US fires on Iranian oil tanker as Trump pressures Tehran for deal to end war
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military fired on an Iranian oil tanker as President Donald Trump sought to pressure Tehran into reaching a deal to end the war. The military said in a social media post that a fighter jet shot out the rudder of the tanker Wednesday in the Gulf of Oman as the vessel tried to breach the American blockade of Iran’s ports. The attack occurred as Iran and the U.S. are officially in a ceasefire. Trump threatened Tehran with a new wave of bombing if a deal is not reached that includes opening the critical Strait of Hormuz. The president posted on social media that the two-month war could soon end.
Cruise ship with hantavirus outbreak heads to Canary Islands after 3 are evacuated
PRAIA, Cape Verde (AP) — The U.N. health agency says two patients with hantavirus and one suspected of infection were evacuated from a cruise ship at the center of a deadly outbreak. Two of the patients arrived at Amsterdam’s airport Wednesday evening and were driven off in ambulances. The ship departed from Cape Verde and headed to Spain's Canary Islands. The World Health Organization says eight cases have been recorded, with five confirmed by lab tests. Three people have died. Two Argentine officials investigating the origins of the outbreak say the government’s leading hypothesis is that a Dutch couple contracted the virus during a bird-watching outing before boarding.
Hantavirus is on the rise in Argentina, where a stricken cruise ship began its journey
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Officials and experts in Argentina are scrambling to figure out if their country is the source of a deadly hantavirus outbreak that has gripped an Atlantic cruise. Argentina is consistently ranked by the World Health Organization as having the highest incidence of the rare, rat-borne disease in Latin America. And it's seeing a surge of hantavirus cases that many local public health researchers attribute to the accelerating effects of climate change. The Argentine Health Ministry on Tuesday reported 101 hantavirus infections since June 2025. That's roughly double the caseload recorded over the same period the previous year.
Tennessee poised to vote on new US House map sought by Trump that carves up Memphis
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Republican lawmakers in Tennessee are poised to vote on a plan to reshape a majority-Black congressional district. The move is part of a broader strategy in Southern states following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that weakened the Voting Rights Act. The court found Louisiana relied too heavily on race when creating a second Black-majority district. Tennessee's proposal would break up a Democratic-held district centered on Memphis. Alabama and South Carolina are also considering redistricting changes. President Donald Trump has encouraged the redistricting. But Democrats and civil rights activists have criticized the efforts.
Hopes for reopening the Strait of Hormuz push Asian shares higher, as oil prices hold above $100
Asian shares are sharply higher, with Tokyo's Nikkei 225 up 6%. The price of Brent crude was holding above $100 a barrel early Thursday, however, as investors waited to see if the U.S. and Iran will strike a deal allowing tankers to deliver crude from the Persian Gulf again. On Wednesday, oil prices fell nearly 8% and the S&P 500 climbed 1.5% for its best day in nearly a month, setting a fresh record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.2%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 2%. Markets rallied worldwide after President Donald Trump said the Strait of Hormuz could be “OPEN TO ALL” if Iran accepts a reported agreement that the U.S. president did not detail.
Polls open in UK local elections seen as a verdict on Keir Starmer's leadership
LONDON (AP) — Polls have opened for midterm local and regional elections that could significantly impact British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Starmer's Labour Party is bracing for losses in elections across England, Scotland and Wales. Results will start coming in overnight with most due by Friday afternoon. While local elections usually focus on community issues, opponents have framed this as a referendum on Starmer. His popularity has dropped due to missteps and economic struggles. Analysts suggest Labour could lose many seats, with Reform UK and the Green Party expected to gain ground. A poor result could lead to leadership challenges for Starmer.
Rubio faces challenge in Pope Leo meeting after Trump's criticism over Iran
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio is heading to the Vatican and Italy on a fence-mending visit after President Donald Trump’s broadsides against Pope Leo XIV and the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran have alienated those allies. Rubio’s audience Thursday with Leo was complicated at the last minute by Trump’s latest criticism of the Chicago-born pope. Leo has pushed back, calling out Trump’s misrepresentations of his views on Iran and nuclear weapons and insisting that he's merely preaching the biblical message of peace. Rubio’s meetings Friday with Premier Giorgia Meloni and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani might not be much easier, given both have strongly defended Leo against Trump’s attacks and have criticized the Iran war as illegal.
Russia is ramping up its attempts to kill opponents in Europe, intelligence officials say
Three Western intelligence officials from different countries have told The Associated Press that a campaign of targeted killings they blame on Russia has ramped up since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. While Russian officials have long been accused of silencing the country’s enemies abroad, the officials say this campaign is different. The officials say Russia’s security services are now being more brazen in their choice of targets, going after Russian activists and foreign supporters of Ukraine. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information. Western officials see the campaign as connected to Russia’s broader efforts to undermine European countries that support Ukraine.
Chief Justice John Roberts says Supreme Court is not political
HERSHEY, Pa. (AP) — Chief Justice John Roberts says Supreme Court justices are not “political actors.” He says justices are making decisions based on the law, not their personal policy preferences. His remarks Wednesday to a conference of judges and lawyers in Pennsylvania come a week after the court handed down a ruling weakening the Voting Rights Act. The high court has also expanded gun rights and overturned the constitutional right to abortion in recent years. Public confidence in the Supreme Court is at a low point.
Justice Department can keep 2020 election ballots seized from Georgia’s Fulton County, judge rules
ATLANTA (AP) — The federal government doesn't have to return the 2020 election ballots from Georgia’s Fulton County that were seized by the FBI from a warehouse near Atlanta. U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee issued the ruling Wednesday. Lawyers for the county had argued that the ballots and other election materials should be returned because the seizure was improper and unconstitutional. The Jan. 28 seizure by the FBI targeted the elections hub in Georgia’s most populous county, which is heavily Democratic and includes most of the city of Atlanta. Fulton County has been at the center of unfounded claims by President Donald Trump and his allies that widespread election fraud cost him the 2020 election.
