AP News Summary at 3:04 p.m. EDT

By The Associated Press

Black smoke pours from Sistine Chapel chimney, indicating conclave hasn’t elected pope in first vote

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Black smoke is pouring out of the Sistine Chapel chimney, indicating no pope was elected on the first ballot of the conclave to choose a new leader of the Catholic Church. The smoke billowed out at 9 p.m. Wednesday, some four hours after 133 cardinals solemnly entered the Sistine Chapel, took their oaths of secrecy and formally opened the centuries-old ritual to elect a successor to Pope Francis to lead the 1.4 billion-member church. With no one securing the necessary two-thirds majority, or 89 votes, the cardinals will retire for the night to the Vatican residences where they are being sequestered. They return to the Sistine Chapel Thursday morning.

Strikes across Gaza kill at least 92 as Israel prepares to ramp up its offensive

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Officials say Israeli strikes across Gaza have killed at least 92 people, including women, children and two journalists, one the father of a newborn. Two strikes on Wednesday targeted a crowded area in central Gaza City near a busy market, while one earlier at a second school killed 16, hospital officials said. An attack Tuesday night on a school sheltering hundreds of displaced Palestinians killed 27 people. The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the strikes. This came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday there is “doubt” about the survival of three hostages previously believed alive in Gaza.

India fires missiles on Pakistan. Islamabad calls it an ‘act of war’

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan says it will avenge those killed by India’s missile strikes that New Delhi called retaliation for last month’s massacre of Indian tourists. Pakistan called Wednesday’s strikes an act of war and claimed it downed several Indian fighter jets. Islamabad has not said how it will respond. There are fears the back-and-forth could spiral into all-out conflict between the nuclear-armed rivals. Already, this is their worst confrontation since 2019, when they came close to war. Pakistan said late Wednesday that exchanges continue along the Line of Control that divides Kashmir.

Federal Reserve leaves key rate unchanged as it sees risk of higher prices and higher unemployment

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve kept its key interest rate unchanged Wednesday, brushing off President Donald Trump’s demands to lower borrowing costs, and said that the risks of higher unemployment and higher inflation have risen. The Fed kept its rate at 4.3% for the third straight meeting, after cutting it three times in a row at the end of last year. Many economists and Wall Street investors still expect the Fed will reduce rates two or three times this year, but the sweeping tariffs imposed by Trump have injected a tremendous amount of uncertainty into the U.S. economy and the Fed’s policies.

The more Trump talks about making trade deals, the more confusing the tariff picture gets

WASHINGTON (AP) — The more President Donald Trump talks about his efforts to reach deals with America’s trading partners, the more confusing the tariff picture gets. His team seems good with that, saying Trump is using “strategic uncertainty” to his advantage. Trump says the U.S. doesn’t have to sign any deals, but he also says the U.S. could sign 25 of them right now. He says he’s looking for fair deals on all sides, but also that he doesn’t care about other countries’ markets. He says his team can sit down to negotiate the terms of a deal, and that he might just impose a set of tariffs on his own.

House GOP backing off some Medicaid cuts as report shows millions of people would lose health care

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans appear to be backing off some, but not all, of the steep reductions to the Medicaid program as part of their big tax breaks bill. House Speaker Mike Johnson is running into resistance from more centrist GOP lawmakers opposed to ending health care coverage for their constituents back home. This is as a new report out Wednesday from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office shows millions of Americans would lose Medicaid coverage under the various proposals being circulated by Republicans as cost-savings measures. House Republicans are scrounging to come up with as much as $1.5 trillion in cuts to health care, food stamps and other programs, to offset the revenue lost for some $4.5 trillion in tax breaks.

House Republicans push to sell thousands of acres of public lands in the West

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans have added a provision to their sweeping tax cut package that would authorize the sale of thousands of acres of public lands in Nevada and Utah. The proposal prompted outrage from Democrats and environmental groups who called the plan a betrayal that could lead to increased drilling, mining and logging in the West. The plan would sell thousands of acres of public lands in the two states, and calls for some of the parcels to be considered for affordable housing projects. It’s now part of Trump’s big bill of tax breaks and spending cuts that is moving through Congress.

FAA fixing problems at Newark airport while planning overhaul of US air traffic control system

The Federal Aviation Administration says it will upgrade the technology used to get radar data to air traffic controllers directing planes to the troubled Newark, New Jersey, airport and improve staffing to alleviate the problems there. At the same time, the agency is working on a broader multibillion-dollar plan that will be announced Thursday for long-overdue upgrades to the nation’s air traffic control system. A January midair collision between a passenger jet and army helicopter over Washington, D.C. ,that killed 67 people, followed by a string of other crashes and mishaps, raised alarms about aviation safety and prompted officials to reexamine the system.

Most airports are operating smoothly on the first day of the REAL ID requirement

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Most airports around the United States operated smoothly as new REAL ID requirements took effect because travelers without the updated document were still allowed to move through security easily. Those without the IDs were given flyers informing them that going forward they would need to present “REAL ID or other acceptable form of identification for your next flight or you may expect delays.” REAL ID requirements for those flying within the U.S. began Wednesday after more than 20 years of delays. Many airports reported security checkpoint wait times of a few minutes on their websites.

Warriors sideline Curry for at least a week with hamstring strain, putting rest of series in flux

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Golden State Warriors are planning to play without Stephen Curry for at least the next three games of their second-round series against Minnesota. An MRI on Wednesday confirmed a mild strain of the star guard’s left hamstring. The Warriors said Curry would be sidelined at least a week after the injury Tuesday night forced him out early in second quarter of Game 1, which they won win 99-88. He had 13 points in 13 minutes to help Golden State take home-court advantage away from the Timberwolves. Game 2 is in Minneapolis on Thursday, before the series moves west to San Francisco for Games 3 and 4. The earliest return for Curry appears to be Game 5 on May 14.