By BABAR DOGAR, MUNIR AHMED, SHEIKH SAALIQ and AIJAZ HUSSAIN

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — India fired attack drones into Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least two civilians, the Pakistani military said. India, meanwhile, accused its neighbor of attempting its own attack, as tensions soared between the nuclear-armed rivals.

India acknowledged that it targeted Pakistan’s air defense system, and Islamabad said it shot down several of the drones. India said it “neutralized” Pakistan’s attempts to hit military targets. It was not possible to verify all of the claims.

The exchanges came a day after Indian missiles struck several locations in Pakistan, killing 31 civilians, according to Pakistani officials. New Delhi said it was retaliating after gunmen killed more than two dozen people, mostly Hindu tourists, in India-controlled Kashmir last month. India accused Pakistan of being behind the assault. Islamabad denies that.

Both sides have also traded heavy fire across their frontier in disputed Kashmir, and Pakistan claimed it killed scores of Indian soldiers. There was no confirmation from India.

Late Thursday in Indian-controlled Kashmir, residents of the city of Jammu reported hearing explosions and sirens. Shesh Paul Vaid, the region’s former director-general of police, said there was a complete blackout in Jammu following loud blasts. “Bombing, shelling, or missile strikes suspected,” he wrote on social media.

Jammu is close to the Line of Control, the de factor border that divides the Kashmir region between India and Pakistan.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed to avenge the deaths in India’s missile strikes, raising fears that the two countries could be headed toward another all-out conflict. Leaders from both nations face mounting public pressure to show strength and seek revenge, and the heated rhetoric and competing claims could be a response to that pressure.

The relationship between countries has been shaped by conflict and mutual suspicion, most notably in their dispute over Kashmir. They have fought two of their three wars over the Himalayan region, which is split between them and claimed by both in its entirety.

With tensions high, India evacuated thousands of people from villages near the highly militarized frontier in the region. Tens of thousands of people slept in shelters overnight, officials and residents said Thursday.

About 2,000 villagers also fled their homes in Pakistani-administered Kashmir.

Mohammad Iftikhar boarded a vehicle with his family on Thursday as heavy rain lashed the region. “I am helplessly leaving my home for the safety of my children and wife,” he said.

India fires drones at Pakistan

India fired several Israeli-made Harop drones at Pakistan overnight and into Thursday afternoon, according to Pakistani army spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif, who said 29 were shot down. Two civilian were killed and another wounded when debris from a downed drone fell in Sindh province.

One drone damaged a military site near the city of Lahore and wounded four soldiers, and another fell in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, near the capital, according to Sharif. “The armed forces are neutralizing them as we speak,” he told state-run Pakistan Television.

In Lahore, local police official Mohammad Rizwan said a drone was downed near Walton Airport, an airfield in a residential area about 25 kilometers (16 miles) from the border with India that also contains military installations.

India’s Defense Ministry said its armed forces “targeted air defense radars and systems” in several places in Pakistan, including Lahore.

Blackout in Gurdaspur district

New Delhi, meanwhile, accused Pakistan of attempting “to engage a number of military targets” with missiles and drones along the Line of Control that divides Kashmir and elsewhere along their border. “The debris of these attacks in now being recovered from a number of locations,” it said.

At a news briefing, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday rejected India’s claim that Islamabad carried out any attack in Indian Punjab. “These accusations are an attempt to incite anti-Pakistan sentiment among the Punjabi Sikh population in India,” he said.

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Seated alongside Dar, the military spokesperson, Sharif said Pakistan shot down 29 Indian drones after they violated its airspace.

Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar told parliament that so far Pakistan has not responded to India’s missiles attacks, but there will be one. Later Thursday, Indian authorities ordered a night-time blackout in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district, which borders with Pakistan.

The Harop drone, produced by Israel’s IAI, is one of several in India’s inventory, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ Military Balance report.

According to IAI, the Harop combines the capabilities of a drone and a missile and can operate at long ranges.

