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Authorities are gathering evidence about what led to this week's bridge collapse in Baltimore. So far, we know that a massive cargo ship lost power and issued a mayday call moments before it struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge early Tuesday, causing the span to crumble into the Patapsco River. Eight construction workers were filling potholes on the bridge when the crash happened. Two were rescued soon after the collapse. Divers recovered the bodies of two others, and the other four are presumed dead. Ship traffic has been halted at the Port of Baltimore, which handles tens of billions of dollars in cargo each year.

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In a legally binding order, the top United Nations court says Israel must open more land crossings into Gaza for food, water, fuel and other supplies. The International Court of Justice issued two new so-called provisional measures Thursday in a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of acts of genocide in its war in Gaza — charges Israel strongly denies. The U.N. has reported that 100% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people are at severe levels of food insecurity. Aid groups say complicated inspection procedures at the border, continued fighting, and a breakdown in public order have caused massive slowdowns in convoys. Israel accuses the U.N. of disorganization.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s second-term Cabinet secretary for military and veterans affairs is retiring, and a former state legislator who has been working at the Pentagon is taking his place. Cooper’s office announced on Thursday that retired Marine Corps general Walter Gaskin is retiring from state government. He was named secretary in 2021. Former state Rep. Grier Martin succeeds Gaskin on Monday. He has been an assistant secretary of defense. The Department of Military and Veterans Affairs manages state veterans’ nursing homes and cemeteries, and it promotes activities to support military installations and quality of life for current and retired service members.

U.S. federal agencies must show that their artificial intelligence tools aren’t harming the public, or stop using them, under new rules unveiled by the White House. Vice President Kamala Harris says government agencies that use AI tools will be required to verify that those tools do not endanger the rights and safety of the American people. After Thursday's announcement, each agency by December must have a set of concrete safeguards that guide everything from facial recognition screenings at airports to AI tools that help control the electric grid or determine mortgages and home insurance.

The end of Georgia’s two-year legislative session has arrived. Thursday is the last day for bills to pass both the House and Senate or die as this term ends. Lawmakers will decide questions including whether to legalize sports betting and tighten rules on immigration. Some key proposals have already passed, including a plan to cut income taxes and a bill to loosen Georgia’s rules for permitting new health care facilities. Others appear to have failed, including a proposal to expand Medicaid health insurance. Also unlikely to pass was an effort to overhaul Georgia’s tax incentives for movie and television production.

Rights groups say the Russian mercenary group known as Wagner is helping government forces in central and northern Mali carry out raids and drone strikes that have killed scores of civilians. Mali, along with its neighbors Burkina Faso and Niger, has for over a decade battled an insurgency fought by jihadi groups. Following military coups in all three nations in recent years, the ruling juntas have expelled French forces and turned to Russia’s mercenary units for security assistance instead. Violence has escalated in Mali since Russian mercenaries arrived there following a coup in 2021. Its ruling junta has ramped up operations, carrying out drone strikes that have hit gatherings of civilians, and raids accompanied by Russian mercenaries that have killed civilians.