By ISABELLA VOLMERT, Associated Press

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The man who opened fire in a Michigan church and set it ablaze was motivated by “anti-religious beliefs” against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the FBI confirmed Friday.

While friends close to the gunman in the deadly shooting have said he long harbored hatred against the church, the FBI had previously declined to specify the motivation behind the attack that left four people dead and the church burned to the ground, except to say it was “targeted” act of violence.

The gunman, Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, was killed by responding law enforcement.

FILE – Firefighters work at the scene of a fire and shooting at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc, Mich., Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025. (Lukas Katilius/The Flint Journal via AP, File)

“I am confirming this is a targeted act of violence believed to be motivated by the assailant’s anti-religious beliefs against the Mormon religious community,” special agent in charge of the FBI Detroit field office Jennifer Runyan said in a prerecorded video message.

Sanford drove his pickup truck into the side of the Church of Jesus Christ of of Latter-day Saints chapel in Grand Blanc Township, 60 miles northwest of Detroit, on Sunday, September 28, while congregants gathered for services. Authorities previously said he used gasoline as an accelerator to light the church on fire in the course of the shooting. The building was destroyed.

FILE – Little remained of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chapel the day after a former Marine opened fire and set the building ablaze in Grand Blanc Township, Mich., Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave, File)

The four people who were killed have been identified through family and friends as Craig Hayden, William “Pat” Howard, John Bond and Thelma Armstrong.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is commonly known as the Mormon church. The church, based in Utah, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Earlier this month, leaders of the church preached a message of love and forgiveness while gathered to mourn its late president, who died a day before the Michigan attack.

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A spokesperson for the FBI did not immediately respond to a request seeking further information on what led the agency to its conclusion of anti-religious beliefs.

Authorities have released little information about Sanford and the attack. People who knew him have said he began vocalizing anti-Mormon sentiments years ago after living in Utah for a period of time, where he dated and broke up with a girlfriend who was a member of the Mormon faith. Sanford had moved to Utah after leaving the Marines and told his friends he had become addicted to methamphetamines.

An attorney acting as a spokesperson for Sanford’s family did not immediately return a request for comment.

By ALI SWENSON and NICHOLAS RICCARDI, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump’s request to add a documentary proof of citizenship requirement to the federal voter registration form cannot be enforced, a federal judge ruled Friday.

U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in Washington, D.C., sided with Democratic and civil rights groups that sued the Trump administration over his executive order to overhaul U.S. elections.

She ruled that the proof-of-citizenship directive is an unconstitutional violation of the separation of powers, dealing a blow to the administration and its allies who have argued that such a mandate is necessary to restore public confidence that only Americans are voting in U.S. elections.

“Because our Constitution assigns responsibility for election regulation to the States and to Congress, this Court holds that the President lacks the authority to direct such changes,” Kollar-Kotelly wrote in her opinion.

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She further emphasized that on matters related to setting qualifications for voting and regulating federal election procedures “the Constitution assigns no direct role to the President in either domain.”

Kollar-Kotelly echoed comments she made when she granted a preliminary injunction over the issue.

The ruling grants the plaintiffs a partial summary judgment that prohibits the proof-of-citizenship requirement from going into effect. It says the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, which has been considering adding the requirement to the federal voter form, is permanently barred from taking action to do so.

A message seeking comment from the White House was not immediately returned.

The lawsuit brought by the DNC and various civil rights groups will continue to play out to allow the judge to consider other challenges to Trump’s order. That includes a requirement that all mailed ballots be received, rather than just postmarked, by Election Day.

Other lawsuits against Trump’s election executive order are ongoing.

In early April, 19 Democratic state attorneys general asked a separate federal court to reject Trump’s executive order. Washington and Oregon, where virtually all voting is done with mailed ballots, followed with their own lawsuit against the order.

By RIO YAMAT

Continued staffing shortages in air traffic control facilities around the country were again causing delays at airports on Friday as the government shutdown neared the one-month mark.

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U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has been warning that travelers would start to see more flights delayed or canceled as the nation’s controllers continue to work without pay during the shutdown, which began Oct. 1.

“Every day there’s going to be more challenges,” Duffy told reporters Thursday outside the White House after a closed-door meeting with Vice President JD Vance and aviation industry leaders to talk about the shutdown’s impact on U.S. travel.

The Federal Aviation Administration reported staffing shortages were causing flight delays Friday at a number of airports, including in Boston, New York City, Nashville, Houston, Dallas and Newark, New Jersey. Airports in Boston, Nashville and New York City were experiencing delays averaging two hours or longer.

Staffing shortages can happen at regional control centers overseeing multiple airports, as well as in airport towers, but they don’t always result in flight disruptions.

Aviation analytics firm Cirium says flight data showed a “broader slowdown” Thursday across the U.S. aviation system for the first time since the shutdown began, suggesting staffing-related disruptions may be spreading.

On Thursday, many major U.S. airports reported below-average on-time performance, with fewer flights departing within 15 minutes of their scheduled departure times, according to Cirium. The data does not distinguish between the different causes of delays, such as staffing shortages or bad weather.

Staffing-related delays at Orlando’s airport on Thursday, for example, averaged nearly four and a half hours for some time, according to the FAA.

Most controllers are continuing to work mandatory overtime six days a week during the shutdown without pay, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association has said. That leaves little time for a side job to help cover bills, mortgage and other expenses unless controllers call out.

Duffy said controllers are also struggling to get to work because they can’t afford to fill up their cars with gas. Controllers missed their first full paycheck on Tuesday.

“For this nation’s air traffic controllers, missing just one paycheck can be a significant hardship, as it is for all working Americans. Asking them to go without a full month’s pay or more is simply not sustainable,” Nick Daniels, president of NATCA, said Friday in a statement.

Last weekend, a shortage of controllers led to the FAA issuing a brief ground stop at Los Angeles International Airport, one of the busiest in the world. Flights were held at their originating airports for about two hours Sunday until the FAA lifted the ground stop.

Some U.S. airports have stepped in to provide food donations and other support for federal aviation employees working without pay, including controllers and Transportation Security Administration agents.

Before the shutdown, the FAA was already dealing with a shortage of about 3,000 air traffic controllers.

By JONEL ALECCIA

At least 11 people have been sickened, including three who were hospitalized, with salmonella infections linked to powder supplements sold at Sam’s Club stores nationwide and online, federal health officials said Friday.

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Member’s Mark Super Greens Powder Supplements have been pulled from store shelves because they contain moringa leaf powder that may be contaminated with salmonella bacteria, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Infections were confirmed in seven states: Florida, Kansas, Michigan, North Carolina, New York, South Carolina and Virginia. Illnesses were reported between May and September.

The source of the salmonella was traced to a single lot of organic moringa leaf powder imported from Vallon Farm Direct in Jodhpur, India, according to an investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. State health officials in Virginia and Michigan collected and tested samples of the product from the homes of people who fell ill.

Moringa is a plant native to India and other countries prized for essential nutrients including protein, amino acids, vitamins and minerals, according to research published by the National Institutes of Health. Its leaves can be dried and powdered.

Consumers should not eat the supplements and should throw them away or return them to the store for a refund.

Symptoms of salmonella poisoning include diarrhea, fever, severe vomiting, dehydration and stomach cramps. Most people who get sick recover within a week. Infections can be severe in young children, older adults and people with weakened immune systems, who may require hospitalization.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.