AP Top News at 11:30 a.m. EDT

White House comes out with sharp spending cuts in Trump’s 2026 budget plan

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s 2026 budget plan would slash non-defense domestic spending by $163 billion while increasing expenditures on national security, according to statements released by the White House on Friday. The budget showed a desire to crack down on diversity programs and initiatives to address climate change. But the administration has yet to release detailed tables on what it wants income taxes, tariffs or the budget deficit to be — a sign of the political and financial challenge confronting Trump when he’s promising to cut taxes and repay the federal debt without doing major damage to economic growth.

Wall Street gains ground following a stronger-than-expected report on the US job market

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rose in morning trading on Wall Street Friday following a stronger-than-expected report on the U.S. job market. The S&P 500 gained 0.8%, putting the index on track for a ninth straight day of gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 316 points, or 0.8%, as of 9:57 a.m. Eastern. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.8%. The gains were broad. Technology stocks were among the companies doing the heaviest lifting. Microsoft surged 2.6% and Nvidia rose 2.1%. Banks and other financial companies also made solid gains. JPMorgan Chase rose 1.3% and Visa jumped 1.8%. Employers added 177,000 jobs in April.

Israeli military strikes near Syria’s presidential palace after warning over sectarian attacks

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Israel’s air force struck near Syria’s presidential palace early Friday after warning Syrian authorities not to march toward villages inhabited by members of a minority sect in southern Syria. The strike came after days of clashes between pro-Syrian government gunmen and fighters who belong to the Druze minority sect near the capital, Damascus. The clashes left dozens of people dead or wounded. Syria’s presidency condemned the Israeli airstrike, calling it a “dangerous escalation against state institutions and the soveignty of the state.” It called on the international community to stand by Syria, saying that such attacks “target Syria national security and the unity of the Syrian people.” Friday’s strike was Israel’s second on Syria this week, and attacking an area close to the presidential palace appears to send a strong warning to Syria’s new leadership that is mostly made up of Islamist groups led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

Drones strike ship carrying aid to Gaza, organizers say

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Drones attacked a vessel carrying aid to Gaza on Friday in international waters off Malta, the group organizing the shipment said. A fire broke out but was brought under control, authorities said. A nearby tugboat responded to a distress call from the Conscience, which was carrying 12 crew members and four civilians, Malta’s government said, adding that those aboard refused to leave the ship. The group was safe and no injuries were reported, it said. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition accused Israel of attacking its ship. The group did not provide evidence for that claim or to show that the fire was caused by drones, but in a video it shared an explosion could be heard.

PBS chief decries Trump’s executive order directing federal funding cuts to PBS and NPR as unlawful

The head of PBS said Friday that President Donald Trump’s executive order aiming to slash public subsidies to PBS and NPR was blatantly unlawful. Public Broadcasting Service CEO Paula Kerger said the Republican president’s order “threatens our ability to serve the American public with educational programming, as we have for the past 50-plus years.” “We are currently exploring all options to allow PBS to continue to serve our member stations and all Americans,” Kerger said. Trump signed the order late Thursday, alleging “bias” in the broadcasters’ reporting. The order instructs the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and other federal agencies to “cease Federal funding” for PBS and National Public Radio and further requires that they work to root out indirect sources of public financing for the news organizations.

Trump re-ups his threat to strip Harvard University’s tax-exempt status

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday re-upped his threat to strip Harvard University of its tax-exempt status, escalating a showdown with the first major college that has defied the administration’s efforts to crack down on campus activism. He’s underscoring that pledge even as federal law prohibits senior members of the executive branch from asking the Internal Revenue Service to conduct or terminate an audit or an investigation. The White House has said any IRS actions will be conducted independently of the president. “We are going to be taking away Harvard’s Tax Exempt Status,” Trump wrote on his social media site Friday morning from Palm Beach, Florida, where he is spending the weekend.

CDC reports 216 child deaths this flu season, the most in 15 years

NEW YORK (AP) — More U.S. children have died this flu season than at any time since the swine flu pandemic 15 years ago, according to a federal report released Friday. The 216 pediatric deaths reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eclipse the 207 reported last year. It’s the most since the 2009-2010 H1N1 global flu pandemic. It’s startling that the number already is this high, given that the flu season is still going on. The final pediatric death tally for the 2023-2024 flu season wasn’t counted until autumn. “This number that we have now is almost certainly an undercount, and one that — when the season is declared over, and they compile all the data — it’s almost certain to go up,” said Dr.

Snakes have bitten this man hundreds of times. His blood could help make a better treatment

NEW YORK (AP) — Tim Friede has been bitten by snakes hundreds of times — often on purpose. Now scientists are studying his blood in hopes of creating a better treatment for snake bites. Friede has long had a fascination with reptiles and other venomous creatures. He used to milk scorpions’ and spiders’ venom as a hobby and kept dozens of snakes at his Wisconsin home. Hoping to protect himself from snake bites — and out of what he calls “simple curiosity” — he began injecting himself with small doses of snake venom and then slowly increased the amount to try to build up tolerance.

Vatican firefighters install a chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel for the papal election

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Preparations for the conclave to find a new pope accelerated Friday with the installation of the chimney out of the Sistine Chapel that will signal the election of a successor to Pope Francis. Vatican firefighters were seen on the roof of the Sistine Chapel installing the chimney, a key moment in the preparation for the May 7 conclave. After every two rounds of voting in the Sistine Chapel, the ballots of the cardinals are burned in a special furnace to indicate the outcome to the outside world. If no pope is chosen, the ballots are mixed with cartridges containing potassium perchlorate, anthracene (a component of coal tar) and sulfur to produce black smoke.

Ruth Buzzi, comedy sketch player on groundbreaking series ‘Laugh-In,’ dies at 88

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ruth Buzzi, who rose to fame as the frumpy and bitter Gladys Ormphby on the groundbreaking sketch comedy series “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In” and made over 200 television appearances during a 45-year career, has died at age 88. Buzzi died Thursday at her home in Texas, says her agent Mike Eisenstadt. She had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and was in hospice care. Shortly before her death, her husband, Kent Perkins, had posted a statement on Buzzi’s Facebook page, thanking her many fans and telling them: “She wants you to know she probably had more fun doing those shows than you had watching them.”