AP News in Brief at 12:04 a.m. EDT

What to know about Guatemalan migrant children and efforts to send them home

WASHINGTON (AP) — Over Labor Day weekend, the Trump administration attempted to remove Guatemalan children who had come to the U.S. alone and were living in shelters or with foster care families in the U.S.

Advocates who represent migrant children in court filed lawsuits across the country seeking to stop the government from removing the children, and on Sunday a federal judge stepped in to order that the kids at least temporarily stay in the U.S.

The Trump administration has argued in court and on social media that they’re doing this to reunite the children with their families back home at the behest of the Guatemalan government and blamed advocates and the judge for stepping in.

Advocates who sued said the children they represent have said they fear going home, and that the government, by operating in the dead of night and by bypassing immigration courts, is not following laws designed to protect migrant children.

Here’s a look at where things stand now:

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Trump says he’s awarding former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani the Presidential Medal of Freedom

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday he will award former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, two days after his longtime political ally was seriously injured in a car crash.

The decision places the award on a man once lauded for leading New York after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and later sanctioned by courts and disbarred for amplifying false claims about the 2020 election. Giuliani was also criminally charged in two states; he has denied wrongdoing.

Trump in a statement on social media called Giuliani the “greatest Mayor in the history of New York City, and an equally great American Patriot.”

For much of the past two decades, Giuliani’s public life has been defined by a striking rise and fall. After leading New York through the aftermath of Sept. 11, he mounted a brief campaign for the Republican presidential nomination and became one of the most recognizable political figures in the country. But as Trump’s personal lawyer, he became a central figure in efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Courts repeatedly rejected the fraud claims he advanced, and two former Georgia election workers won a $148 million defamation judgment against him.

The election workers, Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, said Giuliani’s efforts to promote Trump’s lies about the election being stolen led to death threats that made them fear for their lives.

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Nestlé dismisses CEO after an investigation into a relationship with a subordinate

Swiss food giant Nestlé said Monday it dismissed its CEO Laurent Freixe after an investigation into an undisclosed relationship with a direct subordinate.

The maker of Nescafé drinks and Purina pet food said in a statement the dismissal was effective immediately. An investigation found the undisclosed romantic relationship with a direct subordinate violated Nestlé’s code of conduct.

Freixe, who had been CEO for a year, will be replaced by Philipp Navratil, a longtime Nestlé executive.

“This was a necessary decision,” said Chairman Paul Bulcke. “Nestlé’s values and governance are strong foundations of our company.”

The company didn’t give any other details about the investigation.

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Earthquake in eastern Afghanistan destroys villages and kills 800 people, with 2,500 injured

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Desperate Afghans clawed through rubble in search of missing loved ones after a strong earthquake killed some 800 people and injured more than 2,500 in eastern Afghanistan, according to figures provided Monday by the Taliban government.

The 6.0 magnitude quake late Sunday hit towns in the province of Kunar, near the city of Jalalabad in neighboring Nangarhar province, causing extensive damage.

One resident in Nurgal district, one of the worst-affected areas in Kunar, said nearly the entire village was destroyed.

“Children are under the rubble. The elderly are under the rubble. Young people are under the rubble,” said the villager, who did not give his name.

“We need help here,” he pleaded. “We need people to come here and join us. Let us pull out the people who are buried. There is no one who can come and remove dead bodies from under the rubble.”

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Strikes across Gaza kill at least 31 as international scholars accuse Israel of genocide

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel launched strikes across the Gaza Strip on Monday, killing at least 31 people as it presses ahead with a major offensive in the territory’s largest city, according to health officials. Leading genocide scholars, meanwhile, accused Israel of genocide, allegations the government vehemently rejects.

Airstrikes and artillery shelling have echoed through Gaza City since Israel declared it a combat zone last week. On the city’s outskirts and in the Jabaliya refugee camp, residents have observed explosive-laden robots demolishing buildings.

“Another merciless night in Gaza City,” said Saeed Abu Elaish, a Jabaliya-born medic sheltering in the northwestern side of the city.

Hospitals in Gaza said at least 31 people were killed by Israeli fire Monday, more than half of them women and children. At least 13 people were killed in Gaza City, where Israel has carried out several previous large-scale raids since Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel to ignite the war on Oct. 7, 2023.

Israel says it only targets militants and blames Hamas for civilian casualties because the militant group — now largely reduced to a guerrilla organization — operates in densely-populated areas.

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1.2 million immigrants are gone from the US labor force under Trump, preliminary data shows

It’s tomato season and Lidia is harvesting on farms in California’s Central Valley.

She is also anxious. Attention from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could upend her life more than 23 years after she illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border as a teenager.

