WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday fired his embattled Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, after mounting criticism over her leadership of the department, including the handling of the administration’s immigration crackdown and disaster response.

Trump, who said he would nominate in her place Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin, made the announcement on social media on Thursday, two days after Noem faced a grilling on Capitol Hill from GOP members as well as Democrats.

Trump says he’ll make Noem a “Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas,” a new security initiative that he said would focus on the Western Hemisphere.

Noem, took the stage to address a Department of Homeland Security event moments after Trump’s announcement but made no immediate mention of her ouster. Instead, she read from prepared remarks, including reinforcing Trump’s message from the State of the Union last month.

Noem is the first Cabinet secretary to leave during Trump’s second term. Noem’s departure caps a tumultuous tenure overseeing immigration enforcement tactics that have been met with protests and lawsuits.

Noem’s tenure looked increasingly short-lived after hearings in Congress this week where she faced rare but blistering criticism from Republican lawmakers. One particular point of scrutiny was a $220 million ad campaign featuring Noem that encouraged people in the country illegally to leave voluntarily.

Noem told lawmakers that Trump was aware of the campaign in advance, but Trump disputed that in an interview Thursday with Reuters, saying he did not sign off on the ad campaign.

Noem has faced waves of criticism as she’s overseen Trump’s immigration crackdown, especially since the shooting deaths of two protesters in Minneapolis at the hands of immigration enforcement officers. The former South Dakota governor was also criticized over the way her department has spent billions of dollars allocated to it by Congress.

Frustrations over Noem’s execution of the Republican president’s hard-line immigration agenda — particularly her leadership after the shooting deaths of the two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis — as well as her handling of disaster response, paved the way for her downfall. She faced blistering criticism from Democrats, and some Republicans, in Congress hearings this week over those issues and others.

Aside from immigration, Noem also faced criticism — including from Republicans — over the pace of emergency funding approved through the Federal Emergency Management Agency and for the Trump administration’s response to disasters.

Mullin would need to be confirmed by the Senate, but under a federal law governing executive branch vacancies, he would be allowed to serve as an acting Homeland Security secretary as long as his nomination is formally pending.

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By MICHELLE L. PRICE, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday fired his embattled Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, after mounting criticism over her leadership of the department, including the handling of the administration’s immigration crackdown and disaster response.

Trump, who said he would nominate in her place Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin, made the announcement on social media on Thursday, two days after Noem faced a grilling on Capitol Hill from GOP members as well as Democrats.

Trump says he’ll make Noem a “Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas,” a new security initiative that he said would focus on the Western Hemisphere.

Noem, took the stage to address a Department of Homeland Security event moments after Trump’s announcement but made no immediate mention of her ouster. Instead, she read from prepared remarks, including reinforcing Trump’s message from the State of the Union last month.

Noem is the first Cabinet secretary to leave during Trump’s second term. Noem’s departure caps a tumultuous tenure overseeing immigration enforcement tactics that have been met with protests and lawsuits.

Noem’s tenure looked increasingly short-lived after hearings in Congress this week where she faced rare but blistering criticism from Republican lawmakers. One particular point of scrutiny was a $220 million ad campaign featuring Noem that encouraged people in the country illegally to leave voluntarily.

Noem told lawmakers that Trump was aware of the campaign in advance, but Trump disputed that in an interview Thursday with Reuters, saying he did not sign off on the ad campaign.

Noem has faced waves of criticism as she’s overseen Trump’s immigration crackdown, especially since the shooting deaths of two protesters in Minneapolis at the hands of immigration enforcement officers. The former South Dakota governor was also criticized over the way her department has spent billions of dollars allocated to it by Congress.

Frustrations over Noem’s execution of the Republican president’s hard-line immigration agenda — particularly her leadership after the shooting deaths of the two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis — as well as her handling of disaster response, paved the way for her downfall. She faced blistering criticism from Democrats, and some Republicans, in Congress hearings this week over those issues and others.

Aside from immigration, Noem also faced criticism — including from Republicans — over the pace of emergency funding approved through the Federal Emergency Management Agency and for the Trump administration’s response to disasters.

Mullin would need to be confirmed by the Senate, but under a federal law governing executive branch vacancies, he would be allowed to serve as an acting Homeland Security secretary as long as his nomination is formally pending.

