AP News Summary at 12:41 a.m. EST

Internet, phone networks collapse in Gaza, threatening to worsen humanitarian crisis

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Internet and telephone services have collapsed across the Gaza Strip for lack of fuel, the main Palestinian provider says, bringing a potentially long-term communications blackout. Residents say Israeli forces dropped leaflets Wednesday warning Palestinians to flee parts of southern Gaza. That signals a possible expansion of their operations to the zone where most of the territory’s population has fled to escape Israel’s bombardment and ground assault. Meanwhile, soldiers continue searching for traces of a Hamas command center Israel says is hidden in and under north Gaza's Shifa Hospital. Hamas and staff at the hospital deny the allegations.

'Bring them home': As the battle for Gaza rages, hostage families wait with trepidation

Abbey Onn lost her aunt and a young cousin when Hamas attackers rampaged through Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7. Now Onn is worried about what will happen to three other family members taken hostage that day, as Israel pounds Gaza City in a bid to end Hamas’ control of the Gaza Strip. She wants the world to remember that Ofer Kalderon and his children, 16-year-old Sahar and 12-year-old Erez, are caught in the crossfire. As the Israeli military tightens its grip around Gaza City, friends and family of the roughly 240 hostages held by Hamas fear their loved ones will be an afterthought for the politicians and generals directing the campaign.

Biden tells Asia-Pacific leaders US 'not going anywhere' as he looks to build economic ties

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — President Joe Biden has made America's case to CEOs attending the Asia-Pacific summit in San Francisco that the United States is committed to high standards in trade that will benefit economies across the Pacific. Fresh off his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Biden also told business leaders that the U.S. was “de-risking and diversifying” but not “decoupling” from Beijing. But he did not mince words in suggesting the U.S. and other Pacific nations could offer businesses a better option than China. Biden's comments came as he was courting world leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

Rep. George Santos won't seek reelection after scathing ethics report cites evidence of lawbreaking

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Congressman George Santos of New York says he won't run for reelection in 2024 after a scathing House Ethics Committee report on his conduct cited “overwhelming evidence” of lawbreaking. The Ethics panel says it has referred its findings about Santos to the Justice Department. Shortly after the panel’s report was released, Santos blasted it in a tweet on X as a “disgusting politicized smear” but said he would not be seeking reelection to a second term. A renewed effort to expel him has been launched. The committee said Thursday that Santos’ conduct warrants public condemnation, is beneath the dignity of the office, and has brought severe discredit upon the House.

DeSantis, Haley and Ramaswamy will meet in Iowa for a 'family discussion' on politics

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Republicans battling to be the alternative to former President Donald Trump are coming together for what an influential Christian organization in Iowa is billing as a friendly conversation on politics and their world views. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy will appear at the roundtable “family discussion” in Des Moines Friday, Trump is not expected to make an appearance, though he was invited. The field around Trump is winnowing with less than two months before the Iowa caucuses kick off the GOP nominating calendar. In a sign of the urgency the field faces, many of his rivals are going after each other more frequently with jabs that have often turned personal.

Mistrial declared after federal jury deadlocks in trial of ex-officer in deadly Breonna Taylor raid

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict on federal civil rights charges against a former Kentucky police officer charged in the police raid that killed Breonna Taylor, prompting the judge to declare a mistrial. Brett Hankison was charged with using excessive force during a drug warrant search in Louisville in 2020 that claimed the life of Taylor, a Black woman. None of the 10 shots Hankson fired struck anyone, but prosecutors said the ex-officer violated the rights of Taylor and others with his gunfire. The judge declared a mistrial Thursday after jurors deadlocked after days of deliberations. The mistrial could lead to a retrial if federal prosecutors decide. Prosecutors didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Gang attack on Haitian hospital leads to a call for help and an unlikely triumph for police

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — One of Haiti's most vulnerable and impoverished communities is recovering from a gang attack that targeted a hospital serving as a lifeline for many. The latest attack in the capital of Port-au-Prince was a show of defiant force and violence that continues to overwhelm a crumbling government that requested the immediate deployment of an international armed force more than a year ago and has yet to arrive. But the attack that forced the evacuation of an entire hospital under gunfire also was a rare triumph for police who rescued dozens and work for a department that is understaffed, under resourced and outmatched by gangs.

Argentina's Peronist machine is in high gear to shore up shaky votes before the presidential runoff

CIUDAD EVITA, Argentina (AP) — As Argentina heads for a presidential runoff election on Sunday, the decades-old populist movement known as Peronism is on shaky ground. Its candidate has lost some traction, even among longtime loyalists living in a suburb of the capital named after former first lady María Eva Duarte de Perón, better known as Evita. The Peronist candidate, Economy Minister Sergio Massa, is working overtime to keep once-steadfast supporters from straying to his opponent, right-wing populist Javier Milei. Massa has kicked the Peronist vote-getting machine into overdrive and has pulled out all stops from his ministerial post, providing cash benefits for workers, retirees and unemployed people, to the chagrin of political opponents and fiscal hawks.

Beef is a way of life in Texas, but it's hard on the planet. This rancher thinks she can change that

ROSSTON, Texas (AP) — For generations, beef has been the most quintessential of American main courses, and a premium protein around the world. It’s also the single most damaging food for the planet. Beef is the largest agricultural source of greenhouse gasses worldwide, and it has a bigger carbon footprint than any other type of protein. Climate scientists say the answer is simple: Eat less beef and raise fewer cattle. But most people are consuming more beef, not less. Researchers and ranchers are looking for solutions. Among them is regenerative ranching. It's a practice in which cows are moved frequently to different pastures in an effort to restore the soil.