The two sides have also exchanged heavy fire over the past day.

Tarar said that the country’s armed forces have killed 40 to 50 Indian soldiers in the exchanges along the Line of Control. India has not commented on that claim. Earlier, the army said one Indian soldier was killed by shelling Wednesday.

Sikh Temple in Kashmir

Tarar denied Indian accusations that Pakistan had fired missiles toward the Indian city of Amritsar, saying in fact an Indian drone fell in the city. Neither claim could be confirmed.

India’s Foreign Ministry has said that 16 civilians were killed Wednesday during exchanges of fire across the de facto border.

Pakistani officials said six people have been killed near highly militarized frontier in exchanges of fire over the past day.

Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri denied that New Delhi has targeted civilians and a key dam, as Pakistan has alleged. He, in turn, accused Pakistani forces of targeting civilians, including at a Sikh Temple in Kashmir, where he said three Sikhs were killed.

Flights remained suspended at over two dozen airports across northern and western regions in India, according to travel advisories by multiple airlines. Pakistan resumed flights nationwide after a suspension at four airports, according to the Civil Aviation Authority.

Ahmed reported from Islamabad; Saaliq reported from New Delhi and Hussain reported from Srinagar, India. Associated Press writers Rajesh Roy in New Delhi, and Ishfaq Hussain and Roshan Mughal in Muzaffarabad, Pakistan, contributed to this report.

As soon as rookie offensive guard Donovan Jackson was selected by the Vikings in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, he started hearing his name in the same sentence as legendary offensive guard Randall McDaniel. It makes sense.

It’s been nearly 40 years since the Vikings have invested such premium draft capital into the interior of the offensive line.

The selection of Jackson marked the first time the Vikings have used a first-round pick on an offensive guard since they selected McDaniel in the first round of the the 1988 NFL Draft.

“I will get out there at some point and make the official greeting,” McDaniel said. “I’m looking forward to that.”

Here’s an excerpt of our chat with McDaniel.

Q: What are your first impressions of Donovan from afar?

A: I definitely like what I’m hearing. The things that he’s been saying are all great. Just a typical offensive lineman. He does all the right things. Just watching him play at Ohio State, loved him moving out to tackle help the team out. That’s what offensive linemen do.

Q: How hard is that to do? It seems like it’s more difficult than people think.

A: It all happens so quickly inside. You can work with the center or the tackle. You’re on an island sliding outside. The technique completely changes up. You have to stop and think. That’s the hard part. You’re used to reacting quickly, so when things change, there’s a hesitation for a brief moment. You’ve got to make sure the technique is sound in order to combat that.

It’s all about the group. That’s how we operate. We’re not worried about ourselves. We’re going to bring our lunch pails to work and get our job done. That’s what I love to see, just that he was willing to step out and get the job done.

Q: What else stands out about his play style watching him on film?

A: They were known for running that ball. I liked that. I like the way he gets after it. He finishes his blocks and initiates it. I’m an old school lineman; anytime I get to see a young kid run blocking, I get excited. I love that he made that switch and stepped up and played some tackle when they had some injuries. He did the job. That’s always good to see. You have to be willing to do things to help the team win.

Q: How much has the game changed since you were playing?

A: It’s a lot different. These guys are a lot bigger. There’s a lot more passing. You would think with the size of these guys that they would be running the ball more (but) it’s all about passing. That’s how it’s supposed to be. When I came out, the guys that played before me would say, “You guys don’t play like we do.” I would be like, “It’s a different game now.” It’s the same thing now. I would be too small. That’s part of the game. It’s exciting. It’s fun to watch the young kids come up and see the things that they can do. It’s their time and I enjoy watching them play.

Q: Would you be willing to be an ear for Donovan? All offensive linemen have to stick together right?

