Washington chief

orders cooperation

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Washington, D.C., police chief has ordered more cooperation between officers and federal immigration officials.

This move is part of President Donald Trump’s law enforcement takeover of the capital. Trump called the announcement “a very positive thing.”

The changes allows local police to share information with immigration agencies and provide transportation for federal immigration employees. The increased federal presence in the city has been striking, with troops stationed at Union Station and other high-traffic areas.

Meanwhile, volunteers helped homeless residents leave encampments, adding to the city’s tense atmosphere.

Putin praises

Trump’s efforts

LONDON (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin praised U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to end the war in Ukraine, more than three years after Moscow launched its invasion, as the two leaders prepared for a pivotal U.S.-Russia summit today in Alaska.

Putin made the remarks Thursday following a meeting with top government officials on the summit. He said in a short video released by the Kremlin that the Trump administration was making “energetic and sincere efforts” to stop the war.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders worked to ensure their interests are taken into account when Trump and Putin meet in Anchorage.

Netanyahu

denies hunger

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims there is no hunger in Gaza, but malnourished children are regularly arriving at Nasser Hospital.

The U.N. says starvation and malnutrition in Gaza are at the highest levels since the war began. The Gaza Health Ministry says 171 people have died of malnutrition-related causes since July 1, a quarter of them children.

Aid has increased in recent weeks, but food remains scarce or unaffordable for many. While the influx of food might help much of Gaza’s population, experts say that is not necessarily the case for children who are already severely malnourished. They often require treatment first at a hospital, where vital micronutrients must be replenished before their bodies will be able to properly metabolize food.

DeSantis announces

detention facility

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is preparing to open a second immigration detention facility at a state prison in north Florida, as a federal judge decides the fate of the state’s holding center for immigrants at an isolated airstrip in the Florida Everglades dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.”

DeSantis announced Thursday that the new facility is to be built at the Baker Correctional Institution, a state prison about 43 miles west of Jacksonville, and is expected to house 1,300 immigration detention beds, though that capacity could be expanded to 2,000, state officials said.