By FATIMA HUSSEIN and ISABEL DEBRE

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States directly purchased Argentine pesos on Thursday and finalized a $20 billion currency swap line with Argentina’s central bank, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a social media post, a rare move aimed at stabilizing turbulent financial markets in the cash-strapped Latin American ally.

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“U.S. Treasury is prepared, immediately, to take whatever exceptional measures are warranted to provide stability to markets,” Bessent said, adding that the Treasury Department held four days of meetings with Argentine Economy Minister Luis Caputo in Washington D.C. to cement the deal.

Argentina’s libertarian President Javier Milei, a fervent admirer of U.S. President Donald Trump, thanked Bessent for his “strong support” and Trump for his “powerful leadership.”

“Together, as the closest of allies, we will make a hemisphere of economic freedom and prosperity,” Milei said in a social media post.

Bessent, under fire from U.S. farmers and Democratic lawmakers, has insisted that the credit swap is not a bailout. Farmers are angry about the idea of rescuing Argentina, whose own farmers have benefited from a recent gush of sales of soybeans to China at the expense of their U.S. counterparts. Lawmakers have pushed Trump to explain how this financial help aligns with his “America First” agenda.

After the announcement Thursday, a group of Democratic Senators introduced the “No Argentina Bailout Act,” which would stop the Treasury Department from using its Exchange Stabilization Fund assist Argentina.

“It is inexplicable that President Trump is propping up a foreign government, while he shuts down our own,” Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, said in a statement. “Trump promised ‘America First,’ but he’s putting himself and his billionaire buddies first and sticking Americans with the bill.”

It doesn’t help that repeated bailouts have failed to stabilize the crisis-stricken economy of Argentina. As the International Monetary Fund’s biggest debtor, it owes the global lender a staggering $41.8 billion.

Milei, a wild-haired far-right economist, came to office in late 2023 on the bold promise that this time would be different.

He vowed to take a chainsaw to reckless public spending that he inherited from his left-wing predecessor. But his radical austerity program has been painful, with no economic revival in sight and Argentines are losing patience.

Now Milei faces his greatest test yet as he heads into a midterm congressional election on Oct. 26 that could decide the fate of his free-market experiment. A disastrous defeat in local elections last month triggered a sudden exodus from Argentine assets as investors fretted over the country’s political dysfunction, overvalued peso and rapidly depleting foreign exchange reserves.

The U.S. financial help offers Milei a crucial reprieve. On Thursday, Argentina’s dollar-denominated bonds rose about 10% on Bessent’s confirmation of the credit line and the Buenos Aires stock market surged 15%.

Economy Minister Caputo expressed his “deepest gratitude” to Bessent following the announcement.

“Your steadfast commitment has been remarkable,” he wrote.

Bessent made no mention of any economic conditions attached to the swap line for Argentina, leading many observers to criticize the intervention as a pre-election reward for a loyal friend rather than an investment in a strategic partner.

DeBre reported from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

A St. Paul police sergeant says God put her and other officers in the right place at the right time when a runner collapsed during the Twin Cities Marathon weekend 10k.

Sgt. Colleen Rooney and three other officers gave CPR to the man, who’s in his early 40s and who’d gone into cardiac arrest during last October’s 6.2-mile race. He survived.

“You never know when your last day is,” Rooney said. “We’re really lucky to have been trained and have instinct kick in.”

Deputy St. Paul Police Chief Tim Flynn presented the department’s Life-Saving Award to Rooney, Sgts. Christopher Langr and Timothy Moore, and Officer Jonathan Schroeder on Thursday.

He told them they acted selflessly and bravely, and their “decision-making and ability to remain calm under pressure undoubtedly made a significant difference in the outcome of the incident.”

‘Team effort’

Moore and Rooney were supervisors along the race route. Officers are assigned to main streets, but not all smaller streets. Moore pointed out there wasn’t an officer at Summit Avenue and Griggs Street, and suggested Rooney cover it.

