight cuts at the nations busiest airports as some air traffic controllers, who have gone unpaid for nearly a month, have stopped showing up for work.

The reductions started Friday at 4% and will increase to 10% by Nov. 14. They are in effect from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time and will impact all commercial airlines.

On Sunday, 1,375 flights were canceled as of 10:30 a.m. Eastern time, according to the aviation tracking website FlightAware. That follows more than 1,500 cancellations on Saturday.

RELATED STORY | Shutdown grounds hundreds of flights Saturday; Sunday to bring over 1,000 more

Duffy has said additional flight cuts perhaps up to 20% might be needed, particularly after controllers receive no pay for a second straight pay period.

More controllers arent coming to work day by day, the further they go without a paycheck, Duffy told Fox News Sunday."

And he prepared Americans for what they could face during the busy Thanksgiving holiday.

As I look two weeks out, as we get closer to Thanksgiving travel, I think whats going to happen is youre going to have air travel slow to a trickle as everyone wants to travel to see their families, Duffy said.

With very few controllers working, "youll have a few flights taking off and landing" and thousands of cancellations, he said.

Youre going to have massive disruption. I think a lot of angry Americans. I think we have to be honest about where this is going. It doesnt get better, Duffy said. "It gets worse until these air traffic controllers are going to be paid.

The government has been short of air traffic controllers for years, and multiple presidential administrations have tried to convince retirement-age controllers to remain on the job. Duffy said the shutdown has exacerbated the problem, leading some air traffic controllers to speed up their retirements.

Up to 15 or 20 a day are retiring, Duffy said on CNN.

RELATED STORY | Here's how flight cancellations are expected to expand over the next week

Duffy said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth texted him with an offer to lend military air traffic controllers, but its unclear whether the staff is certified to work on civilian systems.

Duffy denied Democratic charges that the flight cancellations are a political tactic, saying they were necessary due to increasing near-misses from an overtaxed system.

I needed to take action to keep people safe, Duffy said. Im doing what I can in a mess that Democrats have put in my lap.

Ukrainian strikes disrupted power and heating to two major Russian cities near the Ukrainian border, local Russian officials reported Sunday.

The report comes as Russia and Ukraine have traded almost daily assaults on each others energy infrastructure and U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to stop the nearly four-year war have not advanced.

Elsewhere, Ukraine's top diplomat accused Moscow of deliberately endangering nuclear safety, as he said Russias mass drone and missile attack on Friday struck substations that power two nuclear power plants.

RELATED STORY | Russia tightens pressure on strategic Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk

And in Russia, the Kremlin spokesman said Moscow intended to honor its obligations under a global nuclear test ban, despite a recent order by President Vladimir Putin to study the possibility of resuming atomic tests.

Power knocked out in two Russian cities

A drone strike temporarily caused blackouts and cut heating to parts of Voronezh, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said. He said several drones were electronically jammed during the night over the city, home to just over 1 million people, sparking a fire at a local utility facility that was quickly extinguished.

Russian and Ukrainian news channels on Telegram claimed the strike targeted a local thermal power plant.

A missile strike late on Saturday also caused serious damage to power and heating systems supplying the city of Belgorod, with some 20,000 households affected, local Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov reported the following morning.

Russias defense ministry said Sunday that its forces destroyed or intercepted 44 Ukrainian drones during the night that flew over the Bryansk and Rostov regions in southwestern Russia. The statement made no mention of either the Voronezh or Belgorod provinces, nor did it specify how many drones Ukraine launched.

Local authorities in the Rostov region on Sunday reported on hourslong blackouts in the city of Taganrog, home to some 240,000 people, blaming them on an emergency shutdown of a power line. They did not specify the cause, though local media claimed a nearby transformer substation caught fire.

Months of Ukrainian long-range drone strikes on Russian refineries have aimed to deprive Moscow of the oil export revenue it needs to pursue the war. Meanwhile, Kyiv and its western allies say Russia is trying to cripple the Ukrainian power grid and deny civilians access to heat, light and running water for a fourth consecutive winter, in what Ukrainian officials call weaponizing the biting cold.

Strikes endanger power supply to nuclear plants

Russia's mass drone and missile strikes Friday hit power substations that supply two of Ukraines nuclear power plants, according to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.

Russia once again targeted substations that power the Khmelnytskyi and Rivne nuclear power plants, Sybiha said in a statement on X late Saturday. These were not accidental but well-planned strikes. Russia is deliberately endangering nuclear safety in Europe.

