GOP tax bill would ease regulations on gun silencers and some rifles and shotguns
WASHINGTON — The massive tax and spending cuts package that President Donald Trump wants on his desk by July 4 would loosen regulations on gun silencers and certain types of rifles and shotguns, advancing a longtime priority of the gun industry as Republican leaders in the House and Senate try...
Trump’s go-it-alone strategy on Iran risks dividing an already split Congress
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s decision to launch a military strike on Iran’s nuclear sites without fully consulting the U.S. Congress layered a partisan approach onto a risky action, particularly because the White House briefed top Republican leaders beforehand while leaving Democrats with little information. While House Speaker Mike Johnson,...
Israel expands war against Iran to target symbols of its power, including a notorious prison
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Israel on Monday expanded its war against Iran to include targets associated with the country’s struggling theocracy, striking the gate of a Tehran prison notorious for holding political activists and hitting the headquarters of the military force that suppressed recent protests. Meanwhile, Qatar, home to...
B-2 bombers involved in U.S. strike on Iran nuclear facilities return to Missouri Air Force baseVideo
KNOB NOSTER, Mo. — The B-2 stealth bombers that dropped massive bunker-buster bombs on Iranian nuclear facilities began returning to their U.S. base in Missouri on Sunday. An Associated Press journalist watched on a clear but windy afternoon as seven of the B-2 Spirit bombers came in for landing at...
Alarm grows after the U.S. inserts itself into Israel’s war against Iran with strikes on nuclear sites
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The world grappled Sunday with the enormous implications after the United States inserted itself into Israel’s war against Iran with an attack that raised urgent questions about what remained of Tehran’s nuclear program and how its weakened military might respond. Some observers warned that the...
Eastern half of U.S. endures another long day of dangerous heat
MADISON, Wis. — Tens of millions of people across the Midwest and East endured another sweltering day of dangerously hot temperatures Sunday as a rare June heat wave continued to grip much of the U.S. Most of the northeastern quadrant of the country from Minnesota to Maine was under some...
How the U.S. bombarded Iranian nuclear sites without detection
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — It was an unprecedented attack years in the making, with some last-minute misdirection meant to give the operation a powerful element of surprise. U.S. pilots dropped 30,000-pound bombs early Sunday on two key underground uranium enrichment plants in Iran, delivering what American military leaders believe...
Iran’s nuclear sites ‘totally obliterated’? Assessment of damage not yet clear
President Donald Trump’s decision to order U.S. forces to attack three key Iranian nuclear installations may have sabotaged the Islamic Republic’s known atomic capabilities, but it’s also created a monumental new challenge to work out what’s left and where. Trump said heavily fortified sites were “totally obliterated” late Saturday, but...
Iranian missile fired after U.S. strikes causes heavy damage but few injuries in Tel Aviv
TEL AVIV, Israel — Hours after the U.S. struck three Iranian nuclear sites, Iran launched more than 40 missiles toward Israel on Sunday, wounding 23 people and destroying apartment buildings and homes in three cities. At an impact site in Tel Aviv, the blast had sheared off the face of...
Here’s how Iran could retaliate after U.S. strikes on its nuclear programVideo
Iran has spent decades building multi-tiered military capabilities at home and across the region that were at least partly aimed at deterring the United States from attacking it. By entering Israel’s war, the U.S. may have removed the last rationale for holding them in reserve. That could mean a wave...
Vance says Iran has a renewed chance to pursue ‘the path of peace’ after U.S. attack
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Sunday that America “does not seek war” with Iran in the aftermath of a surprise attack overnight on three of that country’s nuclear sites while Vice President JD Vance said the strikes have given Tehran a renewed chance of negotiating with Washington. The...
What to know about the conflict between Israel and Iran, and the U.S. intervention
ATHENS, Greece — The United States inserted itself into Israel’s war against Iran, bombing three of the Islamic Republic’s key nuclear sites overnight in an attack it dubbed “Operation Midnight Hammer.” U.S. President Donald Trump asserted that the sites were “completely and fully obliterated,” and warned there would be additional...
