AP Top News at 5:34 a.m. EDT

Hospital in central Gaza empties out as Israeli forces draw near

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — One of Gaza’s last functioning hospitals has been emptying out in recent days as Israel has ordered the evacuation of nearby areas and signaled a possible ground operation in a town that has been largely spared throughout the war, officials said Monday. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah is the main hospital serving central Gaza. The Israeli military has not ordered its evacuation, but patients and people sheltering there fear that it may be engulfed in fighting or become the target of a raid. Also on Monday, Israeli strikes in Gaza City and Khan Younis killed at least 19 people, according to local officials, and fighting between Israel and Hezbollah resumed across the Lebanon border.

Israel-Hamas war latest: Israeli strikes across Gaza kill 18, including 8 children, Palestinians say

Harris campaign releases new ad to highlight plans to build 3 million homes, reduce inflation

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris has a new advertising push to draw attention to her plan to build 3 million new homes over four years, a move designed to contain inflationary pressures that also draws a sharp contrast to Republican Donald Trump’s approach. Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, highlights her plan in a new minute-long ad that uses her personal experience, growing up in rental housing while her mother had saved for a decade before she could buy a home. The ad targets voters in the swing states including Arizona and Nevada. Campaign surrogates are also holding 20 events this week focused on housing issues.

Judge in Texas orders pause on Biden program that offers legal status to spouses of US citizens

McALLEN, Texas (AP) — A federal judge in Texas on Monday paused a Biden administration policy that would give spouses of U.S. citizens legal status without having to first leave the country, dealing at least a temporary setback to one of the biggest presidential actions to ease a path to citizenship in years. The administrative stay issued by U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker comes just days after 16 states, led by Republican attorneys general, challenged the program that could benefit an estimated 500,000 immigrants in the country, plus about 50,000 of their children. The states accused the administration of bypassing Congress for “blatant political purposes.”

Russian missiles and drones strike across Ukraine and kill at least 4 people

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Nighttime Russian drone and missile attacks struck across Ukraine, killing at least four people, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday, a day after a heavy barrage pounded energy facilities throughout the country. Zelenskyy said the attacks included 81 drones, as well as cruise and ballistic missiles and that 16 people were injured. He did not say where the four deaths occurred, but two people died in a strike on a residential building in the industrial city of Kryvyi Rih, according to Oleksandr Vilkul, head of the city’s military administration. “We will undoubtedly respond to Russia for this and all other attacks.

Being Black in Germany has never been easy. Elections in eastern states could make it harder still

ERFURT, Germany (AP) — It was a balmy summer night in 2020, shortly after the lifting of Germany’s first COVID-19 lockdown, and Omar Diallo and two friends from his home country of Guinea wanted to celebrate Eid al-Adha, the Muslim festival of sacrifice. “We were enjoying life, playing music, walking through the city at night — we just wanted to be together again and have a good time,” Diallo, 22, told The Associated Press in Erfurt, in the eastern state of Thuringia. He was not prepared for how the day would end. Suddenly Diallo and his friends were confronted by three black-clad white men.

Wild week of US weather includes heat wave, tropical storm, landslide, flash flood and snow

FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. (AP) — It’s been a wild week of weather in many parts of the United States, from heat waves to snowstorms to flash floods. Here’s a look at some of the weather events: Millions of people in the Midwest have been enduring dangerous heat and humidity. An emergency medicine physician treating Minnesota State Fair-goers for heat illnesses saw firefighters cut rings off two people’s swollen fingers Monday in hot weather that combined with humidity made it feel well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.7 degrees Celsius). Soaring late summer temperatures also prompted some Midwestern schools to let out early or cancel sports practices.

Brazilian moms are leading the charge to secure medical marijuana for sick kids

SAO PAULO (AP) — The 4-year-old boy struggled to balance while walking through the living room. His mother’s eyes attentively followed his every move. Then a seizure knocked him to the ground, the dull thud of his small body echoing through the home. On this July morning in Guaruja, a coastal city in Brazil’s state of Sao Paulo, Murillo quickly regained his senses as his mom, Janaína Silva, cradled him. “From five minutes of agony, it’s now just seconds,” Silva said, recalling how only three months ago her son’s seizures would have lasted much longer. Murillo was diagnosed as a baby with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, a type of epilepsy with multiple types of seizures that cause stiffening and dropping of the head and limbs.

The Paralympic Games are starting. Here’s what to expect as 4,400 athletes compete in Paris

PARIS (AP) — Let the games begin again. The Paralympic Games are set to open Wednesday as some 4,400 athletes with disabilities, permanent injuries or impairments prepare to compete for 549 medals across 22 sports over 11 days in Paris. The French capital, which just hosted the Olympics, again provides the backdrop for what promises to be another spectacle, with many of the same venues hosting Paralympic competitions. Historic square Place de la Concorde, which hosted skateboarding, breaking and 3x3 basketball during the Olympics, will host the opening ceremony. Equestrian returns to Château de Versailles, which will host para equestrian events.

Oasis reunites for tour and ends a 15-year hiatus during Gallagher brothers’ feud

LONDON (AP) — Oasis, the Britpop band known for timeless hits like “Wonderwall” and “Don’t Look Back in Anger,” is reuniting for a tour of the British Isles next summer, ending a 15-year hiatus and, presumably, the long-held feud between brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher. The guitar band will play 14 dates in Wales, England, Scotland and Ireland next July and August, Oasis said on Tuesday. Tickets go on sale at 9 a.m. Saturday. “This is it. This is happening,″ the band said. Oasis split in 2009 after many years of infighting, with Noel Gallagher officially leaving the band just before a performance at a festival near Paris.