Trump says he’s called off Iran strike planned for Tuesday at request of Gulf allies

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he is holding off on a military strike on Iran planned for Tuesday because “serious negotiations” are underway. Trump’s announcement in a social media post Monday came as he had threated the clock was ticking for Iran to strike a deal or fighting would renew after a fragile ceasefire. The president did not offer details about the planned attack but said but he instructed the U.S. military “to be prepared to go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice, in the event that an acceptable Deal is not reached.”

Justice Department announces a $1.7B fund to compensate Trump allies in a deal to drop IRS suit

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has announced the creation a $1.7 billion fund to compensate allies of the Republican president who believe they were mistreated by the Biden-era Justice Department. The “Anti-Weaponization Fund” was announced by the Justice Department on Monday as part of a deal to resolve President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns. Democrats and government watchdogs immediately pledged to fight what they called a “corrupt” and unprecedented resolution. Trump’s lawyers disclosed the dismissal of the case in a filing in federal court in Florida, where the president sued earlier this year.

Federal court rejects Elon Musk’s claims against OpenAI, saying he filed his lawsuit too late

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — A federal court on Monday dismissed claims filed against OpenAI and its top executives by Elon Musk, who accused them of betraying a shared vision for it to remain a nonprofit dedicated to guiding artificial intelligence’s development for the good of humanity. Musk, the world’s richest man, was a co-founder of OpenAI, which launched in 2015 and went on to create ChatGPT. After investing $38 million in its first years, Musk accused OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and his top deputy of shifting into a moneymaking mode behind his back. The nine-person jury found that Musk waited too long to file his lawsuit and missed the deadline for the statute of limitations.

Minnesota county charges an ICE officer in a nonfatal shooting during Trump’s immigration crackdown

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota county prosecutor has charged an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in the nonfatal shooting of a Venezuelan man during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in the state. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said at a news conference Monday that the officer, Christian Castro, is charged with four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime in the Jan. 14 shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis Federal authorities initially accused Sosa-Celis and another immigrant of beating a federal officer. But a federal judge dismissed those charges and federal prosecutors opened a criminal investigation into whether two immigration officers lied under oath about what had happened.

An American doctor is among the newest cases in rare Ebola outbreak in Congo

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — An American doctor is among the newly confirmed cases in a Congo outbreak of a rare Ebola variant with no approved vaccines, according to Congolese officials. Deaths have surpassed 100 in two provinces. The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a public health emergency on Sunday. As of Monday, there were over 300 suspected cases and 118 deaths in Ituri and North Kivu provinces. The Bundibugyo strain spread undetected for weeks. Experts criticize the delayed response and lack of resources. The U.S. CDC says the risk to Americans is low but urges caution for travelers in the region.

Redistricting debate shifts to South Carolina as Republicans seek clean sweep of US House seats

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina House is debating legislation that could redraw congressional districts to help Republicans possibly win an additional seat in the November elections. Monday’s debate is expected to be lengthy. Similar debates already have unfolded in Tennessee, Alabama and Louisiana. The Southern redistricting efforts come after a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that weakened Voting Rights Act protections for minority districts. That has opened the door for Republicans to redraw districts with large Black populations that have elected Democrats. The effort is being encouraged by President Donald Trump, who is hoping to hold on to a narrow Republican House majority in the midterm elections.

Judge allows gun and notebook as evidence at Mangione’s trial in UnitedHealthcare CEO’s killing

NEW YORK (AP) — A gun and notebook that prosecutors say link Luigi Mangione to the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson can be used as evidence at his murder trial. The judge’s ruling Monday partially rejects a defense argument that those items were seized illegally, before a search warrant was obtained. It’s a major win for prosecutors, enabling them to show the jury a possible murder weapon and evidence they say points to motive. But the judge also ruled that other evidence found during an initial search of Mangione’s backpack must be suppressed. Mangione has pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges.

Riders navigate the first weekday of a strike that has shut down the largest US commuter rail system

NEW YORK (AP) — Commuters are navigating a maze of car, bus and subway routes after a strike shut down the Long Island Rail Road in New York. Negotiators failed to reach a deal in time for service to resume Monday morning, leaving 250,000 commuters to scramble for alternatives to using North America’s largest commuter rail system. The strike began Saturday. Negotiations to end the action ran past 1 a.m. Monday before participants called it a night for about six hours. The five unions representing about half the railroad’s workforce and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the railroad, have resumed negotiations.

Argentina’s icy outpost at the end of the world fears the hantavirus will chill tourism

USHUAIA, Argentina (AP) — Remote Ushuaia in Argentina, known as the southernmost city on earth, has found itself at the center of a global media storm involving the deadly hantavirus outbreak. Local tourism operators and officials are scrambling to stem the reputational fallout that they fear could cause foreign tourists reconsider their Antarctic cruise plans for next season, with devastating economic consequences. Some tour agencies saying they’ve already seen cancellations even though authorities in Ushuaia and the wider province of Tierra del Fuego insist that it’s extremely unlikely the Dutch couple caught the rat-borne virus on the island for various environmental and epidemiological reasons. Three weeks after news of the virus-stricken ship surfaced, the source of the contagion remains unclear.

Pelicans hire ex-Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley as New Orleans’ next coach

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Pelicans have hired Jamahl Mosley as their next coach, ending interim coach James Borrego’s candidacy to retain his job on a permanent basis. Mosley spent the past five seasons with Orlando, which fired him this month after the Magic’s seven-game, first-round playoff loss to the Detroit Pistons. Mosley went 189-221 with Orlando. His teams qualified for the NBA playoffs in each of the past three seasons and won the Southeast Division twice, but were eliminated in the first round each time. Borrego went 24-46 as Pelicans interim coach.