AP News Summary at 4:38 a.m. EST

Microsoft says services fully restored after hourslong global outage Microsoft says services are fully restored after a massive, global outage that lasted for hours. The company announced Saturday that it had addressed the underlying issue and restored service to affected customers and regions. Users reported interruptions to Microsoft 365 services like Outlook, Teams and AI assistant Copilot. Downdetector said it received outage reports from over 70 countries. The outage affected governments, courts, healthcare services, businesses and banks. Microsoft apologized Friday, saying the outage was not related to a cyberattack.

The Details

Trump administration blames ‘overloaded’ systems for ground stop after FAA lets flights resume WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Aviation Administration says airplane departures can resume after the agency lifted a nationwide ground stop caused by communications problems. The FAA had grounded all flights nationwide Friday afternoon, causing hundreds of flights to be diverted. Officials cited “extraordinary circumstances” caused by communications problems at regional air traffic control centers.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told reporters at the White House that the introduction of some new technology into an old air traffic control system overwhelmed it. The nationwide ground stop was the first since January 2023, when a key FAA computer system malfunctioned, and the second since the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.

Kreiss-Tomkins becomes first Democrat since 1998 elected governor in Alaska JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska voters have elected a Democrat for governor for the first time since 1998. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, a former state lawmaker, defeated three Republicans. One of those, Bernadette Wilson, was endorsed by President Donald Trump. Kreiss-Tomkins’ victory is part of a national landslide that gave Democrats sweeping wins in state governments across the country. They now control 30 governor’s offices. Kreiss-Tomkins focused on issues including affordability and full funding of public schools. He emphasized his willingness to work across party lines and said Alaska needed a change in direction.

Alaska voters reject ballot measure seeking to repeal open primaries, ranked voting system JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska voters have rejected a ballot measure seeking to repeal the state’s unique system of open primaries and ranked choice voting in general elections. Voters during the Nov. 3 election were asked for the second time in two years whether to repeal the system and certain campaign disclosure rules. They narrowly approved adopting the system in 2020, and it was used for the first time two years later. Supporters of open primaries and ranked voting say it invites competition and gives voters more choices. Opponents, including President Donald Trump, say it’s confusing.

With shifting Iran rhetoric following US elections, Trump leaves Mideast in limbo about path ahead WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has been all over the map as he's articulated his thinking about the Iran war since last week's midterm elections. He's backed away from additional strikes on Iran — but also from additional talks. On Monday, Trump suggested the war was partly to blame for Republican losses and said the conflict "militarily is effectively over."

By Thursday, he dismissed the need for a deal with Iran, redirecting Vice President JD Vance to focus on domestic issues. Trump's shifting tone adds uncertainty to the conflict's future. Meanwhile, U.S. officials say the decision on how to proceed rests with Trump, who remains confident in his economic strategy against Iran.

Canada’s Carney reports progress in trade talks with Trump as he expands ties with Asia TORONTO (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada and the U.S. are making progress on a trade deal after talks collapsed in August. Carney was in the Philippine capital on Saturday ahead of a key three-day summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and their Asian and Western counterparts.

He says he spoke with President Donald Trump and senior officials before leaving for Europe and Asia. His aim is to reduce Canada's reliance on the U.S. amid Trump's trade war. Canada suspended negotiations in August due to U.S. demands. The countries have resumed discussions, with a focus on reducing tariffs on key sectors like steel and aluminum.

Pope's visit to hub of Afro-Peruvian community casts spotlight on African slave trade to Peru ZAÑA, Peru (AP) — Pope Leo XIV is putting the spotlight on Afro-Peruvians during a visit to a hub of their community. Leo will lead a prayer meeting at the sanctuary of St. Turibius of Mogrovejo in Zaña, where he often visited to pray while he was bishop of nearby Chiclayo. In the 16th century, Mogrovejo was the first archbishop of Lima. He defended the rights of Indigenous and enslaved people and was known for having confirmed St. Martin de Porres, the first Black saint of the Americas and the patron saint of racial harmony, social justice and people of multiracial backgrounds.

The Nvidia scandal is heightening America's AI rivalry with China ahead of Trump's visit HONG KONG (AP) — The scandal that led to Jensen Huang’s resignation as CEO of Nvidia is threatening to intensify the rivalry between the U.S. and China on artificial intelligence. Well before reports emerged that Huang was having an affair with a suspected Chinese spy, the advanced chips made by his company were at the center of the competition between the two countries. As President Donald Trump prepares to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week in China, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in Congress are seizing on the affair to press for tighter restrictions on technology exports to protect America’s edge.

Democrats try out a strange new emotion at post-midterms What's Next conference — hope DENVER (AP) — Democrats met for two days in Denver to pore over the results of the midterm elections and emerged feeling pretty good about themselves. That's because the party won the biggest victory in half a century and recaptured Congress. At a long-scheduled postelection conference called What's Next, party luminaries reveled in their wins even as they insisted more work lay ahead. A secondary theme of the gathering was that the party still needs to win back the trust of voters desperate enough for economic help that they turned to President Donald Trump in 2024. Some old party divisions reared their heads, too.

Trump is taking Elon Musk on his Asia trip, but he plans to avoid talking about Nvidia scandal WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump plans to take the world’s wealthiest man, Elon Musk, with him next week when he travels to the Philippines and China. That's according to administration officials who insisted on anonymity as a condition for previewing the president’s plans on a Friday call with reporters. The trip comes as the fallout spreads from Jensen Huang being ousted as the CEO of Nvidia for having an extramarital affair with an alleged agent of the Chinese government. But Trump does not plan to confront Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the matter, officials said.