By LAURIE KELLMAN and FARNOUSH AMIRI

Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Its ballistic missiles. Its proxies. The ruling Islamic theocracy. Israel.

All of the above are part of the Trump administration’s shifting rationale for pummeling Iran and killing its leader without first seeking the buy-in of Congress and U.S. allies. There’s more that’s unclear about the widening war launched by the president and Board of Peace leader — including an exit strategy, a timeline and who President Donald Trump wants to take control of Iran from what he calls the “sick people” who run it now.

What makes the latest U.S.-Iran conflict different from a series of others is that the Trump administration’s own officials do not appear to be clear or uniform on the important questions at hand: Why and why now?

“It’s the standard practice to agree on the rationale before you start and then stick to delivering a consistent messaging,” said David Schenker, a former Trump administration official who is now a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “But that’s a challenge for this administration.”

By Wednesday, the White House was describing the Republican president’s decision to launch Operation Epic Fury as a consideration of past Iranian threats to the U.S. “and the president’s feeling, based on fact, that Iran does pose an imminent and direct threat to the United States of America.” Analysts say that’s unclear.

Here’s a curated selection of the Trump administration’s explanations over the last week as the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran expanded into a war.

The re-obliteration of Iran’s nuclear program

WHAT THEY SAID after the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran last summer:

— “THE NUCLEAR SITES IN IRAN ARE COMPLETELY DESTROYED!” — Trump in a June 24, 2025, post on Truth Social.

WHAT THEY SAID after a reported intelligence analysis suggested Iran’s nuclear program had only been set back a few months:

— “That is a false story, and it’s one that really shouldn’t be re-reported.” — Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a June 25, 2025, interview with Politico.

WHAT THEY SAID since the strike that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei:

— “If we didn’t do what we’re doing right now, you would have had a nuclear war and they would have taken out many countries because, you know what? They’re sick people.” — Trump on Tuesday at the White House.

THE BACKGROUND:

Iran has long insisted its program is peaceful, but the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog and Western nations say Tehran had an organized nuclear weapons program up until 2003.

The current state of the program remains a mystery as officials have not allowed the International Atomic Energy Agency access to the nuclear facilities that were bombed since June. That is according to a confidential report by the watchdog circulated to member states and seen Feb. 27 by The Associated Press.

For its part, Iran has said it has not enriched since June. Satellite photos analyzed by the AP have shown new activity at two of those sites, suggesting Iran was trying to assess and potentially recover material.

Iran is legally obliged to cooperate with the IAEA under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, but it suspended all cooperation after the war with Israel.

Iran’s ballistic missiles

WHAT THEY SAID:

— “Iran possesses a very large number of ballistic missiles, particularly short-range ballistic missiles, that threaten the United States and our bases in the region, and our partners in the region, and all of our bases in the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain.” — Rubio to reporters on Feb. 25.

— “The regime already had missiles capable of hitting Europe and our bases — both local and overseas — and would soon have had missiles capable of reaching our beautiful America.” — Trump during a Medal of Honor ceremony at the White House on Monday.

— Iran “was building powerful missiles and drones to create a conventional shield for their nuclear blackmail ambitions.” — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during the Monday Pentagon briefing.

THE BACKGROUND:

Iran hasn’t acknowledged that it is seeking to build intercontinental ballistic missiles. The country currently has a self-imposed limit on its ballistic missile program, limiting their range to 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles). That puts all of the Mideast and some of Eastern Europe in range.

Trump administration officials told congressional staffers in private briefings on Sunday that U.S. intelligence did not suggest Iran was preparing to launch a preemptive strike against the U.S. The administration officials instead acknowledged there was a more general threat from Iran and proxy forces.

“There’s been a lot of reporting that the assessments from the intelligence and military didn’t suggest that there was going to be an Iranian first strike,” said Naysan Rafati, senior Iran analyst at the Washington-based International Crisis Group. “My sense has been that opportunity is at least as much of a significant factor as threats, certainly.”

Israel’s role

WHAT THEY SAID:

— “We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action. And we knew that if we didn’t preemptively go after (Iran) before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties.” — Rubio to reporters on Monday.

— “Israel was determined to act in its own defense here, with or without American support.” — House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters. If that happened, he added, “exquisite intelligence” by the U.S. indicated that Iran would retaliate against American assets. “If we had waited, the consequences of inaction on our part could have been devastating,” he said.

