American contractors guarding aid distribution sites in Gaza are using live ammunition and stun grenades as hungry Palestinians scramble for food, according to accounts and videos obtained by The Associated Press.

Two U.S. contractors, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity because they were revealing their employers' internal operations, said they were coming forward because they were disturbed by what they considered dangerous and irresponsible practices. They said the security staff hired were often unqualified, unvetted, heavily armed and seemed to have an open license to do whatever they wished.

A Kurdish militant group that has waged a long-running insurgency in Turkey announced Thursday its fighters in northern Iraq will begin handing over their weapons, marking the first concrete step toward disarmament as part of a peace process.

The Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, announced in May it would disband and renounce armed conflict, ending four decades of hostilities. The move came after PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who has been imprisoned on an island near Istanbul since 1999, urged his group in February to convene a congress and formally disband and disarm.

Wildfires eastern Germany have severely injured two firefighters and forced the evacuation of more than 100 residents.

Nearly 500 firefighters were battling the fires that broke out Tuesday in Gohrischheide on the border between the eastern states of Saxony and Brandenburg.

Wall Street was largely unchanged early Thursday, hovering near record levels ahead of new U.S. jobs data that is expected to show unemployment ticked up to the highest rates since late 2021.

Futures for S&P 500, Nasdaq and Dow Jones Industrial Average each inched up less than 0.1% before the bell. Markets are closed Friday for the July 4 holiday.

Rescuers were searching Thursday for 29 people who were missing after a ferry sank and five people died the previous night near Indonesia's resort island of Bali.

As of Thursday afternoon, 31 people had been rescued from the ferry's 53 passengers and 12 crew members, the National Search and Rescue Agency said in a statement.

Clouds build up in the early afternoon and gusty winds push in every direction. The skies darken and then comes the rain — often a downpour that is gone as quickly as it came.

This seasonal dance choreographed by Mother Nature marks a special time for the southwestern United States and Mexico. It is when residents clasp their hands, hoping for much-needed moisture to dampen the threat of wildfire and keep rivers flowing.

A fast-moving wildfire whipped by gale-force winds burned through the night and into Thursday on Greece's southern island of Crete, prompting the evacuation of more than 1,500 people from hotels and homes.

The fire department said 230 firefighters backed up by 10 water-dropping aircraft were battling the flames, which have burned through forest and farmland in Crete's Ierapetra area on the island's southern coast. Two people were evacuated by boat overnight, while six private boats were on standby in case further evacuations by sea became necessary, the coast guard said.

Four people have died from gunshot wounds and 14 others have been hospitalized following a drive-by shooting in Chicago, police said Thursday. At least three were in critical condition.

The shooting happened late Wednesday in Chicago's River North neighborhood. Several media outlets said it happened outside a restaurant and lounge that had hosted an album release party for a rapper.

Liverpool player Diogo Jota and his brother have died in a car accident in Spain, police said Thursday.

The Spanish Civil Guard confirmed to The Associated Press that Jota and his brother were found dead after their car went off a road near the western city of Zamora. Authorities said the car was in flames.

Hamas and Israel staked out their positions Wednesday ahead of expected talks on a Washington-backed ceasefire proposal, with the militant group suggesting it was open to an agreement while the Israeli prime minister vowed that "there will be no Hamas" in postwar Gaza.

Both sides stopped short of accepting the proposal announced Tuesday by U.S. President Donald Trump. Hamas insisted on its longstanding position that any deal bring an end to the war in Gaza.