AP News in Brief at 6:04 a.m. EST

The Russian leader “should end the bluster and the bloodshed and be ready to come to the table and to support a just and lasting peace,” said U.K. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha urged Putin to “stop wasting the world’s time.”

The remarks reflect the high tensions and gaping gulf that remain between Russia on one side and Ukraine and its European allies on the other over how to end a war that Moscow started when it invaded its neighbor nearly four years ago.

A day earlier, Putin accused the Europeans of sabotaging the U.S.-led peace efforts — and warned that, if provoked, Russia would be ready for war with Europe.

Since Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022, European governments, along with the U.S., have spent billions of dollars to support Kyiv financially and militarily. Under President Donald Trump, however, the U.S. has tempered its support — and instead made a push to end the war.

Israel says it will start letting Palestinians leave Gaza through reopened border crossing

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel on Wednesday said it will start letting Palestinians leave Gaza through a reopened border crossing, complying with a U.S.-backed ceasefire deal even though it also said that partial remains returned by militants did not match the hostages still in Gaza.

The missing remains of the two hostages threaten to stall a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in its first phase. But by promising to open the Rafah crossing, Israel showed it was moving ahead with parts of the plan.

The first phase of the plan is supposed to wind down with the return of the two remaining hostages. Palestinian militants, who appear to be struggling to find the remains amid the rubble of war-torn Gaza, said they were searching again on Wednesday.

Following the exchanges, the 20-point plan calls for creating an international stabilization force, forming a technocratic Palestinian government and disarming Hamas.

The World Health Organization says there are more than 16,500 sick and wounded people who need to leave Gaza for medical care.

Former Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernández freed after Trump pardon

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — Former Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernández, sentenced last year to 45 years in prison for his role in a drug trafficking operation that moved hundreds of tons of cocaine to the United States, was released from prison following a pardon from President Donald Trump, officials confirmed Tuesday.

Hernández was released Monday from U.S. Penitentiary Hazelton in West Virginia, a spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Prisons told The Associated Press. The bureau’s online inmate records also reflected his release.

The release of Hernández — a former U.S. ally whose conviction prosecutors said exposed the depth of cartel influence in Honduras — comes just days after the country’s presidential election. Trump defended the decision aboard Air Force One on Sunday, saying Hondurans believed Hernández had been “set up,” even as prosecutors argued he protected drug traffickers who moved hundreds of tons of cocaine through the country.

The pardon also unfolds against the backdrop of Trump’s aggressive counter-narcotics push that has triggered intense controversy across Latin America. In recent months, U.S. forces have repeatedly struck vessels they say were ferrying drugs north, a series of lethal maritime attacks that the administration argues are lawful acts of war against drug cartels — and that critics say test the limits of international law and amount to a pressure campaign on Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro.

The Trump administration has carried out 21 known strikes on vessels accused of carrying drugs, killing at least 83 people. The administration has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States and asserted the U.S. is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels, similar to the war against al-Qaida following the Sept. 11 attacks.

Hegseth cites 'fog of war' in defending follow-on strike on alleged drug boat

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday cited the “fog of war” in defending a follow-up strike on an alleged drug-carrying boat in the Caribbean Sea in early September.

During a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Hegseth said he did not see any survivors in the water, saying the vessel "exploded in fire, smoke, you can’t see anything. ... This is called the fog of war.”

Hegseth also said he “didn’t stick around” for the remainder of the Sept. 2 mission following the initial strike and the admiral in charge “made the right call” in ordering the second hit, which he “had complete authority to do.”

Lawmakers have opened investigations following a Washington Post report that Hegseth issued a verbal order to “kill everybody” on the boat, the first vessel hit in the Trump administration's counterdrug campaign in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean that has grown to over 20 known strikes and more than 80 dead.

The U.S. also has built up its largest military presence in the region in generations, and many see the actions as a tactic to pressure Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to resign.

Trump-backed Republican Matt Van Epps wins US House special election in Tennessee

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Republican Matt Van Epps won a nationally watched special election in Tennessee for a U.S. House seat Tuesday, maintaining his party’s grip on the conservative district with help from President Donald Trump. But the comparatively slim margin of victory fueled Democratic hopes for next year’s midterms as the party grasps for a path back to power in Washington.

A military veteran and former state general services commissioner from Nashville, Van Epps defeated Democratic state Rep. Aftyn Behn to represent the 7th Congressional District.

With 99% of votes counted, Van Epps’ lead was around 9 percentage points. The previous Republican who held the seat won by 21 points last year, and Trump carried the district by 22 points.

Behn, who ran as an unapologetic progressive, ran up a huge margin in Davidson County, which is the most Democratic county in the district and home to Nashville. But Van Epps carried the rest of the district, including many deep-red counties throughout central Tennessee, as he tied himself tightly to Trump.

“Politicians who run from the president or abandon the common-sense policies that the American people gave us a resounding mandate on do so at their own peril,” Van Epps said at his victory party. “No matter what the D.C. insiders or liberal media say, this is President Trump’s party. I’m proud to be a part of it and can’t wait to get to work.”

Judge issues injunction restricting immigration arrests in nation's capital

A federal judge late Tuesday blocked the Trump administration from making widespread immigration arrests in the nation’s capital without warrants or probable cause that the person is an imminent flight risk.

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington granted a preliminary injunction sought by civil liberties and immigrants rights groups in a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

An email to the department after hours Tuesday was not immediately returned.

