Massive quake rocks Myanmar and Thailand. Hundreds feared dead
BANGKOK (AP) — A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar on Friday, causing extensive damage across a wide swath of one of the world’s poorest countries and prompting officials to warn that the initial death toll — above 140 — was likely to grow in the days ahead. In neighboring Thailand, at least six died in Bangkok, where a high-rise under construction collapsed.
The full extent of death, injury and destruction was not immediately clear — particularly in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war, and where information is tightly controlled.
“The death toll and injuries are expected to rise,” the head of Myanmar’s military government, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing said as he announced on television that at least 144 people were killed and 730 others were injured in his country.
In Thailand, authorities in Bangkok said six people were killed, 22 were injured and 101 were missing from three construction sites, including the high-rise. They revised the death toll Saturday morning from 10 reported the previous day, saying several critically injured people were mistakenly reported dead. Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said that more people were believed to be alive in the wreckage as search efforts continued Saturday morning.
The 7.7 magnitude quake struck at midday, with an epicenter near Mandalay, Myanmar ’s second-largest city. Aftershocks followed, one of them measuring a strong 6.4 magnitude.
___
Israel strikes Beirut for the first time since a ceasefire ended the latest Israel-Hezbollah war
BEIRUT (AP) — Israel on Friday launched an attack on Lebanon's capital for the first time since a ceasefire ended the latest Israel-Hezbollah war in November.
Associated Press reporters in Beirut heard a loud boom and witnessed smoke rising from an area in the city's southern suburbs that Israel's military had vowed to strike.
It marked Israel's first strike on Beirut since a ceasefire took hold last November between it and the Hezbollah militant group, though Israel has attacked targets in southern Lebanon almost daily since then.
Israel’s army said it hit a Hezbollah drone storage facility in Dahiyeh, which it called a militant stronghold. The strike came after Israel, which accuses Hezbollah of using civilians as human shields, warned residents to evacuate the area.
The area struck is a residential and commercial area and is close to at least two schools.
___
Trump asks Supreme Court for permission to resume deporting Venezuelan migrants under wartime law
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Friday asked the Supreme Court for permission to resume deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador under an 18th century wartime law, while a court fight continues.
The emergency appeal to the high court follows a rejection of the Republican administration’s plea to the federal appeals court in Washington. By a 2-1 vote, a panel of appellate judges left in place an order temporarily prohibiting deportations of the migrants under the rarely used Alien Enemies Act
The Justice Department argued in court papers that federal courts shouldn’t interfere with sensitive diplomatic negotiations. It also claimed that migrants should make their case in a federal court in Texas, where they are being detained.
The order temporarily blocking the deportations was issued by U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg, the chief judge at the federal courthouse in Washington.
President Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act for the first time since World War II to justify the deportation of hundreds of people under a presidential proclamation calling the Tren de Aragua gang an invading force.
___
Vance accuses Denmark of underinvesting in Greenland as Trump presses for US takeover of the island
NUUK, Greenland (AP) — U.S. Vice President JD Vance said Friday that Denmark has "underinvested" in Greenland’s security and demanded that Denmark change its approach as President Donald Trump pushes to take over the Danish territory.
The pointed remarks came as Vance visited U.S. troops on Pituffik Space Base on the mineral-rich, strategically critical island alongside his wife and other senior U.S. officials for a trip that was ultimately scaled back after an uproar among Greenlanders and Danes who were not consulted about the original itinerary.
“Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance said. “You have underinvested in the people of Greenland, and you have underinvested in the security architecture of this incredible, beautiful landmass filled with incredible people. That has to change.”
Vance said the U.S. has “no option” but to take a significant position to ensure the security of Greenland as he encouraged a push in Greenland for independence from Denmark.
“I think that they ultimately will partner with the United States,” Vance said. “We could make them much more secure. We could do a lot more protection. And I think they’d fare a lot better economically as well.”
___
Wall Street tumbles, and S&P 500 drops 2% on worries about slower economy and higher inflation
NEW YORK (AP) — Another wipeout walloped Wall Street Friday. Worries are building about a potentially toxic mix of worsening inflation and a U.S. economy slowing because of households afraid to spend due to the global trade war.
The S&P 500 dropped 2% for one of its worst days in the last two years. It thudded to its fifth losing week in the last six after wiping out what had been a big gain to start the week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 715 points, or 1.7%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 2.7%.
Lululemon Athletica led the market lower with a drop of 14.2%, even though the seller of athletic apparel reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It warned that its revenue growth may slow this upcoming year, in part because “consumers are spending less due to increased concerns about inflation and the economy,” said CEO Calvin McDonald.
