AP-Newswatch

Netanyahu decries release of wrong body as a ceasefire violation. Hamas pledges to investigate

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed revenge for what he described as a “cruel and malicious violation” of the ceasefire agreement with Hamas. His remarks followed the release of a body that Israeli authorities found was not that of an Israeli mother of two young boys, as the Palestinian militants had promised. Hamas said it would conduct a review of the information regarding the body. The group suggested a possible mix-up of remains might have occurred due to Israeli bombing of the area where the Israeli hostages were being held. The incident raised doubts about the future of the fragile ceasefire.

US envoy praises Zelenskyy after Trump’s censure of the Ukrainian leader

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — President Donald Trump’s envoy to Ukraine and Russia says he’s held “extensive and positive discussions” with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about the three-year war. He praised the Ukrainian leader as an “embattled and courageous leader of a nation at war.” Retired U.S. Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg — who traveled to Kyiv on Wednesday and whose planned news conference with Zelenskyy on Thursday was changed at the last minute to a simple photo opportunity — struck a positive tone Friday after saying it was “a long and intense day” of talks with Ukraine’s senior leadership. His comments marked a departure from rebukes of Zelenskyy by Trump and other senior U.S. officials that appeared to reflect an abrupt deterioration of relations.

Pope Francis isn’t out of danger but his condition isn’t life-threatening, medical team says

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis’ medical team says the pontiff’s condition isn’t life-threatening. But they said Friday that Francis isn’t out of danger. The 88-year-old pontiff marked his first week in a hospital with pneumonia on top of chronic bronchitis. Francis’ doctors delivered their first in-person update on the pope’s condition. They said that he would remain hospitalized at least all of next week. The pope is receiving occasional supplements of oxygen and is responding to strengthened drug therapy for pneumonia. Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemellli hospital on Feb. 14 after his bronchitis worsened. Doctors have diagnosed pneumonia in both lungs and a complex infection.

Experienced workers, not just rookies, get cut as Trump slashes probationary employees

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — President Donald Trump has been cutting probationary employees as part of his effort to downsize the federal workforce. While many people have probationary status because they have less than a year or two on the job, others are on probation because they had recently been promoted or transferred into a new position. Some served in the military, only to become vulnerable when shifting to a civilian job. Thousands of people have lost their jobs, although the final number isn’t clear. One fired worker says “they have no idea how many lives they are destroying,”

Trump administration stalling medical evacuation for USAID staffers, spouses in peril, suits charge

WASHINGTON (AP) — Court orders have had only limited effect in the Trump administration’s dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development. USAID staffers also assert that some stationed abroad have been left in precarious situations. A federal judge is due to decide Friday whether to allow the administration to move forward with plans to place all but a small fraction of USAID staffers on leave. Affidavits from USAID staffers and spouses accuse the Trump administration of stalling medical evacuations for some two dozen women in high-risk pregnancies abroad. The administration says it is taking all required care of staffers.

Judge adjourns trial for New York City Mayor Eric Adams but appoints counsel to advise on next steps

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge has adjourned the corruption trial for New York City Mayor Eric Adams and appointed counsel to advise him on how to handle the Justice Department’s request to drop charges against the Democrat. The ruling Friday by Judge Dale E. Ho will delay by at least a couple weeks when he will decide whether to grant the request to drop charges against the embattled mayor of the country’s largest city. A government lawyer cited an executive order by President Donald Trump as he defended the request to drop charges during a hearing Wednesday. Adams confirmed at the hearing that he accepted that charges could later be reinstated.

Condemned South Carolina killer chooses to be executed by firing squad

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Condemned South Carolina inmate Brad Sigmon has chosen to die by a firing squad. He would be the first U.S. inmate shot to death in an execution in 15 years. The 67-year-old is scheduled to die March 7. He is the first inmate to choose South Carolina’s new firing squad over lethal injection or the electric chair. Only three inmates in the U.S. have been executed by firing squad since 1976. All were in Utah. Sigmon will be strapped to a chair and have a hood placed over his head and a target placed over his heart in the death chamber. Three volunteers will fire at him from about 15 feet away.

Jurors begin deliberating in the trial of a man charged with trying to kill Salman Rushdie

MAYVILLE, N.Y. (AP) — Jurors have begun deliberating in the trial of a New Jersey man charged with stabbing and trying to kill author Salman Rushdie on a New York lecture stage. The jury got the case Friday after lawyers delivered closing arguments to wrap up seven days of testimony in Chautauqua County Court. Hadi Matar faces up to 25 years in prison if he’s found guilty on charges of attempted murder and assault. Prosecutors say Matar ran onto the stage at the Chautauqua Institution where Rushdie was about to speak and stabbed him more than a dozen times before a live audience. The attack in August 2022 left the 77-year-old prizewinning novelist blind in one eye.

Jerry ‘Ice Man’ Butler, soul singer whose hits included ‘Only the Strong Survive,’ dies at 85

NEW YORK (AP) — Jerry Butler, a premier soul singer whose rich, steady baritone graced such hits as “For Your Precious Love,” “Only the Strong Survive” and “Make It Easy On Yourself,” has died at age 85. Butler’s niece, Yolanda Goff, told the Chicago Sun-Times that Butler died Thursday at his home in Chicago. A key voice for soul music made in Chicago and Philadelphia, he was a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and a three-time Grammy Award nominee. Butler was also an inspired songwriter who collaborated with Otis Redding on “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” and with Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff on “Only the Strong Survive,”

New York Yankees drop ban on beards, 49 years after it was imposed by owner George Steinbrenner

TAMPA. Fla. (AP) — The New York Yankees have dropped their ban on beards, 49 years after it was imposed by owner George Steinbrenner. Current owner Hal Steinbrenner, son of The Boss, announced the change Friday before the team’s spring training opener. Hal Steinbrenner says in a statement: “It is the appropriate time to move beyond the familiar comfort of our former policy.” As recently as Monday, the Yankees had left reminders on the clubhouse chair of each player to arrive clean shaven the following morning for photo day, which was ignored by closer Devin Williams.