— “No,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday, when asked if Israel had forced his hand on attacking Iran. “If anything, I might have forced Israel’s hand.”

THE BACKGROUND:

There is no sign that Israel was forced into cooperating with the U.S. in the strike.

An Israeli military official, on customary condition of anonymity, on Wednesday described lockstep planning between the U.S. and Israel. Three weeks before the strikes, Israel understood that the operation was pointing toward another confrontation with Iran and sent a team to the Pentagon, the official said. On Friday, the Israeli army deliberately suggested that the military was standing down for the weekend, releasing photos suggesting that staffers and senior commanders were heading home for Shabbat dinner.

The shared information allowed the strikes to be carried out hours later in a surprise daylight attack, people familiar with the operation told the AP over the weekend. The eventual barrage of U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran came so quickly that they were nearly simultaneous — with three strikes in three locations hitting within a minute — killing Khamenei and some 40 senior figures, another Israeli military official said Sunday.

During the strikes, the U.S. and Israeli war rooms were synchronized in real time to allow for quick adjustments, the first Israeli military official said Wednesday.

In a televised address, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel had carried out the strikes “in full cooperation” with the U.S.

Trump has been both for and against regime change in Iran. Now what?

WHAT THEY SAID:

— “If Iran shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go.” — Trump on Truth Social on Jan. 2.

— “When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take.” — Trump to Iranians on Truth Social just after the first strikes.

— “This is not a so-called regime change war. But the regime sure did change, and the world is better off for it.” — Hegseth at the Pentagon on Monday.

THE BACKGROUND:

Washington has a long, complicated history with regime change. See Vietnam, Panama, Nicaragua, Iraq and Afghanistan after Sept. 11, 2001, and Venezuela just weeks ago.

And in Iran, the CIA in 1953 helped engineer a coup that toppled Iran’s democratically elected leader and gave near-absolute power to Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. But as with the shah, who was overthrown in Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, regime change rarely goes as planned.

That’s in part because it’s fundamentally out of Trump’s complete control, as he acknowledged Tuesday.

“Most of the people we had in mind are dead,” he told reporters. “Now we have another group. They may be dead also based on reports. So, I guess you have a third wave coming, and pretty soon we’re not going to know anybody.”

Josef Federman and Julia Frankel in Jerusalem contributed to this report from Jerusalem.

Shawn Colvin has been “a working musician” since she was 18 years old, playing around Carbondale, Illinois, while attending Southern Illinois University.

“That’s a career,” she notes, with a chuckle. And indeed it has been.

Colvin has released a dozen albums since her Grammy Award-winning debut, “Steady On,” came out in 1989, while she was based in New York City. That includes a “Holiday Songs and Lullabies” collection in 1998, the covers set “Uncovered” in 2015, a collaboration with Steve Earle the following year, and an acoustic reworking of “Steady On” to celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2019. Colvin also won a pair of Grammys in 1998 for “Sunny Came Home,” the Top 10 hit from her fourth album, 1996’s “A Few Small Repairs.”

“I don’t know if I was confident it was gonna work out,” Colvin, who turned 70 in January, says via phone from her home in Austin, Texas. “There was a point when I was in New York, playing in clubs and bars and dance halls, when I thought: ‘Maybe I’m not supposed to do this. All I do is cover songs, and I really want to be a songwriter, and I’m feeling kind of sick of being a copycat.’ It was leaving me feeling empty.

“And after I’d walked away, per se, I had this voice come into my head that said, ‘But you’re good at it!’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I am good at it.’ And the voice said: ‘You have to be a solo acoustic artist. That’s what you do best, and you have to write personal songs’ … like my acoustic-playing songwriting heroes, of which there were many.

“So that was the voice I followed, and look where it got me.”

Colvin is satisfied to be still doing just that: “You play three hours a night, three nights a week, or more, you’re gonna get good, so that`s the standard, always,” she explains. But she’s also working on new music, although not saying much about it other than “it will be an album,” on which she’s collaborating with Stephen Barber, an Austin-based composer she’s worked with periodically over the years.

“I’m taking it really slow — obviously,” Colvin notes. “I’ve made a lot of records, so at this point if I do another one, it needs to mean something, y’know?”

Shawn Colvin performs at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 7, at The Ark, 316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor. 734-761-1800 or theark.org.

