A delegation of the Palestinian militant group Hamas was in Cairo on Saturday as Egyptian state media reported “noticeable progress” in ongoing cease-fire talks with Israel while an Israeli official downplayed the prospects for a truce. Pressure has been mounting to reach a deal — Gaza's humanitarian crisis is dramatically escalating while Israel insists it will launch an offensive into Rafah, the territory's southernmost city. The stakes are high to find a halt to the nearly seven-months-long war. More than 1 million Palestinians are sheltering in the city of Rafah, along the border with Egyp ..read more

Twenty horses stampeding toward the first turn in a battle for position. A screaming crowd of 150,000 and maybe some showers that dampen the Churchill Downs dirt strip. It's the 150th Kentucky Derby. Beyond a couple early wagering favorites, it's a wide-open race. Post time is 6:57 p.m. EDT Saturday. The forecast calls for 81 degrees (27 Celsius) with a 60% chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms. That kind of weather could benefit six horses that have won in the mud or slop before, including early favorites Fierceness and Sierra Leone. The others with experience on messy surfaces are Do ..read more

Cloudy start with some areas of patchy fog lingering until after sunrise at 6:40 a.m., and those cloudy conditions will stick around throughout your Saturday. A stray shower is possible later this afternoon and west of Hwy 301 could see a few thunderstorms. Highs in the low-to-mid 80s, with an easterly wind of 10-15 mph. Tonight: 20% chance of scattered showers continues as temperatures drop into the 70s. Sunday, Cinco de Mayo: cloudy skies with highs in the 80s, chance of showers is 50%. Outlook: drying out by Tuesday with near-record highs expected by mid-week in the mid-90s ..read more

London took center stage on Saturday as the counting of votes began in the capital city's mayoral contest, a day after Britain's governing Conservative Party suffered a drubbing in local election results. Sadiq Khan, the Labour Party mayor who is chasing a historic third straight election win, had been widely expected to win easily, but there are some concerns that the race may be tighter than previously thought. That's mainly due to the fact that turnout at Thursday's election — at a total of 40.5% — was higher in the outer suburbs than in the inner city. Khan's main opponent, the Conservativ ..read more

The Ukrainian village of Ocheretyne has been battered by fighting, drone footage obtained by The Associated Press shows. The village has been a target for Russian forces in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. Russian troops have been advancing in the area, pounding Kyiv’s depleted, ammunition-deprived forces with artillery, drones and bombs. Ukraine’s military has acknowledged the Russians have gained a “foothold” in Ocheretyne, which had a population of about 3,000 before the war, but says that fighting continues. Residents have scrambled to flee the village, among them a 98-year-old woman ..read more

Mexican authorities said Friday that three bodies were recovered in an area of Baja California near where two Australians and an American went missing last weekend during an apparent camping and surfing trip. The state prosecutors office did not say whether the bodies were those of the three foreigners, but said the bodies were discovered during the search for the missing men. It also announced that three people who were being questioned in the case of the missing men had been arrested and charged. “Three bodies were found south of the city of Ensenada, and they were recovered in coordination ..read more

The United Nations food agency warned Sudan’s warring parties Friday that there is a serious risk of widespread starvation and death in Darfur and elsewhere in Sudan if they don’t allow humanitarian aid into the vast western region. Leni Kinzli, the World Food Program’s regional spokesperson, said at least 1.7 million people in Darfur were experiencing emergency levels of hunger in December, and the number “is expected to be much higher today.” “Our calls for humanitarian access to conflict hotspots in Sudan have never been more critical,” she told a virtual U.N. press conference from Nairobi ..read more

Israel this week briefed Biden administration officials on a plan to evacuate Palestinian civilians ahead of a potential operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah aimed at rooting out Hamas militants, according to U.S. officials familiar with the talks. The officials, who were not authorized to comment publicly and requested anonymity to speak about the sensitive exchange, said that the plan detailed by the Israelis did not change the U.S. administration’s view that moving forward with an operation in Rafah would put too many innocent Palestinian civilians at risk. Israeli Prime Minister Be ..read more

Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and producer PJ Morton comes home with a new album and memoir dropping soon amid a Saturday afternoon performance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, which nears the end of an eight-day run. Morton, a preacher's kid whose parents — the Revs. Paul and Debra Morton — are well-known in the city, said he looks forward every year to taking the stage at the Fair Grounds. “Jazz Fest always feels like home,” Morton said in an interview with The Associated Press. “It feels like a family reunion. We want the food, just like everyone else does. You get ..read more

For two decades, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar has stood out as a moderate Democrat along the Texas-Mexico border, bucking his party at times over guns and immigration while seldom facing a tough reelection. But a federal indictment accusing Cuellar of federal conspiracy and bribery charges is putting the Laredo native who was first elected in 2004 in a different spotlight. Cuellar, 68, and his wife, Imelda, 67, were taken into custody Friday in connection with a U.S. Department of Justice probe into the couple's ties to the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan. The congressman professed his innocen ..read more