A: “When I first came into the NFL, I had some of the older offensive linemen kind of show me the ropes. It was great being able to pick their brains. I will offer that up to him. If that’s something he’s interested in, I’m more than willing to do that.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is invoking the “ state secrets privilege ” in an apparent attempt to avoid answering a judge’s questions about its mistaken deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis disclosed the government’s position in a two-page order on Wednesday. She set a Monday deadline for attorneys to file briefs on the issue and how it could affect Abrego Garcia’s case. Xinis also scheduled a May 16 hearing in Greenbelt, Maryland, to address the matter.

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The Republican administration previously invoked the same legal authority to cut off a judge’s inquiry into whether it defied an order to turn around planes deporting Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador.

Abrego Garcia, 29, has been imprisoned in his native El Salvador for nearly two months. His mistaken deportation has become a flash point for President Donald Trump’s immigration policies and his increasing friction with the U.S. courts.

Trump has said he could call El Salvador’s president and have Abrego Garcia, who was living in Maryland, returned to the United States. Instead, Trump has doubled down on his claims that Abrego Garcia is a member of the MS-13 gang.

Police in Maryland had identified Abrego Garcia as an MS-13 gang member in 2019 based off his tattoos, Chicago Bulls hoodie and the word of a criminal informant. But Abrego Garcia was never charged. His lawyers say the informant claimed Abrego Garcia was in an MS-13 chapter in New York, where Abrego Garcia has never lived.

The administration has balked at telling Xinis what, if anything, it has done to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return to the U.S. The judge ruled that his lawyers can question several Trump administration officials under oath about the government’s response to her orders.

In a court filing Wednesday, his lawyers said they already have conducted depositions of three officials and are “still in the dark” about the government’s efforts to free Abrego Garcia. They are asking for permission to depose a more officials, possibly including one from the White House.

By MARC LEVY

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was meeting last week with representatives from a teachers union in his home state when things quickly devolved.

Before long, Fetterman began repeating himself, shouting and questioning why “everybody is mad at me,” “why does everyone hate me, what did I ever do” and slamming his hands on a desk, according to one person who was briefed on what occurred.

As the meeting deteriorated, a staff member moved to end it and ushered the visitors into the hallway, where she broke down crying. The staffer was comforted by the teachers who were themselves rattled by Fetterman’s behavior, according to a second person who was briefed separately on the meeting.

The interaction at Fetterman’s Washington office, described to The Associated Press by the two people who spoke about it on the condition of anonymity, came the day before New York Magazine published a story in which former staff and political advisers to Fetterman aired concerns about the senator’s mental health.

That story included a 2024 letter, also obtained by the AP, in which Fetterman’s one-time chief of staff Adam Jentleson told a neuropsychiatrist who had treated Fetterman for depression that the senator appeared to be off his recovery plan and was exhibiting alarming behavior, including a tendency toward “long, rambling, repetitive and self-centered monologues.”

Asked about the meeting with teachers union representatives, Fetterman said in a statement through his office that they “had a spirited conversation about our collective frustration with the Trump administration’s cuts to our education system.” He also said he “will always support our teachers, and I will always reject anyone’s attempt to turn Pennsylvania’s public schools into a voucher program.”

Fetterman earlier this week brushed off the New York Magazine story as a “one-source hit piece and some anonymous sources, so there’s nothing new.” Asked by a reporter in a Senate corridor what he would say to people who are concerned about him, Fetterman said: “They’re not. They’re actually not concerned. It’s a hit piece. There’s no news.”

Reached by telephone, Aaron Chapin, the president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association who was in the meeting with Fetterman, said he didn’t want to discuss what was a private conversation.

Surviving a stroke, battling depression

The teachers union encounter adds to the questions being raised about Fetterman’s mental health and behavior barely three years after he survived a stroke on the 2022 campaign trail that he said almost killed him. That was followed by a bout with depression that landed him in Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for six weeks, barely a month after he was sworn into the Senate.

