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Faith

Father Giacomo Costa, consultor of the General Secretariat of the Synod, from left, Gabriella Gambino, undersecretary of the Vatican's Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life, and Orietta Rachele Grazioli, a professor of canon and comparative family law, attend a news conference presenting Pope Leo XIV's meeting with the heads of the Eastern Churches and the presidents of the Episcopal Conferences, at the Vatican, Friday, Oct. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Leo seeks status update of Francis’ divisive opening to divorced and remarried Catholics

Nicole Winfield, The Associated Press 4 minute read 6:57 AM CDT

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Ten years after Pope Francis sent shock waves through the Catholic Church with his outreach to divorced and civilly remarried Catholics, Pope Leo XIV is inviting church leaders to Rome next week to understand how Francis’ document has been implemented.

Vatican officials on Friday stressed that Francis’ 2016 text “The Joy of Love” isn’t up for rewriting, amending or scrapping. Rather, the weeklong closed-door conference starting Wednesday is meant to understand how bishops have incorporated the document’s teaching into their local communities.

Francis' document covers a host of issues relating to how the Catholic Church can better minister to families today. But when it was released after a yearslong consultation, “The Joy of Love” immediately sparked controversy because it opened the door to letting civilly remarried Catholics receive Communion.

Church teaching holds that unless these Catholics obtain an annulment — a church decree that their first marriage was invalid — they cannot receive the sacraments, since they are seen as living in sin and committing adultery.

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Faith

Passengers who experienced an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, during a flight on FlyDubai plane, arrive at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Israel to start repatriation flights for passengers stranded in UAE following FlyDubai attack

Sam Mednick And Aamer Madhani, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

Israel to start repatriation flights for passengers stranded in UAE following FlyDubai attack

Sam Mednick And Aamer Madhani, The Associated Press 6 minute read 5:49 AM CDT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel will begin repatriation flights on Friday to bring back passengers stranded in the United Arab Emirates after commercial travel between the two countries was suspended in the wake of the attack on a pilot by his copilot who tried to crash a Tel Aviv-bound flight this week.

The effort to get Israeli passengers home comes as authorities in Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and beyond are grappling with the fallout from the incident on board the FlyDubai flight Wednesday that has raised questions about the state of aviation security and further unsettled a Middle East already shaken by the ongoing U.S.-Iran war.

Nothing is publicly known about the motive of the copilot who came close to crashing the aircraft, which had departed from Dubai earlier Wednesday, and killing all 182 aboard. A regional investigation is underway.

The UAE has canceled all flights to Israel, complicating travel for hundreds of passengers who fly between the countries on a typical day.

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5:49 AM CDT

Health

This image provided by Moderna in September 2026 shows the mFLUSIVA mRNA flu vaccine. (Moderna via AP)

Here’s why experts say now is an ideal time to protect yourself from flu

Lauran Neergaard, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

Here’s why experts say now is an ideal time to protect yourself from flu

Lauran Neergaard, The Associated Press 6 minute read 5:23 AM CDT

It’s October and time for flu shots.

Medical experts urge getting a flu vaccination soon, before influenza starts spreading widely — and to get up to date on protection against other fall respiratory viruses, too. Updated COVID-19 shots are available now, plus shots for people especially vulnerable to another winter risk called RSV.

While these infections make many people feel miserable for a few days before they recover, every year flu alone causes hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations in the U.S. and kills tens of thousands.

Vaccination isn’t “a guarantee that we’re going to prevent illness. But just like the seat belt in your car, it decreases risk” of the worst outcomes, said Dr. Ryan Stanton of the American College of Emergency Physicians.

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5:23 AM CDT

This photo provided by Jack Pearadin shows the American Dream diamond sitting on top of a large gem on Aug. 9, 2026, in Buena Vista, Colo. (Jack Pearadin via AP)

Arkansas gem hunter finds a diamond he claims could be worth $1 million

Laura Turbay, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Arkansas gem hunter finds a diamond he claims could be worth $1 million

Laura Turbay, The Associated Press 5 minute read Updated: 7:37 AM CDT

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Jack Pearadin is the first to admit that his diamond-hunting hobby hasn't paid off, despite sifting rocks for more than a dozen years.

But earlier this year, the Navy reservist and his friend shoveled a six-carat diamond from a field in Arkansas where he's found over 300 gems so far. And this one is like nothing he's dug up before — Pearadin claims collectors have told him it could be worth $1 million.

At least one experienced appraiser told The Associated Press that a diamond of such size and quality could be worth a fourth of that — still an impressive find.

