Louisville bank employee livestreamed attack that killed 4

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Louisville bank employee armed with a rifle opened fire at his workplace Monday morning, killing four people — including a close friend of Kentucky’s governor — while livestreaming the attack on Instagram, authorities said.

Justice Department appeals Texas abortion pill order

AUSTIN, Texas — The Justice Department on Monday appealed a Texas court ruling that would halt approval of a drug used in the most common method of abortion in the U.S., calling the decision “extraordinary and unprecedented.”

AP sources: EPA car rule to push huge increase in EV sales

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Biden administration will propose strict new automobile pollution limits this week that would require at least 54% of new vehicles sold in the U.S. to be electric by 2030 and as many as two of every three by 2032, according to industry and environmental officials briefed on the plan.

China military ‘ready to fight’ after drills near Taiwan

TAIPEI, Taiwan — China’s military declared Monday it is “ready to fight” after completing three days of large-scale combat exercises around Taiwan that simulated sealing off the island in response to the Taiwanese president’s trip to the U.S. last week.

Brazil’s Lula struggling to move forward after 100 days

BRASILIA, Brazil — Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva finishes the first 100 days of his third term as Brazil’s president on Monday and his return to power has been marked by efforts to reinstate his social policies and undo his predecessor’s legacy.

Leaked U.S. intel: Russia operatives claimed new ties with UAE

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. spies caught Russian intelligence officers boasting that they had convinced the oil-rich United Arab Emirates “to work together against US and UK intelligence agencies,” according to a purported American document posted online as part of a major U.S. intelligence breach.

Biden sports plan angers transgender advocates, opponents

A Biden administration proposal to forbid outright bans on transgender athletes sparked outrage from conservative leaders while also angering trans rights activists who note schools could still prevent some athletes from participating on teams that align with their gender identity.

Regulators say railroads must examine how they build trains

OMAHA, Neb. — Federal regulators said Friday that railroads need to re-examine how they assemble their trains after a string of derailments in recent years that were at least partly caused by the way empty and loaded cars were mixed together with locomotives.

Ex-convict’s letters to shooter foretold Las Vegas massacre

LAS VEGAS — Letters addressing the gunman who in October 2017 unleashed the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history in Las Vegas, apparently written by an ex-convict who lived in Texas, foretold the carnage to come, according to documents obtained Friday.

Judge halts FDA approval of abortion pill mifepristone

AUSTIN, Texas — A federal judge in Texas on Friday ordered a hold on U.S. approval of the abortion medication mifepristone, throwing into question access to the nation’s most common method of abortion in a ruling that waved aside decades of scientific approval.

Russia hits illegally annexed Ukraine areas from ground, air

KYIV, Ukraine — Russian forces used ground- and air-fired missiles, rocket launchers and weaponized drones to bombard the provinces of Ukraine it has illegally annexed but doesn’t fully control, causing casualties, building damage and power outages Friday.

Attacks in Israel, West Bank kill 3 in worsening violence

JERUSALEM — Palestinian assailants carried out a pair of attacks on Friday, killing three people and wounding at least six as tensions soared after days of fighting at Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site, officials said. Earlier in the day, retaliatory Israeli airstrikes had hit Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, sparking fears of a broader conflict.

Pope Francis skips Good Friday at Colosseum in chilly Rome

ROME — Pope Francis, hospitalized recently with bronchitis, skipped the traditional Good Friday nighttime procession at the Colosseum because of chilly weather in Rome, staying instead at his home at the Vatican while thousands of faithful turned out for the torchlit event.