Other music events of note this weekend (all subject to change) include …

FRIDAY, MARCH 6

• The Detroit Symphony Orchestra holds its annual Classical Roots weekend with a pair of concerts — 10:45 a.m. and again at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 7 — conducted by Thomas Wilson and featuring Kenneth Thompkins on Carlos Simon’s “Troubled Water” for trombone and orchestra at Orchestra Hall, 3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit. The Saturday show will stream free via the “Live From Orchestra Hall” series. The Saturday show will stream free via the “Live From Orchestra Hall” series. A Classical Roots Celebration gala and dinner takes place at 5 p.m. Saturday, with an afterglow following the concert. 313-576-5111 or dso.org.

• The DSO has also opened an exhibit celebrating 50 Years of Classical Roots featuring artifacts, oral histories and other elements. The exhibit will be open through 2028 on the third floor of the William Davidson Atrium in the Fisher Music Center, 3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit.

• The annual Hamtramck Blowout runs through Saturday, March 7, with 130 acts playing at 18 venues around the city. Visit hamtrmackblowout.com for a full schedule, tickets and other details.

• German DJ Paul Van Dyk mans the decks at the Magic Stick, 4120 Woodward Ave., Detroit. Doors at 9 p.m. 313-833-9700 or themajesticdetroit.com.

• Techno legend Kevin Saunderson’s sons Damarii and Dantiez spin at 9 p.m. at El Club, 4114 W. Vernor Highway, Detroit. 313-757-7942 or elclubdetroit.com.

• Virginia’s Pat McGee Band heads to the Mitten for an 8 p.m. show at 20 Front Street in Lake Orion. 248-783-7105 or 20frontstreet.com.

• California dreampop outfit 60 Juno is joined by Vaega at 8 p.m. at the Lager House, 1254 Michigan Ave., Detroit. 313-500-1475 or thelagerhouse.com.

• Detroit singer-songwriter Audra Kubat performs at 7 p.m. for Friday Night Live! at the Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit. 313-833-7900 or dia.org.

• Hard rock troupes Heavy Lies the Crown and Nothing Ever After join forces at 7:30 p.m. at the Diesel Concert Lounge, 33151 23 Mile Road, Chesterfield Township. 586-933-3503 or dieselconcerts.com.

• The Tartan Terrors bring a Celtic Invasion to town at 7:30 p.m. at the Macomb Center, 44575 Garfield Road, Clinton Township. 586-286-2222 or macombcenter.com.

• Pianist Zen Zedravec is in the house through Saturday, March 7, at the Dirty Dog Jazz Cafe, 97 Kercheval, Grosse Pointe. 313-882-5399 or dirtydogjazz.com.

• Monique Ella Rose brings The Soul Experience to Cliff Bell’s at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. 2030 Park Ave., Detroit. 313-961-2543 or cliffbells.com.

• Up-and-coming pop singer Ella Red brings her Tour’s Not Real tour to the Pike Room in the Crofoot Complex, 1 S. Saginaw St., Pontiac. Doors at 7 p.m. Peggy opens. 248-858-9333 or thecrofoot.com.

• Troubadour Jason Dennie plays his songs at 7:30 p.m. at the Trinity House Theatre, 38840 W. Six Mile Road, Livonia. 734-436-6302 or trinityhousetheatre.org.

• It’s a Pink Floyd two-fer at Orsa Music Hall this weekend, starting with “The Wall in Concert” at 5:30 p.m., followed by a “The Dark Side of the Moon” show at 8:30 p.m. 350 Madison St., Detroit. 313-887-8500 or musichall.org.

• Tributes to the Cult (Sanctuary) and Stone Temple Pilots (Meat Plow) team up at 8 p.m. at the Token Lounge, 28949 Joy Road, Westland. 734-513-5030 or tokenlounge.com.

• The iconic Judy Collins looks at both sides at 8 p.m. at The Ark, 316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor. 734-761-1800 or theark.org.

• Pianist Ellen Rowe starts the weekend at 5 p.m., followed by sets by Don Hicks & Friends at 7 and 9 p.m., at the Blue Llama Jazz Club, 314 S. First St., Ann Arbor. 734-372-3200 or bluellamaclub.com.

• Virtual: Pigeons Playing Ping Pong serves up at 7:30 p.m. from Sanford, Florida, and again at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 7, from St. Petersburg, both streaming via nugs.net.