“Oh my God! Oh my God!” Pearadin said as he livestreamed the discovery on TikTok. “Holy crap, we got a big one!” he yelled after rinsing gravel from a bucket and then flipping the pile onto a table to expose the shiny facets of a 6.03-carat diamond.

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Updated: 7:37 AM CDT

Health

An Ebola treatment center was burned down as the death toll in Congo passes 4,000

Dieudonne Dirole And Ope Adetayo, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

An Ebola treatment center was burned down as the death toll in Congo passes 4,000

Dieudonne Dirole And Ope Adetayo, The Associated Press 5 minute read Updated: 6:30 AM CDT

BUNIA, Congo (AP) — Congo's Ebola outbreak has recorded more than 4,000 deaths, authorities said, as they struggle to contain the spread of the virus.

The latest figures released by the Health Ministry on Thursday showed that 4,018 people have died, making up nearly half of the 8,300 confirmed cases, in what has become the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in history.

Congo announced an outbreak on May 15, caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, which has no known treatment or vaccine.

Some health workers gathered in Bunia, the capital of northeastern Ituri province, the heart of the outbreak. They were demanding payment for wages owed but were quickly dispersed by officials. The protesting workers included surveillance team members, who identify people exposed to infected patients. They waved placards saying, “No money, no data!” and “No payment for months.”

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Updated: 6:30 AM CDT

Health

Anne Latendresse, a Quebec Solidaire candidate for the riding of Maurice-Richard, speaks to a supporter outside her campaign office in Montreal on Friday, Sept. 25, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

Women 60 and over vastly outnumbered by men on Quebec’s campaign trail

Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

Women 60 and over vastly outnumbered by men on Quebec’s campaign trail

Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press 5 minute read 3:00 AM CDT

MONTREAL - Anne Latendresse retired from her job as a university professor and researcher in June. But instead of taking time to relax, the 65-year-old jumped right into a new challenge: running as a candidate for left-wing party Québec solidaire in the Oct. 5 election.

Latendresse says the timing was right. Her 26-year-old son is not only grown, but serving as her campaign manager. She also felt like her 25-year career in the Université du Québec à Montréal's geography department, as well as involvement with social movements and non-profit organizations, had given her the skills and confidence needed to make the leap.

"I’m coming in with a sense of maturity and greater depth of knowledge," she said in a recent interview at her campaign headquarters in the Maurice-Richard riding north of downtown Montreal. "I think it’s a good time for me to champion issues, push initiatives forward, and develop expertise."

While Latendresse has good reasons to enter politics in her 60s, her choice is less common for women of her age.

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3:00 AM CDT

Autos

Supplied
The 2027 Porsche Cayenne Turbo Electric puts its 1,159 horsepower to pavement with surprising aplomb.

There’s fast and then there’s this

Kelly Taylor 5 minute read Preview

There’s fast and then there’s this

Kelly Taylor 5 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

The advice was not unexpected but it was surprising considering it applied to a vehicle weighing almost 6,000 pounds.

“Before you let off the brake, put your head against the headrest,” the instructor said.

We — myself and a handful of Porsche customers gathered at Red River Exhibition Park — were about to experience launch control on the 2027 Porsche Cayenne Turbo Electric.

Launch control works like this: you put the vehicle in Drive, hold the brake as hard as you can with your left foot and quickly depress the accelerator pedal as far as it goes and hold it.

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2:00 AM CDT

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Faith

FILE- A dirt road through barren mountains in the Mustang region, 462 kilometers (288 miles) west of Kathmandu, Nepal, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha, File)

As India and China repair ties, a Tibet film tells the story of a forgotten resistance

Aniruddha Ghosal, The Associated Press 7 minute read Preview

As India and China repair ties, a Tibet film tells the story of a forgotten resistance

Aniruddha Ghosal, The Associated Press 7 minute read Updated: 4:30 AM CDT

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — In the mountains of Nepal's Mustang region, just hours from the homeland he had never seen, Tenzin Rigzin Phurpatsang struggled to breathe the air his Tibetan ancestors had adapted to over generations. The thin air felt heavy.

The 37-year-old, first-time actor was in Mustang to film “Four Rivers Six Ranges,” a historical drama about resistance fighters who helped the Dalai Lama escape Tibet in 1959. A year later, Phurpatsang's own grandfather, Yeshi Wangyal, had returned to Tibet after CIA training to lead a separate guerrilla mission. He was killed fighting Chinese forces.

Born in exile in India, Phurpatsang is now a New York model. As he filmed firefight scenes in the mountains, a world away from his life, he thought of his family’s past.

“Wow, is that what my grandfather went through?” he asked himself.