Sybiha called for an urgent meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors to respond to the risks posed by the attacks.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | Trump administration issues new sanctions on Russian oil companies, calls for ceasefire in Ukraine

Moscows massive attacks on Ukraines electricity infrastructure last winter have heightened scrutiny over the Ukrainian Energy Ministrys apparent failure to protect the countrys most critical energy facilities near nuclear power sites, according to several current and former officials who spoke to the AP.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Saturday that work has begun on President Vladimir Putins order to prepare plans for a possible Russian nuclear test, according to state news agency Tass.

Putins order on Wednesday followed statements by Trump, which appeared to suggest that Washington would restart its own atomic tests for the first time in three decades.

Kremlin says Russia will abide by nuclear ban

Russia will abide by its obligations under a global nuclear ban, the Kremlin spokesman said Sunday, following days of uncertainty over remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump that appeared to suggest Washington might restart atomic tests after more than three decades.

Trump's comments came after Russia announced it had tested a new atomic-powered and nuclear-capable underwater drone and a new nuclear-powered cruise missile. But Moscow did not announce any tests of its nuclear weapons, which last occurred in 1990.

Putin has repeatedly said that Russia is committed to its obligation to end nuclear tests, and that we have no intention of conducting them, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Earlier this week, Putin ordered officials to study the possibility of resuming nuclear testing, though Russia said it would not do so unless the U.S. did so first.

Russia's Lavrov says he's ready to meet Rubio

Elsewhere, Russias top diplomat said Sunday that he was ready to meet U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, to discuss the war in Ukraine and mending bilateral ties.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and I understand the need for regular communication, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Russias Ria state agency, weeks after efforts to organise a summit between the Russian and U.S. leaders were put on ice.

Lavrov on Sunday repeated that peace cant be achieved without taking Russian interests into account," a phrase Moscow has used to signal it is standing firm in its maximalist demands for Ukraine.

The Red Cross received on Sunday the remains of a hostage in Gaza that Hamas claims is the body of an Israeli soldier who was killed in 2014 and who has been held in Gaza for the past 11 years. His remains are the only ones currently held in Gaza since before the latest, two-year war between Israel and Hamas.

Hamas said it found the body of the soldier, Hadar Goldin, in a tunnel in the enclave's southernmost city of Rafah on Saturday. Goldin was killed on Aug. 1, 2014, two hours after a ceasefire took effect ending that years war between Israel and Hamas.

The remains will be transferred to Israel and to the national forensic institute for identification. If the body is identified as Goldin's, there will be four bodies of hostages remaining in Gaza.

His return would be a significant development in the U.S.-brokered truce and close a painful, 11-year saga for his family.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | Israel says it received the remains of 3 hostages from Gaza as fragile ceasefire holds

At the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that holding the body for so long has caused great agony of his family, which will now be able to give him a Jewish burial.

Bringing Israel's fallen home

Goldin's family spearheaded a very public campaign, along with the family of another soldier whose body was taken in 2014, to bring their sons home for burial. Israel recovered the remains of the other soldier earlier this year.

Netanyahu said the country would continue trying to bring home the bodies of Israelis still being held across enemy lines, such as Eli Cohen, an Israeli spy hung in Damascus in 1965.

Israeli media, citing anonymous officials, have reported that Hamas was delaying the release of Goldin's body in hopes of negotiating safe passage for more than 100 militants surrounded by Israeli forces and trapped in the enclave's southernmost city of Rafah.

Gila Gamliel, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology and a member of Netanyahu's Likud party, told Army radio that Israel is not negotiating for a deal within a deal.

There are agreements whose implementation is guaranteed by the mediators, and we shouldn't allow anyone to come know and play (games) and to reopen the agreement, she said.

Hamas made no comment on a possible exchange for its fighters stuck in the so-called yellow zone, which is controlled by Israeli forces, though they acknowledged that there are clashes taking place there.

Hamas made no comment on a possible exchange for its fighters stuck in the so-called yellow zone, which is controlled by Israeli forces, though they acknowledged that there are clashes taking place there.

Positive development in the truce

Since the ceasefire began last month, militants have released the remains of 23 hostages. As part of the truce deal, the militants are expected to return all of the remains of hostages.

For each Israeli hostage returned, Israel has been releasing the remains of 15 Palestinians. Ahmed Dheir, director of forensic medicine at Nasser Hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, said that the remains of 300 have now been returned, with 89 identified.

The war began with a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in which 251 people were kidnapped and 1,200 killed in Israel, mostly civilians.

