Newswatch

White House focuses on border crackdown as it marks 100 days for Trump’s second term

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is opening a weeklong celebration of President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office. Officials kicked off the promotional campaign on Monday with a focus on his immigration crackdown. Tom Homan, Trump’s top border adviser, said “we’re going to keep doing it, full speed ahead.” Trump is holding a rally in Michigan on Tuesday and delivering a commencement address at the University of Alabama on Thursday. Although immigration remains the Republican president’s strongest issue in public opinion surveys, he’s faced declining support overall. There are concerns that he’s focused on the wrong issues, according to polling from AP-NORC.

Russia declares a 72-hour ceasefire in Ukraine for next week to mark Victory Day in World War II

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The Kremlin has declared a 72-hour ceasefire in Ukraine next week as Russia marks Victory Day in World War II. Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the truce will run from the start of May 8 and last through the end of May 10 to mark Moscow’s defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945. Kyiv insisted on a longer and immediate truce. The move comes as U.S. President Donald Trump scaled up efforts to broker a peace deal in Ukraine. Until now, Putin had refused to accept a complete unconditional ceasefire, linking it to a halt in Western arms supplies to Ukraine and Kyiv’s mobilization effort.

Conclave to elect a new pope will start on May 7 as cardinals get to know one another

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican says the conclave to elect a successor to Pope Francis will begin on May 7. The date was chief on the agenda of cardinals holding informal meetings Monday to work out church business following the April 21 death of Pope Francis. They held off on announcing the opening of the conclave until after his funeral on Saturday. The Vatican said more than 180 participated in the fifth informal meeting in Rome. A smaller group of 135, known as the College of Cardinals, is eligible to elect a new pope.

Teacher identified among those killed in vehicle ramming at Vancouver street festival

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — A teacher and counselor has been identified as one of the 11 people killed when a driver plowed a sport-utility vehicle through a crowd at a Filipino heritage festival in Vancouver over the weekend. Kira Salim worked at New Westminster School District southeast of Vancouver. The black Audi SUV sped down a closed, crowded, food-truck-lined street just after 8 p.m. Saturday. About half of the 32 people injured remained hospitalized. Murder charges have been filed against the suspect, who has a history of mental illness and was initially detained by members of the public. Authorities ruled out terrorism as a motive. Hundreds attended vigils Sunday across the city for the victims, including the Canadian prime minister.

Canadians vote in an election dominated by Trump’s trade war and bluster

TORONTO (AP) — Canadians are voting whether to extend the Liberal Party’s decade in power or hand control to the Conservatives. They’ll pick new Prime Minister Mark Carney or populist opposition leader Pierre Poilievre, but Monday’s election is also a referendum of sorts on a non-Canadian: Donald Trump. The Liberals had looked headed for defeat until the U.S. president won a second term and began threatening Canada’s economy and sovereignty. Trump even suggested the country should become the 51st state.  Whichever candidate becomes prime minister will face big challenges including a trade war.

‘Exceptional’ power outage in Spain and Portugal affects millions of people

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — A blackout has brought much of Spain and Portugal to a standstill, affecting millions of people. The Spanish power distributor calls it “exceptional and extraordinary.” It says restoring power fully could take six to 10 hours. The cause was not immediately clear Monday. Spain’s prime minister said a “strong oscillation” in the European grid was behind the outage. Train services stopped. Airports, hospitals and emergency services are on backup power. It is the second serious European power outage in less than six weeks.

Israel’s domestic security chief says he will step down in June, defusing battle with Netanyahu

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The head of Israel’s internal security service says he will resign in June over the failure of his agency to warn of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. It defuses an escalating battle with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar said Monday he will formally step down June 15. Netanyahu moved to fire Bar last month over what he said was a crisis of confidence surrounding Hamas’ attacks. But it sparked an uproar because the agency is investigating ties between the Israeli leader’s office and Qatar — a key mediator between Hamas and Israel over the war in Gaza.

Houthi rebels say a US airstrike that hit Yemen prison holding kills 68

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels say a U.S. airstrike that hit a prison holding African migrants killed at least 68 people. That’s according to the Houthis’ Civil Defense organization on Monday, which said 47 others were wounded. There was no immediate independent confirmation of the death toll. The U.S. military said it was investigating the alleged strike in Yemen’s Saada governorate, a stronghold of the Houthis. Some 115 prisoners were held at the site. Graphic footage aired by the Houthis’ al-Masirah satellite news channel showed what appeared to be dead bodies and others wounded there.

When kids are evicted, they often lose both home and school

HOUSTON (AP) — Schoolchildren threatened with eviction are more likely to end up in another district or transfer to another school. They’re more likely to miss school, and those who end up transferring are suspended more often. That’s according to a groundbreaking analysis from the Eviction Lab at Princeton University, published in Sociology of Education. Researchers paired court filings and student records from the Houston Independent School District. The researchers found students missed school more often even when they didn’t have to change schools. Students who were threatened with eviction missed four more days in the following school year than their peers.

How bugs and beet juice could play roles in the race to replace artificial dyes in food

ST. LOUIS (AP) — U.S. health officials are pushing to get artificial colors out of the nation’s food supply. Sensient Technologies Corp. is one of the world’s largest dyemakers. The company has seen a surge in businesses rushing to covert their products from synthetic to natural colors. The process to change from petroleum-based dyes to colors made from vegetables, fruits, flowers and even insects won’t be cheap or easy. Health advocates have long called for the removal of the dyes. They cite mixed evidence that the colors are linked to behavior problems and obesity in kids.