AP News in Brief at 6:04 p.m. EDT

2 people dead and 8 wounded in a shooting and fire at a Michigan church, police say

GRAND BLANC TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A gunman opened fire inside a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chapel in Michigan during a Sunday service and set the building ablaze, killing at least two people and injuring eight others before police shot him, authorities said.

Hundreds of people were inside the church in Grand Blanc Township when a man rammed a four-door pickup with two American flags in the truck bed through the front door, then got out of the vehicle and started shooting, Police Chief William Renye told reporters. Investigators believe he “deliberately” set the building on fire, Renye said.

Officers responded to a 911 call and were at the church within 30 seconds and killed the shooter about seven minutes later, Renye said. After the suspect left the church, two officers pursued him and “engaged in gunfire,” the chief said.

Flames and smoke could be seen pouring from the church for hours before the blaze was put out.

Renye identified the suspect as Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, from neighboring Burton. Reyne did not specify a motive at a news conference on Sunday evening. Police cordoned off the street leading to the suspect’s home

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Missouri governor signs Trump-backed plan aimed at helping Republicans win another US House seat

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe signed a new U.S. House map into law Sunday as part of President Donald Trump’s plan to try to hold on to a narrow Republican majority in next year’s congressional election.

Kehoe’s signature puts the revised districts into state law with a goal of helping Republicans win one additional seat. But it may not be the final action. Opponents are pursuing a referendum petition that, if successful, would force a statewide vote on the new map. They also have brought several lawsuits against it.

U.S. House districts were redrawn across the country after the 2020 census to account for population changes. But Missouri is the third state this year to try to redraw its districts for partisan advantage, a process known as gerrymandering.

Republican lawmakers in Texas passed a new U.S. House map last month aimed at helping their party win five additional seats. Democratic lawmakers in California countered with their own redistricting plan aimed at winning five more seats, though it still needs voter approval. Other states also are considering redistricting.

Each seat could be critical, because Democrats need to gain just three seats to win control of the House, which would allow them to obstruct Trump’s agenda and launch investigations into him. Trump is trying to stave off a historic trend in which the president’s party typically loses seats in midterm elections.

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Police: Deadly shooting in North Carolina was ‘highly premeditated’ and location was ‘targeted’

SOUTHPORT, N.C. (AP) — A mass shooting that shattered the evening tranquility of a picturesque, seaside town in North Carolina was a “highly premeditated” attack that left three people dead and five injured, police said Sunday. The suspect who allegedly carried out the attack on a waterfront bar was in custody.

Nigel Edge, 40, of Oak Island is accused of opening fire Saturday night from a boat into a crowd gathered at the American Fish Company in Southport, a historic port town about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Wilmington, Police Chief Todd Coring said.

At a press conference Sunday, Coring said the location was “targeted,” but he did not elaborate.

Authorities said Edge piloted a small boat close to shore, which was lined with bars and restaurants, stopped briefly and fired. He then sped away.

Roughly half an hour after the shooting, a U.S. Coast Guard crew spotted a person matching the suspect’s description pulling a boat from the water at a public ramp on Oak Island. The person was detained and turned over to Southport police for questioning, officials said.

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Shutdown standoff deepens ahead of crucial meeting at the White House

WASHINGTON (AP) — Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer and Republican Majority Leader John Thune are digging in ahead of this week’s deadline to keep the government open, showing little evidence of budging even as both sides have agreed to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday.

Republicans say Democrats need to help them pass a simple extension of government funding by Tuesday night to avoid a shutdown and they will not agree to negotiate until after it’s approved. Democrats say they want immediate talks on health care, and they are willing to shut down the government if they don’t get concessions.

A shutdown is “totally up to the Democrats,” Thune, R-S.D., said in an interview that aired Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

“The ball is in their court.” Thune said. “There is a bill sitting at the desk in the Senate right now, we could pick it up today and pass it, that has been passed by the House that will be signed into law by the president to keep the government open.”

Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the same program that “it’s up to them” whether Republicans will negotiate when the two sides meet at the White House on Monday.

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Europe retains the Ryder Cup and reasserts dominance over Americans

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. (AP) — Team Europe is taking the Ryder Cup back across the Atlantic Ocean, leaving the Americans to search for answers in what is becoming a lopsided series.

The Americans at least showed a pulse Sunday and made Europe sweat, storming back from the largest Sunday deficit ever against Europe with real hope.

Shane Lowry, who contended with the unruly New York crowds all week, had the last word. He birdied three of the last four holes, and his final putt will be part of Ryder Cup lore for Europe. Russell Henley had a 1-up lead, but his 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th to win the match was short.

Lowry holed his 6-foot birdie to halve the match, giving Europe the 14 points it needed to retain the cup as the defending champion. Three matches remained on the course.

Lowry said to his caddie walking up the 18th, “I have a chance to do the coolest thing in my life.” And he did just that.

