AP Top News at 5:37 a.m. EDT

First court appearance set for Georgia teen accused of killing 4 at his high school

WINDER, Ga. (AP) — The 14-year-old boy accused of fatally shooting four people at a Georgia high school was expected to make his first court appearance Friday, a day after his father was also arrested for allowing his son to possess a weapon. Colt Gray, who is charged as an adult with four counts of murder, will appear by video from a youth detention facility for the proceedings at the Barrow County courthouse. The hearing will be held two days after authorities said the teen opened fire at Apalachee High School in Winder, just outside Atlanta. The teen’s father, Colin Gray, 54, was charged Thursday with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children, Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey.

Inside the Georgia high school where a sleepy morning was pierced by gunfire

WINDER, Ga. (AP) — It was the middle of second period on Wednesday morning at Apalachee High School, and the boy who few knew slipped out of his algebra class in J Hall again. That didn’t strike his fellow students as unusual. “He got up sometime in the morning, and class continued as normal,” Lyela Sayarath said. “He was probably just skipping.” Many teenagers weren’t quite awake at the high school near Winder, in rapidly suburbanizing Barrow County. Junior Julie Sandoval was dozing in her physics class as other students caught up on work. Sophomore Jacob King also dozed off, in world history, after a morning football practice.

Israeli forces appear to withdraw from a West Bank camp after a major military operation

JENIN REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank (AP) — Israeli forces appeared to have withdrawn from three refugee camps in the occupied West Bank by Friday morning, after a more-than weeklong military operation that left dozens dead and a trail of destruction. Overnight, Israeli armored personnel carriers were seen leaving the Jenin refugee camp from a checkpoint set up on one of the main roads, and an Associated Press reporter inside the camp saw no evidence of any remaining troops inside as dawn broke early Friday morning. During the operation, Israeli military officials said they were targeting militants in Jenin, Tulkarem and the Al-Faraa refugee camps in an attempt to curb recent attacks against Israeli civilians they say have become more sophisticated and deadly.

American company, Russian propaganda: New Kremlin tactic reveals escalating effort to sway US vote

WASHINGTON (AP) — Russia has long sought to inject disinformation into U.S. political discourse. Now, it’s got a new angle: paying Americans to do the work. This week’s indictment of two Russian state media employees on charges that they paid a Tennessee company to create pro-Russian content has renewed concerns about foreign meddling in the November election while revealing the Kremlin’s latest tactic in a growing information war. If the allegations prove correct, they represent a significant escalation, analysts say, and likely capture only a small piece of a larger Russian effort to sway the election. “We have seen the smoke for years.

Prosecutors in Trump election case get judge’s OK to lay out fresh evidence in court filing

WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal election interference case against Donald Trump inched forward Thursday, with a judge permitting prosecutors to file court documents later this month that could detail unflattering allegations about the former president as the Republican nominee enters the final weeks of his White House run. The order came hours after a court hearing, the first in the case in nearly a year, in which U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan sparred with a Trump lawyer who accused the government of trying to rush ahead with an “illegitimate” indictment in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election. Chutkan made clear she would not let the upcoming election affect how she proceeds, turning aside defense efforts to delay the process while also acknowledging that the case is nowhere close to a trial date.

Harris raised $361 million in August from nearly 3 million donors, campaign says

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris raised well more than double what former President Donald Trump took in from donors in August, her campaign announced Friday, saying it raised $361 million from nearly 3 million donors in her first full month as a candidate. Trump’s team had announced Wednesday he brought in $130 million over the same period. Harris’ team says it ended the month with $404 million on hand for the final sprint to Election Day, $109 million more than Trump’s campaign says it had at the end of August. The massive Harris war chest is being used to fund a $370 million paid media effort for the final two months of the campaign, and to pay for its more than 2,000 field staff spread through more than 310 offices in battleground states.

Jobs report will help Federal Reserve decide how much to cut interest rates

WASHINGTON (AP) — Friday’s monthly jobs report will likely mark a pivotal moment for the economy and the Federal Reserve. If it shows that hiring was weak in August and that the unemployment rate rose — similar to the unexpectedly soft figures for July — it would heighten worries that the job market is stumbling. The Fed might then seek to deliver a stimulus with a larger-than-usual interest rate cut of a half-percentage point when it meets later this month. If, on the other hand, hiring picked up from July’s gain of just 114,000 or if the unemployment rate fell from 4.3% — the highest level in three years, though still low by historical standards — it would suggest that the labor market remain stable, though slowing.

Pope heads to Papua New Guinea after final Mass in Indonesia before an overflow crowd of 100,000

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Pope Francis wrapped up his visit to Indonesia on Friday after celebrating Mass before an overflow crowd of 100,000, a final celebration before heading to Papua New Guinea for the second leg of his 11-day journey through Southeast Asia and Oceania. The 87-year-old pope had no official events Friday beyond a farewell ceremony and the six-hour flight to Port Moresby, giving him something of a break after a packed three-day program in Jakarta. The visit culminated with a jubilant Mass on Thursday afternoon before a crowd that filled two sports stadiums and overflowed into a parking lot.

A fire in a school in Kenya kills 17 students and seriously burns 13 others

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A fire in a school dormitory in Kenya killed 17 students and seriously burned 13 others, police said Friday. There are fears that the death toll may rise, police said. The cause of the fire Thursday night at Hillside Endarasha Primary in Nyeri county was being investigated, police spokesperson Resila Onyango said. The school caters to children up to the age of 14. Nyeri County Commissioner Pius Murugu and the education ministry reported that the dormitory that caught fire housed more than 150 boys aged between 10 and 14. Since most of the buildings are built with wooden planks, the fire spread very fast.

Chiefs hold off Ravens 27-20 when review overturns TD on final play of NFL’s season opener

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes thought for a moment that the Chiefs were headed to overtime. So did Ravens counterpart Lamar Jackson, who had found Isaiah Likely in the back of the end zone with no time left for a touchdown that appeared to tie the game. In the end, the NFL’s season opener Thursday night was decided by referee Shawn Hochuli undertaking a video review. With a capacity crowd that included pop superstar Taylor Swift waiting in anticipation, Hochuli needed just seconds looking at that final play before making his announcement: Likely landed with his toe on the endline, putting the Baltimore tight end out of bounds, and giving the Chiefs a 27-20 victory as they began pursuit of a record third consecutive Super Bowl title.