Transcript of Trump’s speech on U.S. strikes on Iran
WASHINGTON — A transcript of President Donald Trump’s speech on U.S. airstrikes on Iran on Saturday as transcribed by The Associated Press: Thank you very much. A short time ago, the U.S. military carried out massive, precision strikes on the three key nuclear facilities in the Iranian regime. Fordo, Natanz...
White House photos show rare look inside the Situation Room as Trump authorizes strikes in Iran
WASHINGTON — One image shows President Donald Trump staring straight ahead stone-faced, monitoring the mission that took out three Iranian nuclear enrichment sites on Saturday. In another image, Trump stands as his chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Caine, appears to speak. And whenever Trump is pictured, he...
Trump ignites debate on presidential authority with Iran strikes and wins praise from Republicans
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s bombardment of three sites in Iran quickly sparked debate in Congress over his authority to launch the strikes, with Republicans praising Trump for decisive action even as many Democrats warned he should have sought congressional approval. “Well done, President Trump,” Sen. Lindsey Graham of South...
Trump’s big gamble in Iran is a risky moment after his pledges to keep U.S. out of ‘stupid wars’
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump expressed certainty his big gamble to directly assist the Israelis delivered a knockout blow to Iran’s nuclear program — even as many supporters and detractors alike were warning that U.S. military action could draw the United States into an expansive regional conflict. Trump, in brief...
New Texas law will require Ten Commandments to be posted in every public school classroom
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas will require all public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments under a new law that will make the state the nation’s largest to attempt to impose such a mandate. Gov. Greg Abbott announced Saturday that he signed the bill, which is expected to draw a...
U.S. strikes 3 Iranian sites, joining Israeli air campaign against nuclear program
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military struck three sites in Iran early Sunday, directly joining Israel ‘s war aimed at decapitating the country’s nuclear program in a risky gambit to weaken a longtime foe amid Tehran’s threat of reprisals that could spark a wider regional conflict. Addressing the nation from the...
Judge blocks Trump administration’s cuts to National Science Foundation research
BOSTON — A federal judge has blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from making drastic cuts to research funding provided by the National Science Foundation. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston struck down on Friday a policy change that could have stripped universities of tens of millions of dollars in...
Jury awards $2.25 million to Georgia couple in suit over autopsy images of decapitated baby
ATLANTA — A jury has awarded a Georgia couple $2.25 million in their lawsuit accusing a pathologist of posting graphic videos of an autopsy of their decapitated baby. A Fulton County jury returned the verdict against Dr. Jackson Gates on Wednesday. The couple, Jessica Ross and Treveon Isaiah Taylor Sr.,...
8 killed, 13 injured after hot-air balloon catches fire and falls in Brazil
RIO DE JANEIRO — A hot-air balloon caught fire and tumbled from the sky on Saturday in Brazil ‘s southern state of Santa Catarina, killing eight people, firefighters said. Footage shared by local news outlet G1 showed billows of smoke coming from the balloon in flames as it hurtled toward...
After a senator’s posts about the Minnesota shootings, his incensed colleagues refused to let it go
WASHINGTON — Sen. Mike Lee has in recent years become one of the Senate’s most prolific social media posters, his presence seen in thousands of posts, often late at night, about politics. Fellow senators have grown accustomed to the Utah Republican’s pugnacious online persona, mostly brushing it off in the...
Man arrested after Utah No Kings rally shooting is released as investigation continues
A man accused of brandishing a rifle at a No Kings rally in Utah — prompting an armed safety volunteer to open fire and accidentally kill a protester — has been released from jail while the investigation continues. Salt Lake District Attorney Sim Gill’s office said Friday that it was...
Israel hits Iranian nuclear research facility and says it’s preparing for possibly long campaign
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel’s military said Saturday it struck an Iranian nuclear research facility overnight and killed three senior Iranian commanders in targeted attacks, while emphasizing it was preparing for the possibility that the war could turn into a lengthy campaign. Early Saturday, smoke could be seen rising from...
Fast-moving blaze in southwest Utah destroys a dozen structures, forces evacuations
PINE VALLEY, Utah — A fast-moving fire fueled by high winds Friday has destroyed a dozen structures, including homes, and forced some in a rural area of southwest Utah to evacuate. The Forsyth Fire started Thursday in the Pine Valley Mountains and has already burned about 2.3 square miles, said...