The scrutiny also comes at a time when Fetterman, now serving third year of his term, is being criticized by many rank-and-file Democrats in his home state for being willing to cooperate with President Donald Trump, amid Democrats’ growing alarm over Trump’s actions and agenda.

Fetterman — who has been diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, in which the heart muscle becomes weakened and enlarged, and auditory processing disorder, a complication from the stroke — has talked openly about his struggle with depression and urged people to get help.

In November, he told podcast host Joe Rogan that he had recovered and fended off thoughts of harming himself.

“I was at the point where I was really, you know, in a very dark place. And I stayed in that game and I am staying in front of you right now and having this conversation,” Fetterman said.

But some who have worked closely with Fetterman question whether his recovery is complete.

In the 2024 letter to Dr. David Williamson, Jentleson warned that Fetterman was not seeing his doctors, had pushed out the people who were supposed to help him stay on his recovery plan and might not be taking his prescribed medications. Jentleson also said Fetterman had been driving recklessly and exhibiting paranoia, isolating him from colleagues.

“Overall, over the last nine months or so, John has dismantled the early-warning system we all agreed upon when he was released,” Jentleson wrote. “He has picked fights with each person involved in that system and used those fights as excuses to push them out and cut them off from any knowledge about his health situation.”

Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where Williamson works, declined to make him available for an interview, citing privacy and confidentiality laws protecting patient medical information.

A lone wolf in the Senate

Fetterman has long been a wild card in the political realm, forging a career largely on his own, independently from the Democratic Party.

As a small-town mayor in Braddock, the plainspoken Fetterman became a minor celebrity for his bare-knuckled progressive politics, his looks — he’s 6-foot-8 and tattooed with a shaved head — and his unconventional efforts to put the depressed former steel town back on the map.

He endorsed the insurgent Democrat Bernie Sanders in 2016’s presidential primary and ran from the left against the party-backed Democrat in 2016’s Senate primary. In 2020, when he was lieutenant governor, he became a top surrogate on cable TV news shows for Joe Biden’s presidential bid and gathered a national political following that made him a strong small-dollar fundraiser.

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Elected to the Senate in 2022, he has made waves with his casual dress — hoodies and gym shorts — at work and at formal events and his willingness to chastise other Democrats.

Fetterman returned to the Senate after his hospitalization in 2023 a much more outgoing lawmaker, frequently joking with his fellow senators and engaging with reporters in the hallways with the assistance of an iPad or iPhone that transcribes conversations in real time.

Yet two years later, Fetterman is still something of a loner in the Senate.

He has separated himself from many of his fellow Democrats on Israel policy and argued at times that his party needs to work with, not against, Trump. He met with Trump and Trump’s nominees — and voted for some — when other Democrats wouldn’t.

He has stood firmly with Democrats in other cases and criticized Trump on some issues, such as trade and food aid.

One particularly head-scratching video of Fetterman emerged earlier this year in which he was on a flight to Pittsburgh apparently arguing with a pilot over his seatbelt.

Despite fallout with progressives over his staunch support of Israel in its war in Gaza, Fetterman was still an in-demand personality last year to campaign in the battleground state of Pennsylvania for Biden and, after Biden dropped his reelection bid, Vice President Kamala Harris.

Since Trump won November’s election — and Pennsylvania — things have changed. Many one-time supporters have turned on Fetterman over his softer approach to Trump and his willingness to criticize fellow Democrats for raising alarm bells.

It nevertheless brought Fetterman plaudits.

Bill Maher, host of the political talk show “Real Time with Bill Maher,” suggested that Fetterman should run for president in 2028. Conservatives — who had long made Fetterman a target for his progressive politics — have sprung to Fetterman’s defense.

Still, Democrats in Pennsylvania say they are hearing from people worried about him.

“People are concerned about his health,” said Sharif Street, the state’s Democratic Party chairman. “They want to make sure he’s OK. People care about him. There’s a lot of love for him out there.”

Associated Press reporter Mary Clare Jalonick in Washington contributed to this report. 

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