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A French police officer who asked a gunman to let him take the place of a hostage in a supermarket attack has died.

The White House announced a policy to ban most transgender persons from serving in the US military.

Three people were killed and five others wounded Friday in southern France after a gunman stole a car, fired at police officers and took hostages in a supermarket in what French authorities are treating as a terror attack.

Police in the southern French town of Trèbes are responding to a security situation, the Interior Ministry said.

Read CNN's Fast Facts about April Fool's Day, also known as All Fools' Day, celebrated on April 1st every year.

As Pope Francis embraces refugees and migrants, many leaders in the West are turning their backs.

A huge, swirling pile of rubbish in the Pacific Ocean is growing faster than expected and is now three times the size of France, researchers say.

The Austin bomber dies. The Russian President wins re-election. A social media scandal unfolds.

Read CNN's Facebook Fast Facts and learn more about the social media giant.

The Dalai Lama, the globe-trotting Tibetan spiritual leader, will do no more traveling this year, a spokesman said, saying the 82-year-old is aging and "exhausted."

Back in 2002, cancer wasn't on Jon Albert's radar. He and his wife Jill had successful careers and busy lives, caring for their two young children, Jake, 9, and Jamie, 7.

Since 2006, Jon Albert's nonprofit has helped more than 1,000 families facing late-stage cancer to create lasting memories on free, fun-filled trips.

Rania Abouzeid, author of "No Turning Back," says Syrian rebels feel "abandoned by an international community that even stopped counting Syria's dead."

Hundreds of rebel fighters began leaving the Syrian enclave of Eastern Ghouta on Thursday, forced out after weeks of heavy aerial bombardment that has caused more than 1,500 deaths.