The St. Paul Police Department presented four officers with the department’s Life-Saving Award on Oct. 9, 2025, at the Western District station in St. Paul. They gave CPR to a runner who went into cardiac arrest during the Twin Cities Marathon 10k in 2024, and the man survived. The recipients were, from left to right, Sgt. Timothy Moore, Sgt. Colleen Rooney, Sgt. Christopher Langr and Officer Jonathan Schroeder. (Mara H. Gottfried / Pioneer Press)

“I took his direction and went there, and that’s exactly the intersection where this man went down,” Rooney said. “… I think God put us there at the right time.”

Rooney began CPR and radioed that the runner was unconscious and not breathing. Moore arrived to assist with CPR, as did Schroeder and Langr, who was an officer at the time.

It was “completely a team effort,” Moore said. Doing CPR “is exhausting. It’s one of those things that you don’t realize, I guess ’til you’ve done it in real life, that it takes a lot out of you. And we needed to rotate, and that’s what we were doing.”

Runners “stopped to check, to … see if there was anything that they could do to help,” Moore added.

St. Paul Fire Department medics had to contend with Summit Avenue being closed for the race and the large number of runners to get there, Flynn said. They delivered a shock to the man using a defibrillator and his heart started pumping again. They transported him to Regions Hospital for treatment.

The officers received an update the next day that the man had survived.

2nd life-saving award for 2 of the officers

Rooney said of Schroeder, who became a St. Paul officer in 2024: “This young man … was in his second phase of field training … and did an amazing job.”

Moore said that every time he puts on his uniform, he tries to be ready for anything that could happen.

“How I feel about it is fortunate,” he said.

“There’s people that sit home and watch the news and say, ‘Gosh, I wish I could have been there to do something.’ … With this job, we’re fortunate enough to be in those situations where we can do things to help people, and that’s why it’s the best job around.”

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Still, Moore felt mixed emotions about receiving the award.

“This is what we’re supposed to do,” he said of their actions. It “shouldn’t be anything really out of the ordinary. But at the same time, it’s cool that the chief and people recognize this.”

The Life-Saving Award is the fourth highest honor in the St. Paul Police Department.

For Langr and Rooney, it was their second time receiving the award.

Langr was a recipient after he and another officer were on patrol in 2021, heard gunshots and found a victim with life-threatening injuries. Rooney received it for providing aid to a woman after a serious domestic assault in the early 2010s.

The city of Falcon Heights hosts their Fall Fest this Saturday at Falcon Heights Elementary School.

​ The event is a free event to celebrate the fall season from 1 to 3 p.m. This is the second annual Fall Fest for Falcon Heights, according to City Administrator Jack Linehan.

“We started Fall Fest to get people out of their homes meet their neighbors and build some community,” Linehan said.

The event will include members of the St. Anthony Police Department and the St. Paul Fire Department through the Touch a Truck activity, according to the Falcon Heights website. Some of the other events include a bouncy house, axe-throwing, and yard games.

There will be food and beverages from Karol Coffee and Floyd’s Mini Doughnuts.

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By JULIA FRANKEL

JERUSALEM (AP) — Numbers alone cannot capture the toll the Israel-Hamas war has taken on the Gaza Strip.

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But they can help us understand how thoroughly the conflict has upended the lives of 2.1 million Palestinians living in the territory and decimated the territory’s 140 square miles.

Out of every 10 people, one has been killed or injured in an Israeli strike. Nine are displaced. At least three have not eaten for days. Out of every 100 children, four have lost either one or both parents. Out of every 10 buildings that stood in Gaza prewar, eight are either damaged or flattened. Out of every 10 homes, nine are wrecked. Out of every 10 acres of cropland, eight are razed (more than three out of every four hectares).

The war began when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza.

In response, Israeli leaders promised a punishing offensive on the strip to annihilate Hamas — which has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada, and European Union — and free the hostages.

Here’s a closer look at the devastation that followed, by the numbers.

Roughly 11% of Gaza’s population has been killed or injured

Cemeteries are overflowing. Mass graves dot the strip. Israeli airstrikes have killed entire families in their homes. More than 2,500 people seeking food have been killed, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. In some cases Israel has acknowledged firing warning shots at chaotic crowds attempting to obtain desperately needed aid.

