WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to stop the Trump administration from enforcing its ban on bump stock devices, which allow semi-automatic weapons to fire like machine guns.

The ban took effect Tuesday. Gun rights groups asked the court Monday to keep the government from enforcing the ban for now. Chief Justice John Roberts declined one request for the court to get involved on Tuesday and a second request was declined by the court on Thursday. That was the only remaining request. The justices didn’t say anything in declining it.

The administration’s ban puts it in the unusual position of arguing against gun rights groups. President Donald Trump said last year that the government would move to ban bump stocks. The action followed a 2017 shooting in Las Vegas in which a gunman attached bump stocks to assault-style rifles he used to shoot concertgoers from his hotel room. By using the devices, which allow shots to be fired more rapidly, the gunman was able to fire more than 1,000 rounds in 11 minutes. Fifty-eight people were killed and hundreds were injured.

The Trump administration’s move was an about-face for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. In 2010, under the Obama administration, the ATF found that the devices were legal. But under the Trump administration, officials revisited that determination and found it incorrect.

The revised regulation requires owners of the estimated hundreds of thousands of the devices that have been sold to either destroy their bump stocks or surrender them.

Energy chief Perry OKs deal

to share nuke tech with Saudis

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has approved six applications for U.S. companies to sell nuclear power technology and assistance to Saudi Arabia, Energy Secretary Rick Perry testified on Thursday.

Perry told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Energy Department has approved 37 nuclear applications since January 2017, including nine in the Middle East.

Besides the six to Saudi Arabia, two were approved for Jordan. Perry did not mention the ninth country in his testimony.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., asked Perry whether the applications were approved after Oct. 2, 2018, when Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.

Perry answered that he did not know the specific date.

“We sign a lot of papers,” he said.

Trump lashes out at Mexico, Central America on border

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Thursday accused Mexican and Central American leaders of doing “nothing” to prevent illegal immigrants from coming to the United States — one day after his administration signed an agreement with some of those same leaders aimed at reducing the number of migrants streaming north.

Mexico pledged to set up a “containment belt” to stem the flow of Central American migrants.

“Mexico is doing NOTHING to help stop the flow of illegal immigrants to our Country,” he tweeted. “Likewise, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.”

Trump’s remarks stood in contrast with those of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, who expressed gratitude for the collaboration among regional leaders.

Winner of $768M Powerball bought ticket near Milwaukee

NEW BERLIN, Wis. — A single ticket that matched all six Powerball numbers to win the estimated $768.4 million jackpot — the third-largest jackpot in U.S. lottery history — was sold in a Milwaukee suburb, Wisconsin Lottery officials said Thursday.

The ticket, worth a cash option of $477 million, was sold at a Speedway gas station in New Berlin, a city of about 40,000 people roughly 14 miles southwest of Milwaukee, lottery officials said. The winner has not come forward yet, Wisconsin Lottery Director Cindy Polzin said.

The gas station will receive $100,000 for selling the winning ticket.

Under Wisconsin law, the winner or winners can’t remain anonymous and have 180 days to claim the prize. Otherwise the ticket is worthless.

House rebukes Trump’s transgender military ban

WASHINGTON — The House issued a rebuke to President Donald Trump on Thursday by voting to condemn his move to restrict transgender men and women from military service.

A nonbinding resolution opposing the transgender ban passed 238-185. Every Democrat supported the resolution, while nearly every Republican voted against it. Five Republicans voted in favor: Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Trey Hollingsworth of Indiana, Will Hurd of Texas, and John Katko and Tom Reed of New York.

The Trump administration’s policy bars people who have undergone gender transition from enlisting. It also requires military personnel to serve as their biological gender unless they began a gender transition under less restrictive Obama administration rules. The policy is being challenged in court.

Opposition in Haiti calls new protests in bid to oust Moise

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Haiti’s largest opposition groups have united to push U.S.-backed President Jovenel Moise from office with nationwide protests aimed at paralyzing the country starting on Friday.

Previous protests have led to dozens of deaths in clashes between protesters and police and left businesses shut for days, gravely damaging an economy already struggling with high inflation and worsening fuel shortages.

Newly named Prime Minister Jean Michel Lapin said Wednesday that he encouraged peaceful protest but the government would not allow violence on the streets.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights reported last month that 26 people had been killed and 77 wounded over three weeks of protests and related violence.

In Cuba: Havana and Google signed a deal Thursday moving the island one step closer to having a state-of-the-art connection to the modern internet.

The American internet giant and the Cuban government agreed to create a seamless, cost-free connection between their two networks once Cuba is able to physically connect to a new undersea fiber-optic cable that would be laid sometime in the future.

With that cable in place, the so-called peering deal linking Google’s global internet backbone directly to Cuba’s local network would allow Cubans to connect faster to content and reduce the government’s cost of connecting users by eliminating third-party operator fees.