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Updated: 4:30 AM CDT

Environment

Trump tried to make an ally out of fishermen. Some have started to turn on him

Patrick Whittle, The Associated Press 7 minute read Yesterday at 11:09 PM CDT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — John Evich, a commercial fisherman in Washington and Alaska, has voted for President Donald Trump three times, viewing him as someone who would fight for his industry.

But these days, Evich is weary of the high cost of doing business at sea, with fuel prices rising and trade hostilities with Canada jeopardizing markets for the crabs that he pulls off the ocean floor.

“If somebody came along that was going to do a better job, I would vote for them in a heartbeat,” he said.

Evich's sentiment, echoed throughout the U.S. seafood industry, is another piece of a political puzzle that is working against Trump in the midterm elections. Dissatisfaction among commercial fishermen could cause collateral damage for Republicans in competitive races in Washington, Alaska and Maine.

Faith

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth gives a State of the Force address at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026 in Quantico, Va. (Alex Wong/Pool Photo via AP)

Pete Hegseth creates a Pentagon Office of Religious Affairs reporting directly to him

Tiffany Stanley, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Pete Hegseth creates a Pentagon Office of Religious Affairs reporting directly to him

Tiffany Stanley, The Associated Press 4 minute read Yesterday at 11:02 PM CDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is launching an office of religious affairs, the latest of his faith-related reforms at the Pentagon.

He announced in a speech Wednesday that the office will help offer “first-class religious support” and will report directly to him.

“Our department is, you might say, putting on the full armor of God, because while we wage physical war, we all know the real battle is spiritual,” he said.

Hegseth has infused his evangelical Christianity into his leadership of the Pentagon, hosting Christian worship services for employees and often speaking of the United States as a Christian nation.

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Yesterday at 11:02 PM CDT

Environment

FILE - A natural gas meter operates Jan. 22, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)

Households will pay more for energy because of Trump’s policy changes, think tank says

Jennifer Mcdermott, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

Households will pay more for energy because of Trump’s policy changes, think tank says

Jennifer Mcdermott, The Associated Press 6 minute read Yesterday at 11:02 PM CDT

Households in the contiguous United States will pay thousands of dollars more for energy through 2040 because of federal policy changes since President Donald Trump returned to office, according to modeling released Friday by a nonpartisan think tank.

The Energy Innovation analysis found that households will pay an average of $6,500 more for energy, cumulatively through 2040. In five states, households will pay roughly $9,000 more: Oregon, Mississippi, South Dakota, Virginia and Wyoming.

The California-based think tank said there will be more demand for natural gas for electricity because the administration is canceling new clean energy projects and there will be more demand for gasoline for transportation because Trump and Congress are revoking policies that encouraged or created incentives for more efficient and lower-emissions vehicles. Higher demand drives prices up.

Electricity bills are already rising faster than inflation in much of the U.S., which is being blamed in some areas on demand from data centers. The Iran war has sent oil and gasoline prices sharply higher, too.

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Yesterday at 11:02 PM CDT

Environment

A resident fills their container with clean water as others wait for their turn from a tanker truck amid a drought in Sanggau, West Kalimantan, Indonesia, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

Indonesian villagers on Borneo struggle for water as El Niño intensifies peatland fires

Edna Tarigan And Victoria Milko, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

Indonesian villagers on Borneo struggle for water as El Niño intensifies peatland fires

Edna Tarigan And Victoria Milko, The Associated Press 6 minute read Yesterday at 8:07 PM CDT

PENYELADI, Indonesia (AP) — After three months with no rain, Sriwati, a shopkeeper and mother of three children living in Penyeladi village on the tropical island of Borneo, can no longer depend on the river for her needs.

Experts say communities like Sriwati’s are facing a severe water crisis as this year’s super El Niño, combined with decades of degradation of the island’s ecologically vital peatlands — ancient wetlands that are critical for carbon storage, water regulation and pollution control — has created the perfect storm exacerbating human-caused climate change.

The Kapuas, Indonesia’s longest river that over 3 million people rely on, has extremely receded in the area near her home. All that’s left is a shallow stream of muddy water that's not safe to drink or wash the rice she cooks to feed her children. She now has to buy water, adding to her monthly expenses.

“The water shortage affects us, especially when it comes to drinking water,” Sriwati, who like many Indonesians uses only one name, told The Associated Press from her small, concrete home.

