The Latest: Trump says he called off dispatching envoys to Iran talks
President Donald Trump says he told top U.S. envoys not to travel to Pakistan to negotiate with Iran, telling Fox News that ″they can call us anytime they want.” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi left Pakistan on Saturday evening, two Pakistani officials told The Associated Press. Trump said Thursday that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to extend a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah by three weeks after talks at the White House. The meeting was the second high-level negotiation between the two countries since last week. The initial 10-day ceasefire, which took effect last Friday, had been due to expire Monday.
Don't count on rate cuts just yet: Warsh as Fed chair may not lead to big policy changes
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has made it clear he expects his choice for Federal Reserve chair to quickly cut interest rates once he takes office. Yet Americans shouldn’t pencil in lower borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans, or business loans just yet. Kevin Warsh is the likely successor to current Fed chair Jerome Powell when his term ends May 15. But Warsh will still face several hurdles to reducing rates even if he gets confirmed, including rising gas prices that are pushing up inflation, questions about his political independence, and 11 other Fed policymakers who have a vote on the decision, with most of them not ready to cut. Trump, meanwhile, has kept up the pressure.
Justice Department drops criminal probe of Fed chair Powell, likely clearing the way for Warsh
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has ended its investigation into Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, clearing a major roadblock to the confirmation of Kevin Warsh as his successor. U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said on X Friday her office was ending its probe into the Fed’s extensive building renovations because the Fed’s inspector general would scrutinize them instead. The move could lead to a swift confirmation vote by the Senate for Warsh, a former Fed official President Donald Trump nominated in January to replace Powell. The investigation was among several undertaken by the Justice Department into the Republican president's perceived adversaries. Powell says the investigation was intended to intimidate the Fed.
Trump's disdain for wind power creates political turbulence for Republicans in coastal Virginia
PORTSMOUTH, Va. (AP) — President Donald Trump's attempts to cancel offshore wind projects have drawn opposition not only from environmentalists but also from Republicans. One of them is Jen Kiggans, a congresswoman who represents a coastal district in Virginia where an $11.5 billion wind farm is expected to create 1,000 jobs. Her support for a project targeted by Trump shows the scrambled politics of clean energy in an election year where Republicans are at risk of losing the House. Kiggans could be even more at risk after Virginia voters approved on Tuesday a new congressional map that makes her competitive district more Democratic than before.
A bank robber's cellphone gave him away. Now the Supreme Court is hearing his case
WASHINGTON (AP) — Okello Chatrie’s cellphone gave him away. Chatrie made off with $195,000 from the bank he robbed in suburban Richmond, Virginia, and he eluded the police. But then they turned to a powerful technological tool that erected a virtual fence and allowed them collect the location history of cellphone users near the crime scene. A type of warrant served by police on Google found that Chatrie’s cellphone was among a handful of devices in the vicinity of the bank around the time it was robbed. Now the Supreme Court will decide whether those geofence warrants violate the Fourth Amendment's ban on unreasonable searches.
Shots fired as gunman charges toward ballroom at White House correspondents' dinner. Trump unharmed
WASHINGTON (AP) — A man armed with guns and knives stormed the lobby outside the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner attended by President Donald Trump on Saturday night. The man charged toward the ballroom in a chaotic encounter with Secret Service agents as guests dived under tables at the sound of shots being fired Saturday night. The president was uninjured and was rushed off the stage. The armed man, who officials said was a guest at the Washington Hilton where the dinner was being held, was taken into custody and was expected in court Monday. Police believe he opened fire and acted alone but did not say who was his intended target or describe a motive.
US imposes sanctions on a China-based oil refinery and 40 shippers over Iranian oil
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is sanctioning a major China-based oil refinery and about 40 shipping companies. The move announced Friday is part of a campaign to cut off Iran’s oil exports, a key revenue source. The U.S. has also imposed a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, crucial for energy exports. Hengli Petrochemical’s facility in Dalian is included in the sanctions. Since 2023, it has received Iranian crude oil shipments. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the agency will continue to restrict Iran’s oil network. The sanctions come amid turmoil in the global energy trade. China has said the use of sanctions “undermines international trade order and rules."
A tiny Arctic village in Alaska is trying to revive its polar bear tourism industry
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A small Indigenous village in Alaska wants to reclaim its status as a top spot for polar bear tourism. Visitors flocked to Kaktovik before the pandemic to see polar bears waiting for sea ice to form. Tourism in the village just off Alaska's northern coast was paused because of the COVID-19 pandemic. And then because of concerns that tourism impacted the community and affected bear behavior. Local leaders are now working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to address these issues and revive the industry. They aim to ensure tourism benefits the community without harm.
US soldier charged with using classified intel to win $400K on Maduro raid is granted bond
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A U.S. soldier involved with the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has been granted bond, a day after being charged with using classified information about the operation to win more than $400,000 in an online prediction market. Federal prosecutors say Gannon Ken Van Dyke used his access to classified information about the January raid to win money on Polymarket. Van Dyke is a special operations soldier who is stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. He’s now facing several federal charges and the possibility of years in prison. He said little during Friday's hearing and was assigned a federal public defender, who declined to comment.
US won't renew Iranian and Russian oil waivers, Bessent says
WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the U.S. does not plan a third renewal of a waiver allowing the purchase of Russian oil that is currently at sea. He also told The Associated Press in a Friday interview that a renewal of the one-time waiver for Iranian oil at sea is totally off the table. Bessent’s statements come as the world is on edge over the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran, and global energy markets have been ensnarled by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. originally issued a waiver for Russian oil sales and petroleum products in March with the intent of stabilizing global energy markets after crude oil prices surged above $100 per barrel.
