AP Top News at 3:21 p.m. EDT

Waltz ouster adds to tumult in Trump’s national security team but consolidates power in fewer hands

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s removal of national security adviser Mike Waltz brings further disruption to a national security team that has already endured scrutiny over using the Signal messaging app to discuss sensitive military operations as well as mounting questions over the leadership of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the firing of the four-star general who led the National Security Agency. The staff shake-up comes as the administration confronts foreign policy issues that include Iran’s rapidly advancing nuclear ambitions, a trade fight with China and conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine that have defied easy resolutions despite Trump’s initial confidence that he could settle both wars quickly.

Justice Department will switch its focus on voting and prioritize Trump’s elections order, memo says

The Justice Department unit that ensures compliance with voting rights laws will switch its focus to investigating voter fraud and ensuring elections are not marred by “suspicion,” according to an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press. The new mission statement for the voting section makes a passing reference to the historic Voting Rights Act, but no mention of typical enforcement of the provision through protecting people’s right to cast ballots or ensuring that lines for legislative maps do not divide voters by race. Instead, it redefines the unit’s mission around conspiracy theories pushed by Republican President Donald Trump to explain away his loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.

Warren Buffett shocks shareholders by announcing his intention to retire at the end of the year

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Warren Buffett shocked an arena full of his shareholders Saturday by announcing that he wants to retire at the end of the year. Buffett said he will recommend to Berkshire Hathaway’s board that Greg Abel should become CEO at the end of the year. “I think the time has arrived where Greg should become the chief executive officer of the company at year end,” Buffett said. Abel has been Buffett’s designated successor for years, and he already manages all of Berkshire’s noninsurance businesses. But it was always assumed he wouldn’t take over until after Buffett’s death. Previously, the 94-year-old Buffett has always said he has no plans to retire.

Pakistan test fires ballistic missile as tensions with India spike after Kashmir gun massacre

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan test fired a ballistic missile Saturday as tensions with India spiked over last month’s deadly attack on tourists in the disputed Kashmir region. The surface-to-surface missile has a range of 450 kilometers (about 280 miles), the Pakistani military said. There was no immediate comment about the launch from India, which blames Pakistan for the April 22 gun massacre in the resort town of Pahalgam, a charge Pakistan denies. Pakistan’s military said the launch of the Abdali Weapon System was aimed at ensuring the “operational readiness of troops and validating key technical parameters,” including the missile’s advanced navigation system and enhanced maneuverability features.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wins a second 3-year term

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Anthony Albanese claimed victory as the first Australian prime minister to clinch a second consecutive term in 21 years on Saturday and suggested his government had increased its majority by not modeling itself on U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. “Australians have chosen to face global challenges the Australian way, looking after each other while building for the future,” Albanese told supporters in a victory speech in Sydney. “We do not need to beg or borrow or copy from anywhere else. We do not seek our inspiration overseas. We find it right here in our values and in our people,” he added.

Warren Buffett’s profits fall on wildfire losses as thousands line up to listen to him Saturday

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Warren Buffett’s company reported just over one-third of last year’s profit Saturday morning just as thousands of Berkshire Hathaway shareholders streamed into an Omaha arena to listen to the revered investor answer questions. The profit numbers were weighed down by a major drop in the value of its investments and $860 million in insurance losses related to policies that its insurance companies wrote before the devastating Southern California wildfires. Berkshire said it earned $4.6 billion, or $3,200 per Class A share, in the first quarter. That’s down from $12.7 billion, or $8,825 per Class A share, last year.

Russia and Ukraine clash over ceasefire proposals as fighting rages

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine and Russia are at odds over competing ceasefire proposals, as Moscow accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of threatening the safety of dignitaries attending Victory Day celebrations after he dismissed Russia’s unilateral 72-hour ceasefire. Zelenskyy instead renewed calls for a more substantial 30-day pause in hostilities, as the U.S. had initially proposed. He said the proposed ceasefire could start anytime as a meaningful step toward ending the three-year war. “Let’s be honest — you can’t agree on anything serious in three, five, or seven days,” he said. Zelenskyy said that Moscow’s announcement of a 72-hour ceasefire next week in Ukraine to mark Victory Day in World War II is merely an attempt to create a “soft atmosphere” ahead of Russia’s annual celebrations.

Trump draws criticism with AI image of himself as the pope ahead of the papal conclave

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump posted an artificial intelligence-generated image of himself dressed as pope as the mourning of Pope Francis continues and just days before the conclave to elect his successor is set to begin. Trump’s action drew rebukes from a group representing Catholic bishops in New York and among Italians. The image, shared Friday night on Trump’s Truth Social site and later reposted by the White House on its official X account, raised eyebrows on social media and at the Vatican, which is still in the period of nine days of official mourning following Francis’ death on April 21.

Hunger and malnutrition are rising across Gaza as Israel’s blockade leaves mothers with few options

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — The little boy is in tears and, understandably, irritable. Diarrhea has plagued him for half of his brief life. He is dehydrated and so weak. Attached to his tiny left hand is a yellow tube that carries liquid food to his frail little system. At 9 months old, Khaled is barely 11 pounds (5 kilos) — half of what a healthy baby his age should be. And in Gaza’s main pediatric hospital ward, as doctors try to save her son, Wedad Abdelaal can only watch. After back-to-back emergency visits, the doctors decided to admit Khaled last weekend.

A community rallied to share flu shot experiences. Then the government stopped the study

WASHINGTON (AP) — Some Denver parents got texts during this winter’s brutal flu season with videos sharing why people in their neighborhoods chose flu shots for their kids, an unusual study about trust and vaccines in a historically Black community. But no one will know how it worked out: The Trump administration canceled the project before the data could be analyzed -- and researchers aren’t the only ones upset. “For someone like me, from the Black community who income-wise is on the lower end, we don’t often have a voice,” said Denver mom Chantyl Busby, one of the study’s community advisers.