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

Trump, after bipartisan backlash, says Pentagon won’t livestream execution of Fort Hood shooter

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday that the Pentagon will no longer livestream the firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan, after the announcement faced bipartisan criticism and Vice President JD Vance said he wouldn’t watch it.

Trump said on social media that publicly airing the execution “might have been a strong deterrent for the World to witness how America deals with Terrorists and SCUM like Hasan.”

But, he continued, “many very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die, through streaming, or through any other visual device.”

The Pentagon has said Hasan’s execution is scheduled for Dec. 3. Trump said the execution can be viewed in person by immediate families of the victims, “if they so choose.”

The announcement earlier this month from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that Hasan’s execution would be public — and subsequent confirmation from the Pentagon that it would be livestreamed — prompted significant blowback from both Republicans and Democrats, with many pointing out that the images could be used to fuel radicalization.

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What to know about Starshield and why its disruption rattled Ukraine’s forces

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Sudden restrictions on Starshield — SpaceX’s military-grade version of the Starlink satellite internet service and the backbone of Ukraine’s drone operations and communication — alarmed the country’s military and government officials this week, with commanders reporting lost drones and disrupted missions.

The episode raised fresh questions about Ukraine’s reliance on the Starshield program and who actually controls access to it.

By Thursday, some Ukrainian units said their connectivity had returned to normal, though uncertainty remained over what had caused the restrictions.

The episode added to tensions between Kyiv and Washington, a relationship already strained by President Donald Trump’s reported deal with Moscow on Russian diesel imports, which Ukraine viewed as a betrayal.

“The Starshield shutdown was short, lasted only one day, but several drones and other systems were affected. Some missions failed, and we lost drones because communications were cut off,” said Yevhen Karas, the commander of Ukraine’s 413th Separate Unmanned Systems Regiment, known as Raid, which specializes in tactical and deep-strike drone operations.

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Authorities investigate letters with ‘suspicious substances’ sent to congressional, election offices

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal authorities are investigating letters with “suspicious substances” that have been mailed to congressional and election offices nationwide and are urging recipients to treat the mailings as “potentially hazardous.”

The investigation by the FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and U.S. Capitol Police was first disclosed in a message from the Senate Sergeant at Arms obtained Thursday by The Associated Press. The notice, sent to Senate offices, said that law enforcement officials were working to intercept any additional letters, but “it is possible that some letters may reach their destinations.”

In Congress, the threat appeared limited to the Senate, though the House was monitoring the situation, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly.

An FBI statement said the bureau and the Postal Inspection Service were “investigating a series of suspicious mailings sent to various addresses nationwide, including Secretary of State offices and their related election offices.”

“Some of the letters contained an unknown substance and we are working closely with our law enforcement partners to respond to each incident,” the statement read. “We are also working with our partners to identify the individual or individuals responsible for the letters.”

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Car registered to man accused of planning mass shooting was at Hindu temple he targeted, police say

CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois authorities believe a 19-year-old man charged with planning a mass shooting at a Hindu temple in suburban Chicago entered the building’s parking lot on Sunday, hours before police arrested him near his home after receiving a tip about the alleged attack plan.

Authorities announced Wednesday that they had arrested Alexandros Paporakis and provided the additional detail about his suspected movement during a news conference Thursday. The leaders of Sri Venkateswara Swami (Balaji) Temple in a statement said a security threat had “targeted our Temple” and announced an increased security presence.

Palatine Police Chief William Nord said a red Acura RDX registered to Paporakis entered a temple parking lot on Sunday around 12:25 p.m. and left less than 15 minutes later. He was seen alone inside the car around 2 p.m. near his home in another suburb.

Paporakis faces felony charges of making a terrorist threat and unlawfully possessing a rifle. Prosecutors have said his co-workers at a Taco Bell location called 911 after Paporakis told them he “couldn’t wait to kill Indian people” and said Sunday would be the “special day.”

Sri Venkateswara Swami (Balaji) Temple in Aurora, around 40 miles west of downtown Chicago, said leaders were in contact with police.

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More roller coasters shut down as authorities investigate fatal fall at Georgia amusement park

ATLANTA (AP) — A growing number of amusement parks have shut down roller coasters as police and state regulators investigate what caused a man to fall out of his seat and plummet to his death at a Georgia park.

Sea World Orlando in Florida and La Ronde theme park in Montreal, Canada, confirmed on Thursday they had temporarily closed rides, bringing the total number of roller coasters halted to 12.

Police and a state regulatory agency are investigating what caused Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem, a 42-year-old school employee from Atlanta, to fall from the Goliath coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia on Monday. Witnesses described seeing him ejected from the coaster; some people who rode the Goliath before him raised concerns about its restraints.

Ten of the roller coasters taken out of service have the same manufacturer and a similar restraint system as the Goliath at Six Flags.

Erica Billups said her son and daughter rode Goliath about an hour before Kariem’s death and encountered a problem with the restraint on one seat. Her son initially sat in that seat and tried to lock it, but then moved when it repeatedly became unlocked. The roller coaster embarked with the seat empty and the harness up, she said in a post on X.