Oxford Industries, the company behind the Tommy Bahama and Lilly Pulitzer brands, likewise reported stronger results for the latest quarter than expected but still saw its stock fall 5.7%. CEO Tom Chubb said it saw a “deterioration in consumer sentiment that also weighed on demand” beginning in January, which accelerated into February.
___
Mahmoud Khalil's lawyers appear in New Jersey court over jurisdiction of Columbia activist's case
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Lawyers for Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student facing deportation for his role in pro-Palestinian campus protests, urged a federal judge on Friday to free their client from an immigration detention center in Louisiana, describing his imprisonment there as a “Kafkaesque” ploy to chill free speech.
“The longer we wait, the more chill there is,” defense attorney Baher Azmy said. “Everyone knows about this case and is wondering if they’re going to get picked off the street for opposing U.S. foreign policy.”
The parties appeared Friday morning before a judge in Newark, New Jersey, to debate where Khalil’s legal fight to be released from federal custody should play out.
An attorney for the Department of Justice, August Flentje, wants the dispute litigated in Louisiana, where Khalil was taken after his arrest, “for jurisdictional certainty.”
U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz said he would consider the “tricky” venue issues at play and issue a written decision soon. He declined to hear an argument for bail from Khalil’s attorneys, pointing to the need to settle the jurisdictional issue first.
___
Putin suggests putting Ukraine under UN-sponsored external governance
Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed Friday to temporarily put Ukraine under external governance as part of efforts to reach a peaceful settlement, in remarks that reflected the Kremlin leader's determination to achieve his war goals.
In televised remarks broadcast early Friday, Putin reaffirmed his claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose term expired last year, lacks the legitimacy to sign a peace deal. Under Ukraine’s constitution it is illegal for the country to hold national elections while it's under martial law.
Putin claimed that any agreement that is signed with the current Ukrainian government could be challenged by its successors and said new elections could be held under external governance.
“Under the auspices of the United Nations, with the United States, even with European countries, and, of course, with our partners and friends, we could discuss the possibility of introduction of temporary governance in Ukraine,” Putin said. He added that it would allow the country to “hold democratic elections, to bring to power a viable government that enjoys the trust of the people, and then begin negotiations with them on a peace treaty.”
He said such external governance is just “one of the options,” without elaborating.
___
Utah bans fluoride in public drinking water, a first in the US
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah has become the first state to ban fluoride in public drinking water, pushing past opposition from dentists and national health organizations who warn the move will lead to medical problems that disproportionately affect low-income communities.
Republican Gov. Spencer Cox signed legislation Thursday barring cities and communities from deciding whether to add the mineral to their water systems.
Florida, Ohio and South Carolina are considering similar measures, while in New Hampshire, North Dakota and Tennessee, lawmakers have rejected them. A bill in Kentucky to make fluoridation optional stalled in the state Senate.
The American Dental Association sharply criticized the Utah law, saying it showed “wanton disregard for the oral health and well-being of their constituents.”
Cavities are the most common chronic childhood disease, the ADA noted. Fluoride strengthens teeth and reduces cavities by replacing minerals lost during normal wear and tear, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
___
Tufts University student can't be deported to Turkey without court order, judge says
BOSTON (AP) — A Tufts University doctoral student who was detained this week can’t be deported to Turkey without a court order, a federal judge in Massachusetts said on Friday.
Rumeysa Ozturk, 30, was taken by masked immigration officials as she walked along a street in the Boston suburb of Somerville on Tuesday.
Ozturk was quickly moved to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in remote Basile, Louisiana, before her attorneys could secure a judge’s order blocking the transfer.
On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Denise Casper gave the government until Tuesday evening to respond to an updated complaint filed by Ozturk’s attorneys.
“To allow the Court’s resolution of its jurisdiction to decide the petition, Ozturk shall not be removed from the United States until further order of this court,” the judge wrote.
___
Boys with cancer can face infertility as adults. Can storing their stem cells help?
WASHINGTON (AP) — A man who battled childhood cancer has received the first known transplant of sperm-producing stem cells, in a study aimed at restoring the fertility of cancer’s youngest survivors.
Jaiwen Hsu was 11 when a leg injury turned out to be bone cancer. Doctors thought grueling chemotherapy could save him but likely leave him infertile. His parents learned researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center were freezing testicular cells of young boys with cancer in hopes of preserving their future fertility — and signed him up.
Hsu, now 26, is the first to return as an adult and test if reimplanting those cells might work.
“The science behind it is so incredibly new that right now it’s kind of a waiting game,” said Hsu, of Vienna, Virginia. “It’s kind of eagerly crossing our fingers and hoping for the best.”
It may seem unusual to discuss future fertility when a family is reeling from the diagnosis of a child’s cancer. But 85% of children with cancer now survive to adulthood and about 1 in 3 are left infertile from chemotherapy or radiation.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
