AP News in Brief at 11:04 p.m. EST

Israel identifies remains of child hostages but says another body from Hamas was not their mother

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The Israeli military said Friday it had positively identified the remains of two young hostages but another body released by Hamas under a ceasefire deal was not the boys’ mother as the militant group had promised.

The revelation was a shocking twist in the saga surrounding the Bibas family, who have become global symbols of the plight of Israeli hostages held by Hamas, and threw the future of the fragile ceasefire into question.

“This is a violation of utmost severity by the Hamas terrorist organization,” the army said in a statement.

During the monthlong ceasefire, Hamas has been releasing living hostages in exchange hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Thursday’s release marked the first time the group has returned the remains of dead hostages.

Early in the day, Hamas had turned over four bodies to the Red Cross. Israel quickly confirmed one body was that of Oded Lifshitz, who was 83 when he was abducted during the Hamas attack that started the war on Oct. 7, 2023.

___

Senate ready to stay up all night to pass GOP budget over objections from Democrats

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators are ready to stay up all night, having launched a budget “vote-a-rama” late Thursday in a crucial, if dreaded, step toward unleashing a $340 billion package President Donald Trump’s team says it needs for mass deportations and security measures that top the Republican agenda.

If ever there was a time to watch Congress in action, this might be it. Or not. Senators will be voting in rapid fashion for hours on one amendment after another diving into intricate policy details, largely from Democrats trying to halt the package. The result will be a final push by the Republicans, expected in the early hours of the morning, to use their majority power to pass it on a party-line vote.

“What we’re doing today is jumpstarting a process that will allow the Republican Party to meet President Trump’s immigration agenda,” Senate Budget Committee chair Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said while opening the debate.

Graham said Trump’s top immigration czar, Tom Homan, told senators that the administration’s deportation operations are “out of money” and need more funding from Congress to detain and deport immigrants.

With little power in the minority to stop the onslaught, Democrats will instead use the all-night debate to force GOP senators into potentially embarrassing votes — including the first one, on blocking tax breaks to billionaires. It was turned back, on procedural grounds.

___

Trump loyalist Kash Patel is confirmed as FBI director by the Senate despite deep Democratic doubts

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Thursday narrowly voted to confirm Kash Patel as director of the FBI, moving to place him atop the nation’s premier federal law enforcement agency despite doubts from Democrats about his qualifications and concerns he will do Donald Trump’s bidding and go after the Republican president’s adversaries.

“I cannot imagine a worse choice,” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told colleagues before the 51-49 vote by the GOP-controlled Senate. Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska were the lone Republican holdouts.

A Trump loyalist who has fiercely criticized the agency he will now lead, Patel will inherit an FBI gripped by turmoil as the Justice Department over the past month has forced out a group of senior bureau officials and made a highly unusual demand for the names of thousands of agents who participated in investigations related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Patel has spoken of his desire to implement major changes at the FBI, including a reduced footprint in Washington and a renewed emphasis on the bureau’s traditional crime-fighting duties rather than the intelligence-gathering work that has come to define its mandate over the past two decades as national security threats have proliferated.

But he’s also echoed Trump’s stated desire for reprisal, raising alarm among Democrats for saying before he was nominated that he would “come after” anti-Trump “conspirators” in the federal government and the media.

___

The Latest: Judge declines to halt Trump administration’s federal workers layoffs

A federal judge on Thursday refused to temporarily block the Trump administration’s mass layoff of federal workers while a lawsuit brought by five unions moves forward.

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper found the unions must bring their claims under federal employment law rather than in district court.

Earlier Thursday, the Senate voted to confirm Kash Patel as FBI director, a decision that places him atop the nation’s premier federal law enforcement agency, despite concerns from Democrats over his qualifications and the prospect that he would do President Donald Trump’s bidding.

Here’s the latest:

Trump has returned to the White House after wrapping up his speech to the Republican Governors Association.

___

A news conference between Zelenskyy and Trump’s Ukraine envoy is canceled as tension rise

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A news conference that was planned to follow talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump’s Ukraine envoy was canceled Thursday as political tensions deepened between the two countries over how to end the almost three-year war with Russia.

The event was originally supposed to include comments to the media by Zelenskyy and retired U.S. Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, but it was changed at the last minute to a simple photo opportunity where the two posed for journalists. They did not deliver statements or field questions as expected. The change was requested by the U.S. side, Ukrainian presidential spokesman Serhii Nikiforov said.

Kellogg’s trip to Kyiv coincided with recent feuding between Trump and Zelenskyy that has bruised their personal relations and cast further doubt on the future of U.S. support for Ukraine’s war effort.

Dozens of journalists gathered at Ukraine’s presidential office in Kyiv after being invited to take photos and observe a news conference with Zelenskyy and Kellogg. As the meeting began, photographers and video journalists were allowed into a room where the two men shook hands before sitting across from each other at a table.

