US and Iran prepare for high-level talks as Israel and Hezbollah trade more fire
ISLAMABAD (AP) — With the ceasefire in Iran still shaky, U.S. and Iranian negotiators are heading to Pakistan for high-level talks with Iranian officials. Many issues could derail the truce and the negotiations aimed at making a broader deal to stop the fighting permanently. Iran’s semiofficial Tasnim news agency claimed that the talks set for Saturday would not happen unless Israel stopped its attacks in Lebanon. U.S. President Donald Trump complained that Iran was doing "a very poor job” by not allowing the free flow of ships through the strait, through which 20% of the world’s traded oil once passed.
Israeli strike kills Lebanese security forces as Israel and Hezbollah trade fire ahead of talks
BEIRUT (AP) — Tensions have escalated between Israel and Hezbollah, with intensified attacks on Friday. At least 13 Lebanese security personnel were killed in an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah claimed an attack on a naval base in Ashdod, Israel. The conflict has resulted in at least 1,953 deaths in Lebanon, with a particularly deadly series of strikes on Wednesday. The World Health Organization has called for the protection of Beirut's main hospital amid evacuation warnings. Lebanon hopes for a truce, but Hezbollah supporters oppose upcoming talks with Israel, viewing them as a concession.
War in Iran sends inflation soaring and the mood of American consumers plunging
WASHINGTON (AP) — The largest monthly jump in gas prices in six decades caused a sharp spike in inflation in March, creating major challenges for the inflation-fighters at the Federal Reserve and heightening the political challenges of rising costs for the White House. The gas price shock stemming from the Iran war has shifted inflation’s trajectory, from a slow, gradual decline to a sharp increase further away from the Fed’s 2% target. As a result, the central bank will almost certainly postpone any cut in interest rates for months. Gas prices are also a highly visible cost that has outsize impacts on consumer confidence and political sentiment.
Stocks drift lower and oil prices ease ahead of planned US-Iran talks
Stocks drifted mostly lower on Wall Street and oil prices slipped ahead of planned U.S.-Iran talks following a shaky ceasefire agreement. The S&P 500 fell 0.1% Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.4%. Trading remained choppy ahead of high-level talks between negotiators from Iran and the U.S. planned for Saturday in Pakistan. The U.S. government reported a sharp spike in inflation in March because of the biggest monthly jump in gas prices in six decades, but the increase wasn't quite as bad as economists were expecting. Treasury yields rose in the bond market.
Artemis II’s record-breaking journey around the moon ends with dramatic splashdown
HOUSTON (AP) — The first astronauts to visit the moon in more than a half-century are home. Artemis II’s crew of four emerged from their lunar capsule after a splashdown in the Pacific on Friday evening and were flown by helicopter to the Navy’s recovery ship. The three Americans and one Canadian set a distance record for space travel during their lunar flyby, surpassing NASA’s Apollo 13. Artemis II’s astronauts didn’t land on the moon or even orbit it. Instead, they ducked behind the moon’s far side and captured views never before seen by the human eye, along with a total solar eclipse. A finicky toilet seems to have been their biggest problem in space.
Zelenskyy says Ukrainian forces shot down Shahed drones in Middle Eastern countries during Iran war
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukrainian military personnel shot down Iranian-designed Shahed drones in multiple Middle Eastern countries during the Iran war, describing the operations as part of a broader effort to help partners counter the same weapons used by Russia in Ukraine. He made his first public acknowledgment of the operations Wednesday in remarks to reporters that were embargoed until Friday. Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces took part in active operations abroad using domestically produced, battle-tested interceptor drones.
Five people charged with murder in deadly Northern California fireworks warehouse explosion
Authorities say five people have been charged with murder in a deadly Northern California explosion at a fireworks warehouse that killed seven people. Yolo County Deputy District Attorney Clara Nabity said Friday the charges stem from a grand jury indictment that found five people, including a former Yolo County Sheriff lieutenant, responsible for the explosion. The deadly fireworks explosion near the small farming community of Esparto in Yolo County sparked a massive fire and led to nearby Fourth of July celebrations being called off.
Federal court hears new case against Trump's latest global tariffs
NEW YORK (AP) — The centerpiece of President Donald Trump’s economic policy — sweeping taxes on global imports — is under legal assault again. The U.S. Court of International Trade is hearing oral arguments Friday in an attempt to overturn the temporary tariffs Trump turned to after the Supreme Court in February struck down his preferred choice — even bigger, even more sweeping tariffs. Defeated at the high court, Trump reached for a stopgap solution — imposing temporary worldwide tariffs under a 1974 trade law. Now two dozen states and some businesses are challenging the president's authority to impose the new tariffs.
Michigan couple at center of Bahamas disappearance chronicled sailing adventures on social media
A Michigan couple who used social media to chronicle their sailing adventures had a history of contention, including claims of assault on each other. A Michigan police report reveals that Brian Hooker said his wife struck him multiple times in 2015. Lynette Hooker spent a night in jail. But police said a warrant was denied because it wasn’t clear who started the assault. Lynette Hooker was reported missing Saturday in the Bahamas after her husband told police she fell overboard from a small boat and was carried away by strong currents. Brian Hooker was arrested Wednesday. Bahamian authorities and the U.S. Coast Guard have opened separate criminal investigations.
