AP-Newswatch

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The former student who shot through the doors of a Christian elementary school in Nashville and killed three children and three adults had drawn a detailed map of the school, including potential entry points, and conducted surveillance of the building before carrying out the massacre. Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief John Drake did not say exactly what drove the shooter to open fire Monday morning at The Covenant School before being killed by police. But he provided chilling examples of the shooter’s elaborate planning for the bloodshed, including a manifesto and other writings that police are going over. The victims include three 9-year-old children, the school’s top administrator, a substitute teacher and a custodian.

39 dead in fire at Mexico migrant center near US border

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A fire in a dormitory at a Mexican immigration detention center near the U.S. border left more than three dozen migrants dead. It was one of the deadliest incidents ever at an immigration lockup in the country. Hours after the fire broke out late Monday, rows of bodies were laid out under shimmery silver sheets outside the facility in Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso, Texas. Ambulances, firefighters and vans from the morgue swarmed the scene. The National Immigration Institute said 39 people died and 29 were injured.

France braces for violence in new wave of pension protests

PARIS (AP) — Protests and strikes against unpopular pension reforms are kicking off again across France. In Paris, striking workers waving burning flares invaded and blocked train tracks serving one of the French capital’s main railway stations. Fears that violence could mar the demonstrations prompted what Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin described as an unprecedented deployment of 13,000 officers, nearly half of them concentrated in the French capital. Protests are taking place elsewhere in France on Tuesday. It’s the latest round of nationwide demonstrations and strikes against unpopular pension reforms and President Emmanuel Macron’s push to raise France’s legal retirement age from 62 to 64.

Israel tensions ease as Netanyahu pauses judicial overhaul

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel’s political factions opposed to embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are setting up negotiating teams after he called for dialogue and paused his controversial judicial overhaul plan that had set off unprecedented mass street protests and a spiraling domestic crisis. But compromise appears elusive as the standoff remained the same on Tuesday: a dispute over the fundamental issue of what kind of country Israel should be. Positions only appear to have hardened in past days. Netanyahu said he wanted “to avoid civil war” and would seek a compromise with political opponents. He spoke after tens of thousands of people demonstrated outside the parliament building in Jerusalem.

Shattered: Catholic community confronts its founder’s lies

ROCCA DI PAPA, Italy (AP) — An internationally lauded federation that provides community care for people with intellectual disabilities is grappling with revelations that its late founder perverted Catholic doctrine to justify his sexual abuse of women. Two expert reports commissioned by France-based L’Arche have rocked the organization to its core. They revealed that its late founder Jean Vanier built the organization to hide a mystical-sexual sect at its core. The Associated Press was given access to a retreat of L’Arche’s national and regional leaders this week who are meeting for the first time since the latest revelations to try to chart a path forward.

Feel the Force: Hamill carries ‘Star Wars’ voice to Ukraine

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A downloadable app that has been voiced by “Star Wars” actor Mark Hamill is triggered when air raid alarms sound in Ukraine. He urges people with his grave but also calming baritone to take cover. He also tells them when the danger has passed by signing off with “May the Force be with you.” The actor told The Associated Press that he’s admiring Ukraine’s resilience from afar in California. Ukraine’s fight against the Russian invasion is now in its second year and it reminds him of the Star Wars saga. Hamill is also fundraising to buy reconnaissance drones for Ukrainian forces.

Study says warming-fueled supercells to hit South more often

A new study says warming will fuel more supercells in the United States and that those storms will move eastward from their current range. The study says that makes it more likely that the lethal storms will strike more often in the more populous areas of Southern states. Supercells are nature’s nastiest storms, producing most killer tornadoes and damaging hail. Even with moderate warming, the study projects a nearly 7% increase in supercells by century’s end. The study author says what computer simulations show for the year 2100 seems to be here now. Scientists say Friday’s Mississippi tornado fits the projected pattern but can’t be blamed on climate change.

U.S. renewable electricity surpassed coal in 2022

The U.S. Energy Information Administration announced that electricity generated from renewables surpassed coal electricity production in the United States for the first time in 2022. The growth of wind and solar significantly drove the increase in renewable energy and experts say these two resources will be the “backbone” of clean energy growth in the U.S. because of their reliability and affordability. Renewables passed nuclear electricity production for the first time in 2012 and continued to outpace it.

Wisconsin school bans Miley, Dolly duet from class concert

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Administrators at a Wisconsin elementary school aren’t letting a first-grade class perform a Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton duet promoting LGBTQ acceptance because they say the song could be seen as controversial. Students at Heyer Elementary School in Waukesha are being told they cannot perform a rendition of “Rainbowland,” and parents in the district say it’s because the song encourages LGBTQ acceptance and references rainbows. Superintendent James Sebert and other administrators banned the song last week, angering parents and the first-grade teacher, Melissa Tempel, who says she chose the song because she thought its message was universal and sweet.

Honda recalls more than 330,000 vehicles due to mirror issue

Honda is recalling more than 330,000 vehicles because heating pads behind both side-view mirrors may not be bonded properly, which could lead to the mirror glass falling out and increase the risk of a crash. Vehicles included in the recall are 2020-2022 Odyssey, 2020-2022 Passport, 2020-2021 Pilot and 2020-2021 Ridgeline. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Tuesday that the vehicles don’t comply with the necessary rear visibility requirements. Honda dealers will replace the side-view mirrors on impacted vehicles free of charge.