FILE.- Faten Mreish holds her son’s body at a hospital morgue in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Aug. 28, 2024, after he and others were killed in an Israeli bombardment. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana,File)

Israeli attacks on health care facilities and limitations on the entry of medical supplies have left overwhelmed doctors to treat advanced burn victims with rudimentary equipment. Israel says it strikes hospitals because Hamas operates in them and uses them as command centers, though it has offered limited evidence. Hamas security personnel have been seen in hospitals and have kept some areas inaccessible. Israel has said restrictions on imports are needed to prevent Hamas from obtaining arms.

The war is the deadliest conflict for journalists, health workers and U.N. aid workers in history, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists and the U.N. The British Medical Journal says the prevalence of patients with injuries from explosives in Gaza compares to data on injured U.S. combat forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Experts commissioned by a U.N. body and major rights groups have accused Israel of genocide, charges it vehemently denies.

In all, Israel’s campaign has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians and wounded nearly 170,000, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. More than 40,000 of those wounded have life-altering injuries, according to the World Health Organization.

The death toll does not include the thousands of people believed buried under the rubble. The ministry — part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals — does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count. Its figures are seen as a reliable estimate by the U.N. and many independent experts.

Israel blames Hamas for the high civilian toll, saying the group’s presence in residential areas has turned the population into human shields. Still, its strikes often hit homes, killing many inside with no word of who the target was.

Nearly the entire population is displaced and thousands are missing

Countless Palestinian families have fled the length of Gaza and back, forced to move every few months to dodge successive Israeli offensives. Many have been displaced multiple times, moving between apartments and makeshift tent camps as they try to survive. Squalid tent cities now sprawl across much of Gaza’s south.

Displacements have separated families. Heavy bombardment has left thousands buried under the rubble. Troops round up and detain men, from dozens to several hundreds at a time, searching for any they suspect of Hamas ties. The result is families split apart.

Israel occupies the vast majority of Gaza

Israel’s military has gained control of the vast majority of Gaza, pushing most of the Palestinian population to a small zone along the southern coast. Under Israeli control, Gaza’s land has been transformed. Forces have flattened or bulldozed entire neighborhoods of Gaza City and small agricultural towns dotting the border, carved new roads across the territory and built up new military posts.

Bombardment has carpeted the Gaza Strip in a blanket of rubble roughly 12 times the size of the Great Pyramid of Giza. Using imagery of Gaza from space, the U.N.’s Satellite Center says that at least 102,067 buildings have been destroyed. In the wreckage lie the ruins of grade schools and universities, medical clinics and mosques, greenhouses and family homes.

At least 30% of people go days without eating

Hundreds of Palestinians crowd charity kitchens jostling for a bowl of lentils. Babies are so emaciated they weigh less than at birth. According to Gaza’s Health Ministry and the World Health Organization, more than 400 people, including over 100 children, have died from complications of malnutrition, most of them this year.

FILE.- Yazan Abu Ful, a 2-year-old malnourished child, poses for a photo at his family home in the Shati refugee camp, in Gaza City on Wednesday, July 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi,File)

After months of warnings from aid groups, the world’s leading authority on food crises said in August that Gaza City had fallen into famine. Israel disputes the determination.

Towns have been leveled

Towns scattered across the strip, where Palestinian farmers used to plant strawberries and watermelons, wheat and cereals, are now emptied and flattened. Between May and October 2025, Israeli bombardment and demolitions virtually erased the town of Khuzaa, whose rows of wheat and other cereals made it a breadbasket for the city of Khan Younis.

With the war entering its third year, Israel has launched an offensive to take over Gaza City and kill the Hamas combatants it says are hiding there.

Israel says it also aims to free the 48 hostages who remain in Gaza, about 20 of whom the government believes are alive. Since the war began, 465 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza.

A new American peace plan is on the table, even as Israeli tanks and ground troops threaten the heart of Gaza City.

A graphic with this story has been corrected to show that some 6,000 people have been reported by relatives to be under the rubble in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry, not more than 10,000. Another graphic has been corrected to show that data from Israel’s prison service provided to the Hamoked rights group shows that 2,662 Palestinians from Gaza are in Israeli prisons who have been processed since the start of the war, not 2,762.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war