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Trump says US will destroy a bridge or power plant for each Iranian attack in the Strait of Hormuz
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- U.S. President Donald Trump has warned that the U.S. will destroy one bridge or power plant each time Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump’s latest threat on Wednesday to target civilian infrastructure came as the unpopular war spirals with no clear offramp, threatening further worldwide economic disruption. Both sides have dug in on their dispute over the strait, a crucial waterway for global energy that remains largely closed because of Iranian attacks. The U.S. carried out another wave of strikes on Iran overnight into Wednesday, and air defenses opened fire over the capital, Tehran. Iran launched a missile attack on a Jordanian city on Israel’s doorstep, and alerts were issued in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Trump pays respects to 4 US service members killed in the Middle East
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. (AP) -- President Donald Trump is honoring the lives of four U.S. service members who were killed in the Middle East and returned to their families at an air force base in Delaware. Trump saluted Wednesday as four transfer cases carrying the service members’ remains were escorted off an airplane during the dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base. Earlier in the day, he called the ritual over the loss of life as “one of the hardest things to do as a president.” The service members were identified as 25-year-old Tyler James Feehan of Hawaii, 19-year-old Isabella Gonzales of Texas, 28-year-old Angel S. Rampersad of New York, and 30-year-old Michael Emmanuel Swinton of North Carolina.
Oil prices rise another 3%, while Wall Street drifts in mixed trading
NEW YORK (AP) -- The U.S. stock market is drifting in mixed trading, while oil prices climb another 3% as fighting continues in the war with Iran. The S&P 500 slipped less than 0.1% Wednesday after swinging between modest losses and gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 61 points, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.3%. The majority of stocks in the S&P 500 rose after more companies reported strong results for the spring, including Philip Morris International and AT&T. But AI stocks continued to swing and dragged the U.S. market with them. The price for Brent crude oil, meanwhile, touched its highest level in nearly six weeks.
House Republicans push $95 billion package for the Iran war and Trump’s priorities
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The House will try to advance a Republican-only $95 billion budget proposal, a long-shot effort to fund the Iran war and other White House priorities. Speaker Mike Johnson is working Wednesday to push it over Democratic objections as a GOP priority before the midterm elections. The package includes $73 billion for the Pentagon and other national security needs, $12 billion for farmers struggling under President Donald Trump’s tariffs and $10 billion for voting law changes that are a Trump priority. Democrats argued the money should be spent at home, particularly on efforts to lower costs for Americans.
June 1 trial date set for Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro in his US drug trafficking case
NEW YORK (AP) -- A June 1 trial date has been set for Nicolás Maduro to face drug trafficking charges in New York. The trial date was set on Wednesday during a brief hearing in Manhattan federal court. His lawyer says he plans to contest the charges against his client on sovereign immunity grounds, among others. Defense lawyers have objected to the U.S. military action that snatched Venezuela’s president from power. Maduro was being returned to a Brooklyn jail. Maduro and his wife have pleaded not guilty to charges that they sided with drug dealers in a multidecade scheme to ship large quantities of drugs to the United States.
OpenAI blamed a hacking event on its AI models going rogue. Here are some things to know
ChatGPT maker OpenAI says it is still investigating the “unprecedented cyber incident” that led its artificial intelligence systems to break out of a testing environment and hack into another AI company. OpenAI said Tuesday that two of its most capable AI models were responsible for the cyberattack targeting New York-based AI startup Hugging Face. The incident is stirring debates over the need for stronger AI guardrails and the extent to which AI agents are capable of acting on their own. San Francisco-based OpenAI says its AI was working with reduced guardrails because it was supposed to be in a safe testing environment.
Terrorism trial opens in stabbing of author Salman Rushdie
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- The man who was convicted of trying to kill Salman Rushdie is on trial again. Prosecutors and defense lawyers gave opening statements Wednesday in Hadi Matar’s federal terrorism trial in Buffalo, New York. The Booker Prize-winning Rushdie is expected to testify later this week. He was stabbed on a lecture stage in 2022. The 28-year-old Matar has pleaded not guilty. He is serving a 25-year prison sentence on an attempted murder conviction. The federal case is expected to delve more into questions of motive. Prosecutors argue that Matar was acting out of loyalty to Iran’s theocratic government and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group. Iran’s late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini called for Rushdie’s death following his 1988 novel “The Satanic Verses.”
Congo’s Ebola outbreak has killed over 1,000 people
BUNIA, Congo (AP) -- More than 1,000 people have died from the Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo, according to Africa’s top health body, a grim toll in what’s already been declared the fastest Ebola outbreak in history. The latest update from Congo’s Ministry of Health shows that as of Monday, 2,473 cases have been recorded in the latest outbreak. The outbreak, declared on May 15, is unlike most previous Ebola outbreaks because the Bundibugyo virus responsible for it has no approved vaccines or treatments. Ebola is rare, but highly contagious and can be contracted via bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen.
Independent autopsy of Nolan Wells finds ‘undetermined’ cause of death
CHICAGO (AP) -- An independent autopsy commissioned by Nolan Xavier Wells’ family finds his cause of death “undetermined” pending further investigation. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump announced the preliminary findings Wednesday at the NAACP National Convention in Chicago. The autopsy was conducted by forensic pathologist Dr. Robert Mitchell and cited body decomposition and missing facts as reasons for the inconclusive result. Wells disappeared after a July 4 boat trip to an island off Mississippi. His body was found two days later. The Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office has not released its autopsy results. A $125,000 reward is offered for information leading to an arrest.
Prosecutor focuses on who knew about singer D4vd’s relationship with teen girl before her killing
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A money manager for D4vd testified that he had heard only the first name of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, the 14-year-old girl the singer is charged with killing, before her dismembered body was found in the trunk of a car. The preliminary hearing resumed Wednesday in Los Angeles. A judge will determine if there’s enough evidence to go to trial. Prosecutors allege D4vd, an indie-pop singer, killed Rivas Hernandez to prevent her from revealing their relationship. The court heard that D4vd’s music career earned him at least $10 million between 2023 and 2025. Prosecutors claim he met Rivas Hernandez when she was 11 and began a relationship with her when she was 13.