AP Top News at 11:57 p.m. EDT

Trump officials texted war plans to a group chat in a secure app that included a journalist

WASHINGTON (AP) — Top national security officials for President Donald Trump, including his defense secretary, texted war plans for upcoming military strikes in Yemen to a group chat in a secure messaging app that included the editor-in-chief for The Atlantic, the magazine reported in a story posted online Monday. The National Security Council said the text chain “appears to be authentic.” Trump initially told reporters he was not aware that the highly sensitive information had been shared, 2 1/2 hours after it was reported. He later appeared to joke about the breach. The material in the text chain “contained operational details of forthcoming strikes on Iran-backed Houthi-rebels in Yemen, including information about targets, weapons the U.S.

Trump administration invokes state secrets privilege in case over deportations under wartime law

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Monday invoked a “state secrets privilege” and refused to give a federal judge any additional information about the deportation of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador under an 18th century wartime law — a case that has become a flashpoint amid escalating tension with the federal courts. The declaration comes as Chief Judge James Boasberg weighs whether the government defied his order to turn around planes carrying migrants after he blocked deportations of people alleged to be gang members without due process. He has asked for details about when the planes landed and who was on board, information that the Trump administration asserts would harm “diplomatic and national security concerns.” Government attorneys also asked an appeals court on Monday to lift Boasberg’s order and allow deportations to continue, a push that appeared to divide the judges.

UN to reduce staff in Gaza, blaming Israel for a strike that killed its employee

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The United Nations said Monday it will “reduce its footprint” in the Gaza Strip after an Israeli tank strike hit one of its compounds last week, killing one staffer from Bulgaria and wounding five other employees. The world body will temporarily remove about a third of its approximately 100 international staffers working in Gaza, U.N. Secretary-General spokesman Stéphane Dujarric. He pointed to the increased danger after Israel relaunched its military campaign last week with bombardment that has since killed hundreds of Palestinians. Israel has also cut off all food, medicine, aid and other supplies to Gaza’s population for the past three weeks.

Trump administration asks Supreme Court to halt judge’s order to rehire probationary federal workers

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Monday to halt a ruling ordering the rehiring of thousands of federal workers let go in mass firings aimed at dramatically downsizing the federal government. The emergency appeal argues that the judge can’t force the executive branch to rehire more than 16,000 probationary employees. The California-based judge found the firings didn’t follow federal law, and he ordered reinstatement offers be sent as a lawsuit plays out. The appeal also calls on the conservative-majority court to rein in the growing number of federal judges who have slowed President Donald Trump’s sweeping agenda.

Body camera footage is released showing scene outside Gene Hackman’s home

ALBUQUERQE, N.M. (AP) — Authorities have released body camera footage from outside the home of Gene Hackman, where the actor and wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in late February. The redacted footage shows deputies talking with the two workers who called authorities to report seeing someone lying on the floor inside the home. With no signs of forced entry or other evidence of suspicious circumstances, the deputies asked about the possibility of a gas leak or carbon monoxide poisoning, and the workers said they didn’t see how that could have been the case. “Something’s not right,” one of the workers said.

You’re an American in another land? Prepare to talk about the why and how of Trump 2.0

LONDON (AP) — The urgent care doctor cocked an eyebrow at Mari Santos and her American accent. It was four days after President Donald Trump’s inauguration, and Santos was a student with a stomach bug in the first weeks of an overseas semester in Glasgow, Scotland. A doctor arrived to see her after a six-hour wait. But before asking what ailed her, he said this: “Interesting time to be an American, I suppose.” Until then, Santos, 20, had not been thinking about Trump — just her 104-degree fever and concern about being sick while abroad. But the president and his triumphant return to the White House, she says, were on her physician’s mind, giving the American University student an instant education in geopolitics.

US holds separate talks with Russians after meeting Ukrainians to discuss a potential ceasefire

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. negotiators worked on a proposed partial ceasefire in the 3-year-old war in Ukraine on Monday, meeting representatives from Russia one day after holding separate talks with a team from Kyiv. It has been a struggle to reach even a limited, 30-day ceasefire — which Moscow and Kyiv agreed to in principle last week -- with both sides continuing to attack each other with drones and missiles. One major sticking point is what targets would be off-limits to strike, even after U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with the countries’ leaders, because the parties disagree. While the White House said “energy and infrastructure” would be covered, the Kremlin declared that the agreement referred more narrowly to “energy infrastructure.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he would also like to see infrastructure like railways and ports protected.

Firefighters in the Carolinas battle multiple wildfires as New Jersey crews contain a forest blaze

Firefighters in North and South Carolina were battling multiple wind-driven wildfires Monday in rugged terrain that complicated containment efforts, officials said. Millions of trees knocked down by Hurricane Helene last year combined with long stretches of dry weather this spring are making for a long and active fire season in the Carolinas, North Carolina State University forestry and environmental resources professor Robert Scheller said. “Helene just dropped tons of fuel on the ground,” Scheller said. “Then these flash droughts allow that fuel to dry out very fast.” Both South Carolina and North Carolina have issued statewide bans on outdoor burning. Mandatory evacuations continue for about 165 properties in parts of Polk County in western North Carolina, about 80 miles (129 kilometers) west of Charlotte, according to county spokesperson Kellie Cannon.

USC star JuJu Watkins carried off floor with knee injury against Mississippi State in March Madness

LOS ANGELES (AP) — JuJu Watkins was carried off the floor with a right knee injury in the first quarter of top-seeded Southern California’s game against Mississippi State in the women’s NCAA Tournament on Monday night. Watkins, one of the biggest stars in women’s basketball, was streaking to the basket between two defenders when her knee bent awkwardly as she planted her right leg, causing her to crumple to the floor with 4:43 remaining. She grabbed her knee and writhed in pain as her teammates surrounded her. The crowd in Galen Center went silent as coach Lindsay Gottlieb and two other USC staffers attended to the 19-year-old Watkins, a 6-foot-2 sophomore who averages 24.6 points.

Do you eat a meal in 20 minutes or less? It might be time to slow down

LONDON (AP) — You can have your cake and eat it too — just do it slowly. Experts tend to focus on the kinds of foods you can eat to improve your health. But the speed at which you devour your dinner matters just as much. There are risks with eating too fast — think stuck food and the potential to overeat before your brain tells you to stop. (Inhaling your food also risks annoying your slower-paced dining companions or the person who took the time to cook your meal.) Here are some tips from scientists on how to slow down and take a more mindful approach to consuming your diet.