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Yesterday at 8:07 PM CDT

Science & Technology

FILE - The Army dress uniform and photo of the late Christopher Pelkey is displayed at his mother's home, May 7, 2025, in Chandler, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)

Sentence tossed in Arizona case where deceased victim was depicted speaking in AI-generated video

Jacques Billeaud, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Sentence tossed in Arizona case where deceased victim was depicted speaking in AI-generated video

Jacques Billeaud, The Associated Press 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 7:16 PM CDT

PHOENIX (AP) — An Arizona man’s 10-year manslaughter sentence has been tossed in a case where a video generated by artificial intelligence portrayed the deceased victim addressing a judge before the punishment was imposed.

In a decision released Wednesday, the Arizona Court of Appeals concluded Gabriel Paul Horcasitas must be resentenced in the 2021 shooting death of Christopher Pelkey because the AI video wasn't reliable.

The court found the video crossed the line, saying it didn’t reflect actual events and presented statements made in the footage as coming directly from the victim.

“Indeed, rather than document an event or recording a particular moment, the AI video presents a depiction of the victim and his thoughts created from the imaginings of the victim’s sister,” the three-judge panel wrote.

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Updated: Yesterday at 7:16 PM CDT

Environment

FILE - The Teton mountains reflect on Oxbow Bend in Grand Teton National Park in Moran, Wyo., Aug. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Amber Baesler, File)

MLB won’t consider game at Grand Teton National Park, says was only conducting initial due diligence

The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

MLB won’t consider game at Grand Teton National Park, says was only conducting initial due diligence

The Associated Press 3 minute read Yesterday at 6:52 PM CDT

NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball won't consider staging a game in western Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park.

Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred sent a letter Thursday to Teton County Commissioner Chair Mark Newcomb, Jackson Mayor Arne Jorgensen and Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce President Rick Howe, who wrote to Manfred voicing objections on Monday following a report in The Washington Post that Grand Teton was under consideration.

Manfred sent a similar letter to U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico.

“MLB has no formal plan to play a game in Grand Teton National Park,” Manfred wrote. “Our team was conducting initial due diligence on many potential sites when this story was reported and we had made no decision of the feasibility of staging a game in Grand Teton National Park. We also had not reached the stage in our due diligence in which we evaluated the environmental impact or spoke to members of the community to solicit their views — steps that would have certainly been a part of any process should it have moved forward.”

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Yesterday at 6:52 PM CDT

Science & Technology

Bell Canada is building what's expected to be Canada's largest Canadian-owned data centre outside Regina, seen under construction, on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeremy Simes

Construction of Bell Canada’s AI data centre in Saskatchewan scaling up

Jeremy Simes, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Construction of Bell Canada’s AI data centre in Saskatchewan scaling up

Jeremy Simes, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 7:35 PM CDT

REGINA - Saskatchewan’s Crown investments minister stood Thursday in front of a skeleton of steel beams to tout progress on an artificial intelligence mega facility, while the Opposition again called on the province to consult first, then build.

"We have just an amazing thing going on here behind us," Jeremy Harrison told reporters at the site, southeast of Regina.

"Literally millions of pounds of steel."

Harrison and Bell Canada held a news conference at the company's 65-hectare site. Behind them, construction crews moved heavy equipment.

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Updated: Yesterday at 7:35 PM CDT

Faith

FILE - Christian musician Sean Feucht, of California, preaches to the crowd during a rally at the National Mall in Washington, Oct. 25, 2020. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Donor revives fraud claims against Christian worship leader Sean Feucht over a $250,000 donation

Deepa Bharath, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Donor revives fraud claims against Christian worship leader Sean Feucht over a $250,000 donation

Deepa Bharath, The Associated Press 4 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 7:21 PM CDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sean Feucht, a Christian worship leader who attained rock star status after his large rallies in defiance of pandemic-era regulations, is facing allegations of fraud from a Southern California donor.

In an amended federal lawsuit filed Wednesday, Steve Bray, an Orange County businessperson and Christian philanthropist, accused Feucht of soliciting a $250,000 donation for a 2023 concert tour that had already been fully financed by the late Charlie Kirk's Turning Point USA. A federal judge on Sept. 9 had dismissed the original lawsuit Bray brought, citing a lack of specific details and lack of evidence to support the fraud allegations. But he left a door open by giving the plaintiff 20 days to file an amended complaint with more specifics and proof.

According to court documents, Feucht met with Bray in his Anaheim office on March 6, 2023, seeking a donation for his Kingdom to the Capitol Tour, which he planned to take to all 50 states. Bray said in the complaint that he agreed to fund five tour stops for a total of $250,000, but later discovered that Feucht’s entire concert tour had been fully funded.

In a statement issued via his spokesperson, Feucht said he “looks forward to this case being dismissed, just as the last one was.”

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Updated: Yesterday at 7:21 PM CDT

October 2, 2026

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