On Saturday, Gazas Health Ministry said the number of Palestinians killed in Gaza has risen to 69,176. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals, maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by independent experts.

A mother's pain

Back in 2014, the Israeli military determined, based on evidence found in the tunnel where Goldins body was taken including a blood-soaked shirt and prayer fringes that he had been killed in the attack. His family held what Leah Goldin now calls a pseudo-funeral including Goldins shirt and fringes, at the urging of Israels military rabbis. But the lingering uncertainty was like a knife constantly making new cuts.

Leah Goldin told the Associated Press earlier this year that returning her sons body is an ethical and religious value, part of the sacrosanct pact Israel makes with its citizens, who are required by law to serve in the military.

Hadar is a soldier who went to combat and they abandoned him, and they destroyed his humanitarian rights and ours as well, Goldin said. She said her family often felt alone in their struggle to bring Hadar, a talented artist who had just gotten engaged, home for burial.

In the dizzying days after Hamas attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the Goldin family threw themselves into attempting to help hundreds of families of the 251 people Hamas had dragged into Gaza. Initially, the Goldins found themselves shunned as advocacy for the Oct. 7 hostages surged. We were a symbol of failure, Goldin recalled. They told us, we arent like you, our kids will come back soon.

People in some U.S. states will be able to buy groceries with federally funded SNAP benefits Saturday while those in other states were still waiting for November food benefits that had been delayed by a protracted legal battle over the federal government shutdown.

The Trump administration initially said last month that it would not fund Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for November because of the U.S. government shutdown. The twists and turns since have exacerbated uncertainty for the nearly 1 in 8 Americans who receive monthly SNAP benefits to spend at grocery stores and farmers markets.

On Friday, some states began issuing full monthly SNAP benefits to people, a day after a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to provide the funds.

But Friday night, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson temporarily paused that judicial order to allow time for an appeals court to decide whether to issue a more lasting halt. Jackson acted because she handles emergency matters from Massachusetts.

The high court's order didn't stop payment distribution in at least some states, where hundreds of thousands of recipients are now able to buy food for their families. But millions more Americans who depend on SNAP are still in limbo.

How are SNAP recipients faring?

Nearly 42 million Americans receive SNAP benefits, formerly known as food stamps, for help buying groceries. Most have incomes below the poverty line, which is about $32,000 for a family of four.

An individual can receive a monthly maximum food benefit of nearly $300 and a family of four up to nearly $1,000, although many receive less than that under a formula that takes into consideration their income.

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The delay in payments has led to a surge in demand at food banks and pantries across the country, as well as long lines for free meals or drive-thru giveaways.

Some states have provided emergency funding to food banks to help them respond to the increased need. Some states also used their own dollars to fund direct payments to people while the federal benefits were in limbo.

Over the weekend, some SNAP recipients took to social media to ask for advice on how to stretch their benefits, with some reporting they received far more than they are owed and others getting just a few dollars.

North Carolina's Health and Human Services Secretary Dev Sangvai acknowledged that more than 190,000 households there received just $16 or less, after the state paused the full payment of benefits following the Supreme Court's order.

Where have people already received benefits?

Whether SNAP beneficiaries see money on their electronic benefits transfer cards depends on where they live.

In Hawaii, Oregon and Wisconsin, officials worked quickly after a judge ordered full benefit payments Thursday to instruct their EBT providers to process the full payments.

We moved with haste once we verified everything, Joseph Campos II, deputy director of Hawaiis Department of Human Services, told The Associated Press.

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Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, a Democrat, said state employees worked through the night to issue full November benefits to make sure every Oregon family relying on SNAP could buy groceries over the weekend.

Officials in California, Kansas, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Washington also confirmed that some SNAP recipients were issued their full November payments on Friday.

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson, a Democrat, said more than 250,00 households that missed their regular monthly SNAP payment during the first week of November received their full amount on Friday. The remaining beneficiaries would receive their November funds on their regularly scheduled dates later this month if distribution does not remain blocked by legal challenges.

Officials in Colorado confirmed Saturday that about 32,000 recipients there had received their full monthly benefits before the Supreme Court's order came down. More than 560,000 additional recipients are still waiting.

Colorado Democratic Gov. Jared Polis said he was baffled by the Trump administration's efforts to continue blocking the food aid, with the prolonged back-and-forth legal fight creating chaos among states.

Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Maura Healey said half a million recipients in her state also got their benefits, after a previously scheduled payment went out Saturday morning. A half a million more residents there are supposed to get their benefits next week.

The Trump administration said in a legal filing with the Supreme Court that there is no ready mechanism for the government to recover those funds that already have been distributed.

