AP Top News at 3:13 a.m. EDT

Israel stages heavy airstrikes on Lebanon as Hezbollah launches attack over slain top commander

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel launched a wave of airstrikes across southern Lebanon early Sunday in what it said was a pre-emptive strike on Hezbollah, as the militant group said it had launched hundreds of rockets and drones to avenge the killing of one of its top commanders last month. The heavy exchange of fire threatened to trigger an all-out war that could draw in the United States, Iran and militant groups across the region. It could also torpedo efforts to forge a cease-fire in Gaza, where Israel has been at war with the Palestinian group Hamas, an ally of Hezbollah, for over 10 months.

Israeli airstrikes kill dozens in Gaza on the eve of high-level cease-fire talks in Egypt

CAIRO (AP) — Israeli airstrikes killed at least three dozen Palestinians in southern Gaza, health workers said Saturday, as officials including a Hamas delegation gathered for high-level cease-fire talks in neighboring Egypt. Eleven members of a family, including two children, were among the dead after an airstrike hit their home in Khan Younis, according to Nasser Hospital, which received a total of 33 bodies from three strikes in and around the city that also hit tuk-tuks and passersby. Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said it received three bodies from another strike. The Israeli military said it was looking into the reports. First responders also recovered 16 bodies from the Hamad City area of Khan Younis after a partial pullout of Israeli forces, 10 bodies from a residential building west of Khan Younis and two farther south in Rafah.

German police say 26-year-old man has turned himself in, claiming to be behind Solingen knife attack

SOLINGEN, Germany (AP) — German police said early Sunday that a 26-year-old man turned himself in, claiming to be behind the deadly Solingen knife attack that left three dead and eight wounded at a festival marking the city’s 650th anniversary. Düsseldorf police said in a joint statement with the prosecutor’s office that the man “stated that he was responsible for the attack,” adding he had been arrested before, but didn’t provide details. “This person’s involvement in the crime is currently being intensively investigated,” the statement said. On Saturday the Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for the attack, without providing evidence.

EU: Maduro has not shown ‘necessary public evidence’ to declare victory in Venezuela elections

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The European Union’s top diplomat on Saturday said that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has still “not provided the necessary public evidence” to prove he was the winner of July’s elections, days after the country’s Supreme Court backed the government’s disputed claims of victory. The bloc joined a slate of other Latin American countries and the United States in rejecting the Venezuelan high court’s certification. Authorities repeated calls for Maduro to release the election’s official tally sheets, considered the one verifiable vote count in Venezuela as they are almost impossible to replicate. “Only complete and independently verifiable results will be accepted and recognized,” Josep Borrell, the high representative of the EU, said in a statement.

Behind the rhetoric, a presidential campaign is a competition about how to tell the American story

NEW YORK (AP) — Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic nomination “on behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on Earth.” America, Barack Obama thundered, “is ready for a better story.” JD Vance insisted that the Biden administration “is not the end of our story,” and Donald Trump called on fellow Republicans to “write our own thrilling chapter of the American story.” “This week,” comedian and former Obama administration speechwriter Jon Lovett said Thursday on NBC, “has been about a story.” In the discourse of American politics, this kind of talk from both sides is unsurprising — fitting, even.

NASA decides to keep 2 astronauts in space until February, nixes return on troubled Boeing capsule

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA decided Saturday it’s too risky to bring two astronauts back to Earth in Boeing’s troubled new capsule, and they’ll have to wait until next year for a ride home with SpaceX. What should have been a weeklong test flight for the pair will now last more than eight months. The seasoned pilots have been stuck at the International Space Station since the beginning of June. A cascade of vexing thruster failures and helium leaks in the new capsule marred their trip to the space station, and they ended up in a holding pattern as engineers conducted tests and debated what to do about the flight back.

Tropical Storm Hone steadily approaches Hawaii, threatening floods and fires

HONOLULU (AP) — Tropical Storm Hone, whose name is Hawaiian for “sweet and soft,” drew near the islands Saturday with breezes that were expected to intensify — and increase the wildfire risk for drier parts of the state even as memories are still fresh from last year’s deadly blazes on Maui. Hone (pronounced hoe-NEH), had top winds of 65 mph (105 kph). A slight increase in strength was forecast during the next two days, but Hone was expected to remain just below hurricane strength at its peak Sunday through Monday, according to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. A tropical storm warning was in effect for the Big Island, and a red flag fire warning was issued for the leeward sides of all islands through 6 p.m.

Moscow and Kyiv swap prisoners of war as Ukraine marks independence anniversary

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia and Ukraine exchanged over 100 prisoners of war each on Saturday as Kyiv marked its third Independence Day since Moscow’s full-scale invasion. Ukraine said the 115 Ukrainian servicemen who were freed were conscripts, many of whom were taken prisoner in the first months of Russia’s invasion. Among them are nearly 50 soldiers captured by Russian forces from the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol. The Russian Defense Ministry said the 115 Russian soldiers had been captured in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces launched their surprise offensive into Russia two weeks ago. The ministry said the soldiers were currently in Belarus, but would be taken to Russia for medical treatment and rehabilitation.

Back-to-work order issued for 2 major Canada railroads. Union will comply, but lawsuit planned

TORONTO (AP) — The Canadian arbitrator appointed to resolve a messy railroad labor dispute to protect the North American economy has ordered employees at the country’s two major railroads back to work so both can resume operating. Saturday’s order means Canadian National will be able to continue operating the trains it restarted Friday morning just over a day after it locked out workers. But Canadian Pacific Kansas City likely won’t be able to restart its operations before 12:01 a.m. Monday, when workers were ordered to return. Railroads play a crucial role in the economy with CPKC and CN delivering more than CA$1 billion (US$730 million) worth of shipments a day and carrying billions of dollars of goods between the U.S.

Schools are competing with cell phones. Here’s how they think they could win

Isabella Pires first noticed what she calls the “gradual apathy pandemic” in eighth grade. Only a handful of classmates registered for service projects she helped organize at her Massachusetts school. Even fewer actually showed up. When she got to high school last fall, Isabella found the problem was even worse: a lackluster Spirit Week and classes where students seldom spoke. In some ways, it’s as if students “just care less and less about what people think, but also somehow care more,” said Isabella, 14. Some teens, she said, no longer care about appearing disengaged, while others are so afraid of ridicule they keep to themselves.