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FBI agents and analysts fired for roles in Trump classified files probe sue to get their jobs back

WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI employees fired for their roles in the investigation of President Donald Trump’s retention of classified documents at his Florida estate sued Thursday to get their jobs back, calling their terminations unlawful acts of “political retribution.”

The complaint adds to the growing list of legal challenges to the mass terminations under FBI Director Kash Patel of agents who participated in investigations of the Republican president or are seen as opposed to Trump administration interests.

The suit was filed in federal court in Washington on behalf of nine agents, intelligence analysts and staff operations specialists who were fired in February following earlier dismissals of agents who had worked on the investigation into Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

Patel has said in congressional testimony that the fired employees had “weaponized” the FBI and that terminations at the bureau follow internal investigations that turn up inappropriate conduct. But the agents deny that claim in the lawsuit, noting that that they were fired without any investigation, notice or hearing. They said that between them they had more than a century of distinguished and apolitical FBI service that involved responding to the Boston Marathon bombing, hostage recoveries and the investigation into the 2024 assassination attempt of Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Their firings, the lawsuit says, create an “immeasurable loss” to “America’s national security.”

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Pope Leo resumes working, sees top aide in hospital as doctors say lung recovered from surgery

ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV met with a top aide on Thursday and resumed working from the hospital, as doctors reported his lung had recovered well from surgery to remove a cancerous nodule.

Leo’s post-operative tests remained within normal levels and his physiotherapy session Thursday involved full mobility exercises, with the pope going about his daily activities independently, said the update from Leo’s personal doctor, Dr. Luigi Carbone, and the head of thoracic surgery at Gemelli hospital, Dr. Stefano Margaritora.

“The chest X-ray revealed good recovery of the operated lung,” they reported. “Overall, his postoperative recovery is proceeding as expected.”

Separately, the Vatican said Leo had received the Vatican chief of staff, or “substitute,” Archbishop Paolo Rudelli, and had resumed working from the hospital. Rudelli handles much of the day-to-day administrative work of the Holy See.

For a second day Leo celebrated Mass with other priests in a special chapel set up near his room on the 10th floor of the hospital, spokesman Matteo Bruni said.

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New White House press secretary Katie Zacharia defends her legal background and short first briefing

WASHINGTON (AP) — New White House press secretary Katie Zacharia defended her legal background and justified her truncated inaugural briefing as she navigates a rocky first week as the president’s chief spokeswoman.

Zacharia sat down for an interview Thursday with the conservative Human Events outlet. In it, she said she did not have time to get fully prepared ahead of her first briefing on Tuesday and that it was always the plan to keep it short because President Donald Trump would field questions from journalists later that morning.

“It was absolutely my goal to keep it short, considering he is his own best spokesperson, and he would love — and does love — gaggling with the media as he goes to Marine One,” Zacharia said. “So I wanted to give ample deference and not barge into his time.”

The initial briefing materials were given to Zacharia on Monday evening, then completed on Tuesday at 8 a.m., less than two hours before she would appear before the White House press corps. She had been up since 3 a.m. preparing, Zacharia said.

“I never had a full briefing beforehand, and I went out and I effectuated the briefing,” she said.

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US consumers are muscling through higher prices, but for how long?

WASHINGTON (AP) — High gas prices are intensifying inflation and vacuuming up more of Americans’ dollars, yet consumers are still digging deep to spend, powering the economy, at least for now.

A slew of economic data Thursday showed that inflation accelerated last month as more expensive oil and gas began to lift prices in other parts of the economy, including shipping and warehousing, before the increases reach most Americans.

Wholesale food prices jumped, which could make groceries more expensive in the months ahead.

At the same time, consumers also ramped up their spending, according to data released Thursday. Though much of the increase reflected higher prices, consumer resilience is powering solid U.S. economic growth.

Workers are enjoying an unusual degree of job security despite scattered layoffs, which likely encourages spending despite surveys showing that many Americans have a gloomy economic outlook.

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A rare family of barn owls moved into Manhattan’s Upper West Side. New Yorkers are captivated

NEW YORK (AP) — Manhattan’s Upper West Side has been reveling in the company of its latest celebrities: A family of barn owls nested in a water tower atop a building near Central Park.

This is the first documented instance of barn owls nesting in Manhattan in modern history, according to one expert, and the owls have attracted nightly crowds of people in the street eager to get a glimpse of the elusive birds.

“It was, like, totally shocking,” Andrew Farnsworth, a migration ecologist at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, said of the barn owls. “To the best of our knowledge, like the collective birding knowledge, there hasn’t been a nest in, you know, in Manhattan, at least in recorded history.”

Word of the barn owl family didn’t get around until last week, when Elisabeth Williams, an Upper West Side resident, notified a local news outlet on Oct. 6 that she and her husband saw multiple owls at the water tower atop a building on West 75th Street close to Central Park West.

The couple had previously seen a single owl on an apartment windowsill a few days earlier and were shocked even then, Williams recalled.