AP News in Brief at 6:04 p.m. EST

Border Patrol official touts North Carolina arrests despite objections of local leaders

A top Border Patrol commander touted dozens of arrests in North Carolina’s largest city on Sunday as Charlotte residents reported encounters with federal immigration agents near churches, apartment complexes and stores.

The Trump administration has made the Democratic city of about 950,000 people its latest target for an immigration enforcement surge it says will combat crime, despite fierce objections from local leaders and downtrending crime rates.

Gregory Bovino, who led hundreds of U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in a similar effort in Chicago, took to social media to document a few of the more than 80 arrests he said agents had made. He posted pictures of people the Trump administration commonly dubs “criminal illegal aliens,” meaning people living in the U.S. without legal permission who allegedly have criminal records. That included one of a man with an alleged history of drunk driving convictions.

“We arrested him, taking him off the streets of Charlotte so he can’t continue to ignore our laws and drive intoxicated on the same roads you and your loved ones are on,” Bovino wrote on X.

The effort was dubbed “Operation Charlotte’s Web” as a play on the title of a famous children’s book that isn’t about North Carolina.

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US aircraft carrier arrives in the Caribbean in major buildup near Venezuela

WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s most advanced aircraft carrier arrived in the Caribbean Sea on Sunday in a display of U.S. military power, raising questions about what the new influx of troops and weaponry could signal for the Trump administration’s intentions in South America as it conducts military strikes against vessels suspected of transporting drugs.

The arrival of the USS Gerald R. Ford and other warships, announced by the Navy in a statement, marks a major moment in what the administration insists is a counterdrug operation but has been seen as an escalating pressure tactic against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

The Ford rounds off the largest buildup of U.S. firepower in the region in generations. With its arrival, the “Operation Southern Spear” mission includes nearly a dozen Navy ships and about 12,000 sailors and Marines.

The carrier’s arrival came as the military announced its latest deadly strike on a small boat it claims was engaged in ferrying illegal drugs. The military’s Southern Command posted a video on X on Sunday showing the boat being blown up, an attack it said took place Saturday in international waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean and killed three men. A request for more information from the military was not immediately answered.

Since early September, such strikes by the U.S. in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific have now killed at least 83 people in 21 attacks.

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Many House Republicans will back a bill to release Epstein files, leaders of the effort say

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers seeking to force the release of files related to the sex trafficking investigation into Jeffrey Epstein are predicting a big win in the House this week with a “deluge of Republicans” voting for their bill and bucking the GOP leadership and President Donald Trump, who for months have disparaged their effort.

The bill would force the Justice Department to release all files and communications related to Epstein, as well as any information about the investigation into his death in federal prison. Information about Epstein’s victims or ongoing federal investigations would be allowed to be redacted.

“There could be 100 or more” votes from Republicans, said Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., among the lawmakers discussing the legislation on Sunday news show appearances. “I’m hoping to get a veto-proof majority on this legislation when it comes up for a vote.”

Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., introduced a discharge petition in July to force a vote on their bill. That is a rarely successful tool that allows a majority of members to bypass House leadership and force a floor vote.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., had panned the discharge petition effort and sent members home early for their August recess when the GOP’s legislative agenda was upended in the clamoring for an Epstein vote. Democrats also contend the seating of Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., was stalled to delay her becoming the 218th member to sign the petition and gain the threshold needed to force a vote. She became the 218th signature moments after taking the oath of office last week.

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Israeli leader insists there can be no Palestinian state, ahead of UN vote leaving that door open

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Sunday to oppose any attempt to establish a Palestinian state, a day before the U.N. Security Council planned to vote on a U.S.-drafted resolution on Gaza that leaves the door open to Palestinian independence.

Netanyahu has long asserted that creating a Palestinian state would reward Hamas and eventually lead to an even larger Hamas-run state on Israel’s borders. But as the U.S. attempts to push forward with its Gaza ceasefire proposal, he faces heavy international pressure to show flexibility.

The Security Council is expected to vote on a U.S. proposal for a U.N. mandate that would establish an international stabilization force in Gaza despite opposition from Russia, China and some Arab countries.

Hamas and Palestinian factions warned Sunday against the U.S. proposal, calling it an attempt to impose an international mandate on Gaza that is biased toward Israel and deprives Palestinians of the right to manage their own affairs. In a statement, the groups said the force must not involve Israel and must be under direct U.N. supervision.

The statement also rejected any reference in the U.S. proposal to disarming Gaza. Netanyahu on Sunday noted the proposal calls for Gaza to be demilitarized and Hamas to be disarmed, telling his Cabinet: “Either this will happen the easy way, or it will happen the hard way.”

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Trump’s Republican Party insists there’s no affordability crisis and dismisses election losses

NEW YORK (AP) — Almost two weeks after Republicans lost badly in elections in Georgia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia, many GOP leaders insist there is no problem with the party’s policies, its message or President Donald Trump’s leadership.

Trump says Democrats and the media are misleading voters who are concerned about high costs and the economy. Republican officials aiming to avoid another defeat in next fall’s midterms are encouraging candidates to embrace the president fully and talk more about his accomplishments.