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Mideast nations confront chaos in their region, which Egypt warns ‘is at a point of implosion’

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Oman — all nations in the thick of the unrest that has pervaded the Middle East — confronted the crisis in the region at the annual U.N. gathering of world leaders, with Egypt’s top diplomat warning that the Mideast “is at a point of implosion.”

All four countries on Saturday decried Israel’s ongoing pursuit of war in Gaza and the horrific impact on Palestinian civilians – and they bemoaned the failure of the United Nations and the broader international community to achieve a ceasefire and end the bloodshed.

The four ministers spoke a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — facing protesters, critics and growing global isolation over his Gaza policies — told the General Assembly his country “must finish the job” against Hamas for its Oct. 7, 2023, surprise attack in southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people. Hamas also took 250 hostages. Israeli forces recently launched an offensive to take control of Gaza City.

Here’s a country-by-country look at those four leaders’ takes from the U.N. podium on the overall Mideast situation and Gaza in particular.

Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, whose country has been a key mediator in Gaza along with the United States and Qatar, sharply criticized the international community “standing idly by as a spectator” while international law is systematically violated in Gaza and elsewhere in the Middle East.

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Trump will speak at a hastily called meeting of top military leaders, AP source says

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will speak at a hastily called meeting of top military leaders on Tuesday, according to a White House official.

Hundreds of generals and admirals — senior commanders of the one-star rank or higher and their top advisers — have been summoned by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth from all over the world to the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia, with little notice.

The White House official was not authorized to discuss the president’s plans before a public announcement about his attendance and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Trump told NBC News in an interview Sunday that they would be “talking about how well we’re doing militarily, talking about being in great shape, talking about a lot of good, positive things.”

News about the meeting broke Thursday, and no reason was initially provided for the unusual gathering. Trump didn’t seem to know about it when first asked by reporters during an Oval Office appearance.

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The Taliban release a US citizen from Afghan prison

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Taliban on Sunday freed a U.S. citizen from an Afghan prison, weeks after they said they had reached an agreement with U.S. envoys on a prisoner exchange as part of an effort to normalize relations.

The deputy spokesperson for the Taliban Foreign Ministry, Zia Ahmad Takal, identified the man as Amir Amiri. He did not say when Amiri was detained, why, or where.

An official with knowledge of the release said Amiri had been detained in Afghanistan since December 2024 and was on his way back to the U.S. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the details with the media.

Qatar facilitated Amiri’s release in the latest diplomatic achievement resulting from its security partnership with the U.S. that has secured the freedom of four other Americans from Taliban detention this year. The energy-rich nation on the Arabian Peninsula also helped in releasing a British couple who were imprisoned for months.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed Amiri’s release, saying it marked the administration’s determination, reinforced by U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent executive order, to protect American nationals from wrongful detention abroad.

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Things to know about federal law enforcement activity in Chicago, Portland, Memphis

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Armed federal agents patrolled Chicago’s downtown streets on Sunday, a new escalation of an immigration enforcement crackdown there that followed President Donald Trump’s announcement that he will send troops to Portland in the latest examples of creeping federal law enforcement presence in U.S. cities.

Meanwhile, Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has said federal authorities, including immigration and drug enforcement agents, are expected to arrive in Memphis starting this week.

In Chicago on Sunday, dozens of armed federal agents, in full tactical gear, walked the streets of some of the city’s most prominent tourist and shopping areas. That comes amid a surge of immigration enforcement that began early this month, including repeated conflict at an ICE building in Broadview, west of Chicago, where federal authorities on Friday and Saturday fired pepper balls and tear gas at protesters.

Trump said on social media Saturday that he was directing the Department of Defense to “provide all necessary Troops to protect War ravaged Portland.” Trump said the decision was necessary to protect U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities. His announcement was met with pushback from Oregon’s Democratic governor.

The moves follow Trump’s crime crackdown in the District of Columbia and actions in Los Angeles in response to immigration protests that turned violent with the arrival of troops.

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Oregon moves to No. 2 behind Buckeyes in AP poll; Rebels, Sooners join top 5; Alabama back in top 10

Oregon moved up to No. 2 in The Associated Press college football poll on Sunday, Mississippi earned its highest ranking since 2015, Alabama jumped back into the top 10 and Virginia was in the Top 25 for the first time in six years in the wake of a volatile weekend in which four top-10 teams lost.

Ohio State won at Washington and remains No. 1 for the fifth straight week. The Buckeyes received 46 first-place votes, six fewer than a week ago, and their 37-point lead over Oregon is the closest margin between the top two teams since the preseason poll in mid-August.

Oregon’s two-overtime win at Penn State earned the Ducks 16 first-place votes, 15 more than last week, and gave them their highest ranking since they were No. 1 for two months last year.

Miami, which had an open date, slipped one spot to No. 3 and was followed by Mississippi and idle Oklahoma. The No. 4 Rebels got a nine-rung promotion for beating LSU and have their highest ranking since they were No. 3 in late September 2015. LSU fell to No. 13, swapping places with Mississippi.

Texas A&M, Penn State, Indiana, Texas and Alabama round out the top 10.