President Donald Trump’s attempts to impose a proof-of-citizenship requirement to vote in the U.S. have stalled in Congress and been blocked by the courts. Now Trump's allies are trying through a little-known independent federal commission that's typically worked with states to set election and voting machine standards. The independent Washington-based U.S. Election Assistance Commission received 380,000 public comments reacting to a petition to add the requirement to the federal voter registration form. The proof-of-citizenship effort is being pushed by America First Legal, a conservative group co-founded by the Republican president's deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller. Voting rights groups say it's unnecessary and a potential tool for voter disenfranchisement.

The government shutdown has reopened debate on the future of health coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Tax credits for people who get health insurance through the law expire at the end of the year. Democrats say they won’t vote to reopen the government until Republicans negotiate an extension of the subsidies. Republicans say they won't negotiate that issue until the government reopens. As lawmakers debate, a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds about 6 in 10 Americans are “extremely” or “very” concerned about their health costs going up in the next year.

The European Union has imposed more economic sanctions on Russia, adding to U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest punitive measures against the Russian oil industry. These actions aim to cut off revenue funding Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has praised the sanctions, urging more countries to join. Despite U.S.-led peace efforts, the war continues after more than three years. Ukrainian forces have held Russia’s larger army at bay, while Russian strikes target Ukraine’s power grid. The EU measures focus on Russian oil, gas and financial sectors, and limit Russian diplomats' movements within the EU.

As U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Israel comes to a close, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he would be traveling to the country to keep the momentum on the U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. Earlier this week, Vance announced the opening of a civilian military coordination center in southern Israel where some 200 U.S. troops are working alongside the Israeli military. Rubio said late Wednesday the U.S. is working to put together an international stabilization force to ensure the ceasefire in Gaza and train a Palestinian police force.

Last week’s military coup in Madagascar followed weeks of protests by youth angry about a lack of opportunity, poverty, and regular power and water cutoffs in the sprawling African island nation. Col. Michael Randrianirina’s ousting of the democratically elected president and decision to install himself as the country’s new leader followed a playbook that Madagascans are all too familiar with and one that has been used in several other African countries in recent years. The young protesters whose anger and sacrifices made conditions ripe for Madagascar’s coup can now only hope their lives will improve under the new leader and that he’ll make good on his promise to eventually cede power to a civilian government.

The European Union has agreed on a new raft of sanctions against Russia targeting its shadow fleet of oil tankers and banning imports of its liquefied natural gas. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said Thursday as EU leaders were gathering for a summit in Brussels that the new sanctions “will introduce new and comprehensive measures on oil and gas, the shadow fleet and Russia’s financial sector.” The move comes a day after the Trump administration announced new sanctions against Russia’s oil industry. The EU leaders will also discuss ways to use frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine, and the war in Gaza.

Come October, monks and nuns are busy harvesting olives at the Mount of Olives and the Gethsemane garden — where the Gospel narrates Jesus spent the last night before being taken up the other side of the valley into Jerusalem to be crucified. The mostly Catholic congregations on the hill who harvest olives to make preserves and oil don’t do it as a business, or even mainly a source of sustenance for their communities. Rather, it’s a form of prayer and reverence in the Holy Land.

Khris Middleton considers a standing ovation from an opposing team’s crowd one of the ultimate signs of respect. Middleton received a few of them Wednesday as he played at Milwaukee for the first time since the Bucks sent the three-time All-Star to the Washington Wizards at last season’s trade deadline. Middleton scored 23 points in the Wizards' 133-120 loss to the Bucks and said afterward the reception he got from Milwaukee fans exceeded even his most optimistic expectations.

Tropical Storm Melissa is lumbering through the Caribbean Sea and bringing a risk of dangerous landslides and life-threatening flooding to Jamaica and southern Hispaniola. Officials urged residents of flood-prone areas to seek higher ground. Schools and offices were closed in the Dominican Republic and Jamaica, and storm shelters were opening. A foot of rain was possible in eastern Jamaica, southern Haiti and the southern Dominican Republic through Saturday. Melissa was forecast to move gradually over the next few days. It had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph and could be a hurricane by Friday and a major hurricane by the late weekend.

UKHRUL, India (AP) — A helicopter descended from the clear, blue sky Wednesday as thousands of people cheered the arrival of Thuingaleng Muivah, a top Naga insurgent leader, to his hometown in India’s northeastern Manipur state for the first time…

The Pentagon says a “new press corps” of 60 journalists who had agreed to follow a new media policy will be welcomed into the building to cover the U.S. military. Defense secretary Pete Hegseth's staff wouldn't say who the reporters were, although several smaller conservative outlets like Gateway Pundit and the National Pulse were among them. Podcaster Tim Pool will also join. Virtually all mainstream journalism outlets last week refused to sign Hegseth's new policy, which they said would restrict them to only soliciting news he had approved. They turned in their access badges.

The Minnesota Supreme Court has delivered a win to transgender weightlifter JayCee Cooper, saying she’s protected by the state’s expansive human rights law. But the organization that banned her from competing in its women’s division said it still has a chance. The high court ruled Wednesday that USA Powerlifting’s policy barring her is “facially discriminatory” under the Minnesota Human Rights Act. The high court sent the case back to the trial court for further proceedings but the two sides disagree over whether that matters. USA Powerlifting rejected Cooper’s application in 2018, leading to a lawsuit in 2021. The case has drawn significant national attention.

The White House has started tearing down part of the East Wing to build the ballroom President Donald Trump wants added to the building. Demolition started Monday. Dramatic photos showed construction equipment tearing into the East Wing façade and windows and other building parts in tatters on the ground. Some reporters watched from a nearby park. The Republican president has said he's adding a 90,000-square-foot ballroom because the East Room, the largest room in the White House with an approximately 200-person capacity, is too small. Trump said last week that the ballroom will fit 999 people.

The Agriculture Department will reopen about 2,100 county offices all across the country Thursday despite the ongoing government shutdown to help farmers and ranchers get access to $3 billion of aid from existing programs. The USDA said each Farm Service Agency office will have two workers who will be paid even though the government remains shutdown. These offices help farmers apply for farm loans, crop insurance, disaster aid and other programs. A USDA spokesperson said this move reflects President Trump’s commitment to helping farmers and ranchers. Recently, some of them have been unhappy with Trump’s latest moves during the trade war although his support remains strong across rural America.

The San Francisco Giants are hiring Tennessee Volunteers coach Tony Vitello as their new manager for his first pro coaching job. It’s a bold gamble on a coach with no pro experience by San Francisco executive Buster Posey. Tennessee athletic director Danny White issued a statement Wednesday congratulating Vitello on an incredible opportunity to lead the Giants and wished him the best. The 47-year-old Vitello is making the jump after spending his entire career at the college level. Vitello guided the Vols to its first NCAA title last year.