How long might residents elsewhere wait?

Before Jackson ordered a pause, New York had said access to full SNAP benefits should begin by Sunday. New Hampshire had said full benefits should be available over the weekend. Inquiries to those states were not immediately returned Saturday.

And Arizona, Connecticut and Minnesota all had said that full SNAP benefits should be accessible in the coming days.

Whether people actually will receive those benefits on their EBT cards remains unclear.

For people in some other states, the wait appears likely to extend into next week. Numerous state officials said they had been waiting for further guidance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers SNAP.

What has been holding up November benefits?

Because of the federal government shutdown, the Trump administration originally had said SNAP benefits would not be available in November. After two judges ruled the administration could not skip Novembers benefits entirely, the administration said it would use an emergency reserve fund containing more than $4.6 billion to provide partial benefits in November.

A judge on Thursday said that wasnt good enough, and ordered other funds to be used to make the full monthly payment. The Trump administration appealed, asking a higher court to suspend any orders that require it to spend more money than is available in the contingency fund. That is what led to Jackson's temporary hold issued late Friday.

Senators are working through the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, hoping to find a bipartisan resolution that has eluded them as federal workers have gone unpaid, airlines have been forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been delayed for millions of Americans.

As Saturday's session got underway Saturday, it was uncertain whether Republicans and Democrats could make any headway toward reopening the government and breaking a partisan impasse that has now lasted 39 days.

President Donald Trump made clear he is unlikely to compromise any time soon with Democrats who are demanding an extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits, posting on social media that it is the worst Healthcare anywhere in the world. He suggested Congress send money directly to people to buy insurance.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Trump's proposal would not be part of a solution to ending the shutdown, but added it is a discussion that the president and all of us want to have. Thune said he planned to keep the Senate in session until the shutdown has ended and that "ideally, it would be great to set it up so we could vote today.

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Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging proposal from a small group of moderate Democrats to end the shutdown in exchange for a later vote on the Obamacare subsidies.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., who is leading the talks among moderates, said Friday evening that Democrats need another path forward after Republicans rejected an offer from Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York to reopen the government and extend the subsidies for a year. We're working on it, she said.

Moderates continue to negotiate

Shaheen and others, negotiating among themselves and with some rank-and-file Republicans, have been discussing bills that would pay for parts of government food aid, veterans programs and the legislative branch, among other things and extend funding for everything else until December or January. The agreement would only come with the promise of a future health care vote, rather than a guarantee of extended subsidies.

It was unclear whether enough Democrats would support such a plan. Even with a deal, Trump appears unlikely to support an extension of the health benefits. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., also said this week that he would not commit to a health vote.

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Republican leaders only need five additional votes to fund the government, and the group involved in the talks has ranged from 10 to 12 Democratic senators.

Some Republicans have said they are open to extending the COVID-19-era tax credits as premiums could skyrocket for millions of people, but they want new limits on who can receive the subsidies. They are also arguing that subsidies for the plans should be routed through individuals.

Take the money away from health insurance companies and let's flow it to the people to give them more purchasing power, said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

Republicans eye new package of bills

Trump wants Republicans to end the shutdown quickly and scrap the filibuster, which requires 60 Senate votes for most legislation, so they can bypass Democrats altogether. Vice President JD Vance, a former Ohio senator, endorsed the idea in an online post Saturday, saying Republicans who want to keep the filibuster are wrong.

Republicans have rejected Trumps call, and Thune is eyeing a bipartisan package that mirrors the proposal the moderate Democrats have been sketching out. What Thune, who has refused to negotiate, might promise on health care is unknown.

The package would replace the House-passed legislation that the Democrats have rejected 14 times since the shutdown began Oct. 1. The current bill would only extend government funding until Nov. 21, though senators indicated their version would likely go through January.

A choice for Democrats

A test vote on new legislation could come in the next few days if Thune decides to move forward.

Then Democrats would have a crucial choice: Keep fighting for a meaningful deal on extending the subsidies that expire in January, while prolonging the pain of the shutdown? Or vote to reopen the government and hope for the best as Republicans promise an eventual health care vote, but not a guaranteed outcome.

After a caucus meeting Thursday, most Democrats suggested they would continue to hold out for Trump and Republican leaders to agree to negotiations.

Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said Democrats are obviously not unanimous but without something on health care, the vote is very unlikely to succeed.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, said they need to stand strong after overwhelming Democratic victories on Election Day and demand an extension of the subsidies.