Those are the major takeaways from a series of private conversations, briefings and official talking points involving major Republican decision-makers across Washington, including inside the White House, after their party’s losses Nov. 4. Their assessment highlights the extent to which the fate of the Republican Party is tied to Trump, a term-limited president who insists the economy under his watch has never been stronger.

That’s even as an increasing number of voters report a different reality in their lives.

But with few exceptions, the Trump lieutenants who lead the GOP’s political strategy have no desire to challenge his wishes or beliefs.

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Chile votes in a presidential poll pitting a communist against the far right

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Chileans voted for a new president and parliament on Sunday in a contest expected to favor the hard right as candidates play on popular fears over organized crime and immigration.

It’s the first of what’s likely to be two rounds of presidential elections in the South American country, as polls show none of the candidates clearing the 50% threshold needed to avoid a runoff scheduled for Dec. 14.

This also marks Chile’s first presidential election since voting became mandatory and the registration of voters automatic, adding an element of unpredictability to the race and millions more apathetic voters — given past elections marked by abysmal turnout rates.

Over 15.7 million people are now obliged to vote, and those who fail to do so face fines up to $100.

Chile will also renew the entire lower house of Congress and part of the Senate.

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Zelenskyy says Ukraine is working on a prisoner exchange with Russia

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine is working to resume prisoner exchanges with Russia that could bring home 1,200 Ukrainian prisoners, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday, a day after his national security chief announced progress in negotiations.

“We are … counting on the resumption of POW exchanges,” Zelenskyy wrote on X. “Many meetings, negotiations and calls are currently taking place to ensure this.”

Rustem Umerov, Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said Saturday he held consultations mediated by Turkey and the United Arab Emirates on resuming exchanges.

He said the parties agreed to activate prisoner exchange agreements brokered in Istanbul to release 1,200 Ukrainians. Moscow did not immediately comment.

The Istanbul agreements refer to prisoner-exchange protocols established with Turkish mediation in 2022 that set rules for large, coordinated swaps. Since then, Russia and Ukraine have traded thousands of prisoners, though exchanges have been sporadic.

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Immigration crackdown inspires uniquely Chicago pushback that’s now a model for other cities

CHICAGO (AP) — Baltazar Enriquez starts most mornings with street patrols, leaving his home in Chicago’s Little Village on foot or by car to find immigration agents that have repeatedly targeted his largely Mexican neighborhood.

Wearing an orange whistle around his neck, the activist broadcasts his plans on Facebook.

“We don’t know if they’re going to come back. All we know is we’ve got to get ready,” he tells thousands of followers. “Give us any tips if you see any suspicious cars.”

Moments later, his phone buzzes.

As an unprecedented immigration crackdown enters a third month, a growing number of Chicago residents are fighting back against what they deem a racist and aggressive overreach of the federal government. The Democratic stronghold’s response has tapped established activists and everyday residents from wealthy suburbs to working class neighborhoods.

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As nations push for more ambition at climate talks, chairman says they may get it

BELEM, Brazil (AP) — Going into United Nations climate negotiations, the Brazilian hosts weren’t looking for big end-of-session pronouncements on lofty goals. This conference was supposed to hyperfocus on “implementation” of past promises not yet kept.

Throw that out the window.

The urgency of climate change is causing some negotiators to push for more big-picture action — on weak plans to cut emissions of heat-trapping gases, on too little money to help nations wracked by climate change, on putting teeth into phasing out coal, oil and gas. Because of that pressure to do more — including from Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva — the diplomat chairing the talks said Saturday he’ll consider a big-picture, end-of-negotiations communiqué, sometimes known as a decision or cover text.

“I think things have changed, which is a very good thing,” said veteran observer Jean Su of the Center for Biological Diversity. “So I think there’s momentum that we will get some type of decision text, and our hope is that in particular there’s going to be some commitment on phasing out fossil fuels.”

“I would say that what’s at stake now is probably higher than the last several COPs because you’re looking at an ambition gap,″ said former Philippine negotiator Jasper Inventor, international program director at Greenpeace International. “There’s a lot of expectation, there’s a lot of excitement here, but there’s also a lot of political signals that’s been sent by President Lula.”

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Georgia up to No. 4 in AP poll, Sooners back in top 10 and Mean Green are ranked 1st time since 1959

Georgia moved up one spot to No. 4 in The Associated Press poll Sunday, Oklahoma returned to the top 10 and North Texas, ranked for the first time since 1959, is among three Group of Five teams in the Top 25.

Ohio State, Indiana and Texas A&M were the top three teams for the fifth straight week. Georgia earned its highest ranking since the first week of September and Mississippi was back in the top five after spending three weeks there at midseason.

Oregon and Texas Tech were tied for No. 6, and Oklahoma rose three spots to No. 8 following its win at Alabama. The Sooners were last in the top 10, at No. 6, the second week of October.

Notre Dame remained No. 9 after a 22-point win at Pittsburgh and Alabama dropped six spots to No. 10 after the Sooners ended its eight-game win streak.

Ohio State, which rolled past UCLA to improve to 10-0 for the fourth time in seven seasons, received 57 of 66 first-place votes. Indiana, which beat Wisconsin to go 11-0 for the first time, got eight first-place votes. Texas A&M, whose comeback from a 27-point deficit to beat South Carolina was its largest ever, got one first-place vote, three less than last week.