Officers making civil immigration arrests generally have to have an administrative warrant. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, they may make arrests without a warrant only if they have probable cause to believe the person is in the U.S. illegally and is likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained, according to Howell's ruling.

The American Civil Liberties Union and other plaintiffs' attorneys argued federal officers were frequently patrolling and setting up checkpoints in Washington, D.C., neighborhoods with large numbers of Latino immigrants and then stopping and arresting people indiscriminately.

Federal authorities plan operation in Minnesota focusing on Somali immigrants, AP source says

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal authorities are preparing a targeted immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota that would primarily focus on Somali immigrants living unlawfully in the U.S., according to a person familiar with the planning.

The move comes as President Donald Trump again on Tuesday escalated rhetoric about Minnesota's sizable Somali community, saying he did not want immigrants from the east African country in the U.S. because “they contribute nothing.”

The enforcement operation could begin in the coming days and is expected to focus on the Minneapolis–St. Paul area and people with final orders of deportation, the person said. Teams of immigration agents would spread across the Twin Cities in what the person described as a directed, high-priority sweep, though the plans remain subject to change.

The prospect of a crackdown is likely to deepen tensions in Minnesota — home to the nation’s largest Somali community. They've been coming since the 1990s, fleeing their country's long civil war and drawn by Minnesota's generous social programs.

An estimated 260,000 people of Somalian descent were living in the U.S. in 2024, according to the Census Bureau’s annual American Community Survey. The largest population is in the Minneapolis area, home to about 84,000 residents, most of whom are American citizens. Ohio, Washington and California also have significant populations.

Trump administration threatens to withhold SNAP management funds from states that don't share data

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's administration warned on Tuesday that it will withhold money for administering SNAP food aid in most Democratic-controlled states starting next week unless those states provide information about people receiving the assistance.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday that the action is looming because those states are refusing to provide data the department requested such as the names and immigration status of aid recipients. She said the cooperation is needed to root out fraud in the program. Democratic states have sued to block the requirement, saying they verify eligibility for SNAP beneficiaries and that they never share large swaths of sensitive program data with the federal government.

States and the federal government split the cost of running SNAP, with the federal government paying the full cost of benefits. After Rollins’ remarks, a USDA spokesperson later explained that the agency is targeting the administrative funds — not the benefits people receive.

Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia previously sued over the request for information, which was initially made in February. A San Francisco-based federal judge has barred the administration, at least for now, from collecting the information from those states.

The federal government last week sent the states a letter urging compliance, but the parties all agreed to give the states until Dec. 8 to respond.

Crackdown on trucking schools shouldn't disrupt industry. But scrutiny on immigrant drivers might

The Trump administration’s latest move to enforce standards for commercial truck drivers, by flagging nearly half of the driving schools as noncompliant, doesn’t figure to disrupt the industry, experts say. But the heavy scrutiny on immigrant drivers might.

The bigger, more reputable schools were not included in the list and many of the schools that were appear to have already been idle, leading trucking industry officials to predict minimal turmoil. The self-certification process that has been in place since 2022 allowed questionable schools to gain recognition. Plus, these efforts to enforce training standards — and the previous moves to strengthen licensing particularly for immigrants — will take effect gradually over time as licenses come up for renewal and new drivers graduate from schools.

The fact that there are probably more drivers than needed right now in the midst of a 10% drop in shipments since 2022 because of the economic uncertainty also helps, although trucking companies still struggle to find enough well-qualified drivers with clean records.

Even before a truck driver that Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says was not authorized to be in the U.S. made an illegal U-turn and caused a crash in Florida that killed three people, the administration focused on making sure truck drivers meet English proficiency standards. The focus on immigrant drivers, who account for about 20% of all truckers, intensified after that August crash as the Transportation Department audited commercial driver's license programs and Duffy proposed new restrictions that would severely limit which noncitizens could get a license to drive a semi or a bus.

A court put the new rules on hold. But Duffy threatened to withhold millions from California, Pennsylvania and Minnesota after the audits found significant problems under the existing rules like commercial licenses being valid long after an immigrant truck driver's work permit expired, That pressure prompted California to revoke 17,000 licenses.

Pope Leo XIV shares his thoughts on the conclave, reflects on spirituality and future travels

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday shared for the first time what he was thinking when the votes started going his way during the conclave that elected him, saying he resigned himself to the inevitable and put the rest in God’s hands.

“I took a deep breath. I said ‘Here we go Lord. You’re in charge and you lead the way,’” Leo told reporters during a wide-ranging airborne press conference coming home from his inaugural trip to Turkey and Lebanon.

Leo fielded questions for a half-hour, responding easily in English, Spanish and Italian about a variety of church and international news. He hinted at behind-the-scenes discussions about Hezbollah and Israel in Lebanon, urged dialogue rather than U.S. military threats on Venezuela and discussed his hoped-for future travels in Africa and South America, among other topics.

But it was his remarks about the conclave and his papal learning curve that shed new light on Leo the man and what makes him tick. His responses, after seeming timid with the media early in his pontificate, showed he is much more comfortable now, is paying close attention to what is being reported about him, and that he has a good sense of humor about it.

Leo was asked what he was thinking when he saw a huge crowd of people at one of his events in Lebanon, where it seemed as if the size had taken him by surprise. Leo suggested that wasn’t necessarily the case.