Journalists were then informed that there would be no news conference with remarks by the leaders or questions from reporters. Nikiforov gave no reason for the sudden change except to say that it was in accordance with U.S. wishes.

___

A flight to a Toronto paramedics conference becomes a real emergency for a former EMT

TORONTO (AP) — Former paramedic Peter Carlson is still having difficulty putting into perspective the shuddering jolt he and 79 others aboard Delta Air Lines flight 4819 experienced earlier this week.

One moment, the 40-year-old was looking forward to arriving in Toronto where he was speaking at an Ontario paramedic chiefs convention. The next, he was hanging — strapped only by his seatbelt — looking down at the airplane’s ceiling, attempting to assess the chaos around him.

As blood flowed from a gash on the back of Carlson’s head, he noticed other injured passengers, including one pinned beneath a seat behind him. There was an overwhelming smell of jet fuel as it streamed down the window next to his seat by the plane’s right wing which was sheared off during Monday’s crash landing at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.

“It was a forceful impact, a sideways movement and suddenly just inverted,” Carlson told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “And the only mission was to get out.”

Carlson’s friend and convention chairman Michael Nolan, 53, was waiting to pick him up when he spotted a plume of black smoke in the distance.

___

Vatican says Pope Francis is ‘improving slightly’ as cardinals acknowledge resignation is possible

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis’ overall clinical condition is “improving slightly” and his heart is working well as he battles pneumonia, the Vatican said Thursday, as some of his cardinals cheered him on and insisted that the Catholic Church was very much alive and well even in his absence.

In a late update, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Francis has no fever and that his key heart parameters “continue to be stable.”

The 88-year-old pope was admitted to the hospital on Feb. 14 after a case of bronchitis worsened; doctors later diagnosed the onset of pneumonia in both lungs on top of asthmatic bronchitis and prescribed “absolute rest.”

“If you really want him to rest, you have to hospitalize him,” quipped Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, the archbishop of Marseille, France, referring to Francis’ work ethic.

Aveline was speaking at a Vatican news conference about a Mediterranean youth peace initiative alongside his counterpart from Barcelona, Cardinal Juan Josè Omella. But given the limited amount of information about Francis’ condition, they were peppered with questions about the pope’s health and whether he might decide to resign if he doesn’t recover fully.

___

No injuries from Israeli bus explosions in suspected militant attack, police say

BAT YAM, Israel (AP) — A series of explosions Thursday on three parked buses has rattled central Israel in what authorities suspected was a militant attack. No injuries were reported.

The explosions happened on a day when Israel was already grieving after Hamas returned the bodies of four hostages from Gaza as part of a ceasefire deal. The bus explosions were reminiscent of bombings during the Palestinian uprising of the 2000s, but such attacks are now rare.

Explosives were found on two other buses but did not detonate, police spokesman Asi Aharoni told Channel 13 TV. Israeli police said the five bombs were identical and equipped with timers, and said bomb squads were defusing the unexploded bombs.

Investigators in white coveralls searched for evidence inside the burned-out metal shells of the buses, which blew up in a parking lot in Bat Yam, a city outside Tel Aviv.

The city’s mayor, Tzvika Brot, said it was a miracle no one was hurt. The buses had been parked after finishing their routes, he said.

___

Victor Wembanyama’s season is over. What’s next for the Spurs star?

Victor Wembanyama is one of the faces of the NBA, the star of the San Antonio Spurs and already one of the biggest names in basketball.

And his season is over, after the Spurs announced Thursday that he has been diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder.

The 7-foot-3 center from France was averaging 24.3 points, 11 rebounds, 3.8 blocks and 3.7 assists this season. Since blocked shots became an official statistic, only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — nearly a half-century ago — finished a season with those numbers or better.

Some questions and answers about Wembanyama’s situation:

By the Mayo Clinic’s definition, deep vein thrombosis — or DVT — “occurs when a blood clot forms in one or more of the deep veins in the body, usually in the legs.” The Spurs say Wembanyama was diagnosed with DVT in his right shoulder, and doctors will now work to determine how and why that happened before coming up with a plan for treatment.

___

Scottish Highland bull on the loose in Connecticut’s rural hill country

KENT, Conn. (AP) — A Scottish Highland bull is the talk of the town in the rural hills of western Connecticut, where it has been roaming for over a month in the frigid winter weather after escaping from its confines.

Local residents have reported sporadic sightings, including a few over the past week, said Lee Sohl, the animal control officer in Kent. It was recently seen just over the town line in New Milford.

“People keep spotting it and they don’t know that people are looking for it,” Sohl said in a phone interview Thursday. “If somebody calls me about a sighting, then I tell the owner and they’ve been doing their best. They run right out and try to get to it. But it’s hard. It’s hard in this weather, and it’s very scared.”

The owner, Jo Ann Joray, said there have been people out looking for the bull, but they haven’t been able to catch it.

Photos posted on social media by people who have spotted the bull have drawn a range of comments, from ones expressing sympathy for its plight, to others saying the bull is adorable to one saying it would produce good steaks.