UPS and FedEx said they are grounding their fleets of McDonnell Douglas MD-11 planes out of an abundance of caution following a deadly crash at the UPS global aviation hub in Kentucky.

The crash Tuesday at UPS Worldport in Louisville killed 14 people, including the three pilots on the MD-11 that was headed for Honolulu.

MD-11 aircrafts make up about 9% of of the UPS airline fleet and 4% of the FedEx fleet, the companies said.

We made this decision proactively at the recommendation of the aircraft manufacturer, a UPS statement said late Friday. Nothing is more important to us than the safety of our employees and the communities we serve.

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FedEx said in an email that it will be grounding the aircrafts while it conducts a thorough safety review based on the recommendation of the manufacturer.

Boeing, which merged with McDonnell Douglas in 1997, did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press asking the reasoning behind the recommendation.

Western Global Airlines is the only other U.S. cargo airline that flies MD-11s, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. The airline has 16 MD-11s in its fleet but 12 of them have already been put in storage. The company did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment outside of business hours early Saturday.

Boeing announced in 1998 that it would be phasing out its MD-11 jetliner production, with final deliveries due in 2000.

The UPS cargo plane, built in 1991, was nearly airborne Tuesday when a bell sounded in the cockpit, National Transportation Safety Board member Todd Inman said earlier Friday. For the next 25 seconds, the bell rang and the pilots tried to control the aircraft as it barely lifted off the runway, its left wing ablaze and missing an engine, and then plowed into the ground in a spectacular fireball.

The cockpit voice recorder captured the bell, which sounded about 37 seconds after the crew called for takeoff thrust, Inman said. There are different types of alarms with varying meanings, he said, and investigators havent determined why the bell rang, though they know the left wing was burning and the engine on that side had detached.

Inman said it would be months before a transcript of the cockpit recording is made public as part of that investigation process.

Jeff Guzzetti, a former federal crash investigator, said the bell likely was signaling the engine fire.

It occurred at a point in the takeoff where they were likely past their decision speed to abort the takeoff, Guzzetti told The Associated Press after Inmans news conference. They were likely past their critical decision speed to remain on the runway and stop safely. Theyll need to thoroughly investigate the options the crew may or may not have had.

Dramatic video captured the aircraft crashing into businesses and erupting in a fireball. Footage from phones, cars and security cameras has given investigators evidence of what happened from many different angles.

Flight records suggest the UPS MD-11 that crashed underwent maintenance while it was on the ground in San Antonio for more than a month until mid-October. It is not clear what work was done.

The UPS package handling facility in Louisville is the companys largest. The hub employs more than 20,000 people in the region, handles 300 flights daily and sorts more than 400,000 packages an hour.

UPS Worldport operations resumed Wednesday night with its Next Day Air, or night sort, operation, spokesperson Jim Mayer said.

The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) is investigating a vehicle crash into an LGBTQ bar early Saturday morning in Tampa's famous 7th Avenue, which left four people dead and 11 others injured.

Officers say the department's Air Service unit was monitoring a vehicle driving recklessly at high speeds on I-275 around 12:40 a.m. Police say this was the same vehicle seen street racing earlier on Hillsborough Avenue near 22nd Street.

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Authorities say the driver exited the interstate at Doyle Carlton Drive in downtown Tampa. Five minutes later, Tampa police officers and FHP troopers located it near Palm Avenue and Nebraska Avenue.

A trooper began pursuing the vehicle and unsuccessfully attempted to disable it using a PIT maneuver.

Officials say the driver then sped off at a high rate of speed toward Nebraska Avenue, before continuing east on 7th Avenue. The FHP says its troopers ended their pursuit as the driver approached 7th Avenue.

According to Tampa Police, the driver eventually lost control and crashed into Bradley's on 7th. The vehicle hit more than a dozen people outside on the popular gay bar's patio.

Officials say three people died at the scene. A fourth victim died at the hospital. Of the 11 injured victims, one is hospitalized in critical condition, while eight others are in stable condition. Two victims who received only minor injuries declined treatment on scene. All 15 of the victims are adults.

Officers detained the driver at the scene, identifying him as 22-year-old Silas Sampson.

What happened this morning was a senseless tragedy. Our hearts are with the loved ones of the victims and all those who were impacted, said Chief Lee Bercaw. Reckless driving put innocent lives in danger. The Tampa Police Department and the Florida Highway Patrol are committed to seeking justice for the victims and their families.

The FHP is leading the crash investigation which is ongoing.

This article was written by Sean O'Reilly for the Scripps News Group in Tampa.