“The worry is they’ll pull you over when you’re driving and ask for your papers,” said Lidia, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition that only her first name be used because of her fears of deportation. “We need to work. We need to feed our families and pay our rent.”

As parades and other events celebrating the contributions of workers in the U.S. are held Monday for the Labor Day holiday, experts say President Donald Trump’s stepped-up immigration policies are impacting the nation’s labor force.

More than 1.2 million immigrants disappeared from the labor force from January through the end of July, according to preliminary Census Bureau data analyzed by the Pew Research Center. That includes people who are in the country illegally as well as legal residents.

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North Korea’s Kim Jong Un travels to Beijing to watch military parade alongside Putin and Xi Jinping

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is heading to Beijing by train on Tuesday to attend a military parade with his Chinese and Russian counterparts, North Korea’s state media reported. The event could potentially demonstrate their three-way unity against the United States.

Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin are among the 26 world leaders who’ll join Chinese President Xi Jinping to watch Wednesday’s massive military parade in Beijing that commemorates the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and China’s fight against Japan’s wartime aggressions.

While the event would mark Kim’s first attendance of a major multilateral event during his 14-year rule, it would also be the first time for Kim, Xi and Putin, all key challengers of the U.S., to gather at the same venue. None of the three countries have confirmed a private trilateral leaders’ meeting.

The North’s official Korean Central News Agency reported early Tuesday that Kim left Pyongyang for Beijing by his special train on Monday to participate in the celebrations. KCNA, citing Foreign Ministry official Kim Chon Il, said that Kim Jong Un was traveling with top officials including Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui.

South Korean media reported Kim Jong Un’s train was expected to arrive in Beijing on Tuesday after confirming its arrival in the Chinese border city of Dandong on Monday night.

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A downturn in international travel to the U.S. may last beyond summer, experts warn

LAS VEGAS (AP) — For a few hopeful weeks this summer, a bright billboard on the major highway linking Toronto to New York greeted Canadian drivers with a simple message: “Buffalo Loves Canada.”

The marketing campaign, which included a $500 gift card giveaway, was meant to show Buffalo’s northern neighbors they were welcome, wanted and missed.

At first, it seemed like it might work, said Patrick Kaler, CEO of the local tourism organization Visit Buffalo Niagara. More than 1,000 people entered the giveaway. But by the end of July, it was clear the city’s reliable summer wave of Canadian visitors would not arrive this year.

Buffalo’s struggle reflects a broader downturn in international tourism to the U.S. that travel analysts warn could persist well into the future. From northern border towns to major hot spots like Las Vegas and Los Angeles, popular travel destinations reported hosting fewer foreign visitors this summer.

Experts and some local officials attribute the trend that first emerged in February to President Donald Trump’s return to the White House. They say his tariffs, immigration crackdown and repeated jabs about the U.S. acquiring Canada and Greenland alienated travelers from other parts of the world.

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A House committee investigating the Jeffrey Epstein case has withdrawn a subpoena to Robert Mueller

WASHINGTON (AP) — A House committee investigating the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case has withdrawn a subpoena to former FBI Director Robert Mueller, citing the state of his health.

The House Oversight Committee last month scheduled Mueller to appear Tuesday for a deposition, but the subpoena was withdrawn after the panel learned of unspecified health issues that precluded him from being able to testify, according to a committee statement.

The New York Times, citing a statement from Mueller’s family and people close to him, reported Sunday night that Mueller had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in the summer of 2021 and has had difficulty speaking.

Mueller was appointed FBI director in 2001 by then-President George W. Bush and shepherded the bureau’s evolution into a national security and intelligence-gathering agency. He held the job for more than a decade, resigning in 2013.

In 2017, he was tapped by the Justice Department to serve as special counsel in charge of the investigation into potential coordination between Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and Russia.

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Naomi Osaka and Iga Swiatek roll into the quarterfinals at the US Open

NEW YORK (AP) — Naomi Osaka and Iga Swiatek rolled into the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open, showing off what once made each of them the top-ranked women’s tennis player in the world.

Osaka dominated Coco Gauff 6-3, 6-2 in their highly anticipated showdown Monday in Arthur Ashe Stadium. Swiatek rallied from down 3-1 in the first set to beat Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-3, 6-1.

“At the beginning, I felt like she was playing really fast,” said Swiatek, who is seeking her second U.S. Open title and seventh in a Grand Slam. “I wanted to find my rhythm, but later on I really felt like I was in my bubble and in my zone.”

Osaka, in the quarterfinals at a major for the first time since 2021, is set to face No. 11 Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic for a spot in the semifinals. Up next for Swiatek is American Amanda Anisimova in a rematch of her 6-0, 6-0 victory in the Wimbledon final.

The No.8-seeded Anisimova reached her first U.S. Open quarterfinal by beating No. 16 Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-0, 6-3.