• Virtual: The Warren Haynes Band livestreams at 8 p.m. from Port Chester, New York, via nugs.net.

• Virtual: Moe. jams at 8 p.m. from Ardmore, Pennsylvania, and again on Saturday, March 7, via nugs.net.

• Virtual: 311 streams live from Las Vegas at 11 p.m. and again on Saturday, March 7, via veeps.com.

SATURDAY, MARCH 7

• Ontario electronic rocker Lights flips the switch at Saint Andrew’s Hall, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit. Doors at 7 p.m. 313-961-8961 or saintandrewsdetroit.com.

• Detroit Opera finishes its run of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” an adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel, at 7:30 p.m. at the Detroit Opera House, 1526 Broadway St., Detroit. 313-237-7464 or detroitopera.org.

• French DJ and producer Hol! tops a two-stage, 10-act bill at the Russell Industrial Center, 1600 Clay St., Detroit. Doors at 7 p.m. 248-434-7699 or russellindustrialcenter.com and thecrofoot.com.

• Detroit’s own MK presides over the dance party at Lincoln Factory, 1331 Holden St., Detroit. Doors at 9 p.m. paxahau.com.

• Multi-genre trumpeter Chris Botti is on at 8 p.m. at the Orsa Music Hall, 350 Madison St., Detroit. 313-887-8500 or musichall.org.

• Blues-rock veteran Duke Tumatoe & the Power Trio returns for an 8 p.m. show at the Token Lounge, 28949 Joy Road, Westland. 734-513-5030 or tokenlounge.com.

• Eddie and the Getaway arrive at the Loving Touch, 22634 Woodward Ave., Ferndale. Doors at 7 p.m. 248-820-5596 or thelovingtouchferndale.com.

• Drum Tao brings ancient Japanese drum art at 7:30 p.m. to the Macomb Center, 44575 Garfield Road, Clinton Township. 586-286-2222 or macombcenter.com.

• Flint’s Shadow of the Talisman tops a seven-band bill at 5:30 p.m. at the Sanctuary Detroit, 2932 Caniff, Hamtramck. 313-462-4117 or sanctuarydetroit.com.

• The Atlanta quintet Penelope Road comes north for a show at El Club, 4114 W. Vernor Highway, Detroit. Doors at 7 p.m. 313-757-7942 or elclubdetroit.com.

• Saxophonist Alex Harding & Organ Nation blow at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., and again at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 8, at Cliff Bell’s, 2030 Park Ave., Detroit. 313-961-2543 or cliffbells.com.

• Kourgaran, Faded and Second Salem are among the bands playing for Detroit Rock City Mayhem 5 at the Diesel Concert Lounge, 33151 23 Mile Road, Chesterfield Township. Doors at 7 p.m. 586-933-3503 or dieselconcerts.com.

• Jasno comes from the Upper Peninsula to rock at 8 p.m. at the Lager House, 1254 Michigan Ave., Detroit. Mild Pulp and Odd Reality are also on the bill. 313-500-1475 or thelagerhouse.com.

• The Mega 80’s play that decade’s hits at the Magic Bag, 22920 Woodward Ave., Ferndale. Doors at 7 p.m. 248-544-1991 or themagicbag.com.

• Floyd Live — America’s Pink Floyd Experience will make you wish you were there at the Emerald Theatre, 31 N. Walnut St., Mount Clemens. Doors at 7 p.m. 586-630-0120 or theemeraldtheatre.com.

• The Cadieux Cafe hosts the Before The Flood: A Bob Dylan Revue at 8:30 p.m. 4300 Cadieux Road, Detroit. 313-882-8560 or cadieuxcafe.com.

• Global singer Tatiana Eva-Marie headlines at 7 and 9 p.m. at the Blue Llama Jazz Club, 314 S. First St., Ann Arbor. 734-372-3200 or bluellamaclub.com.

• Virtual: Rainbow Kitten Surprise livestreams at 8 p.m. from New Haven, Connecticut, via nugs.net.

• Virtual: Gorillaz celebrates its new album, “The Mountain,” as the musical guest on this week’s episode of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” at 11:30 p.m. (WDIV, Channel 4 in Detroit). Ryan Gosling hosts.

SUNDAY, MARCH 8

• Riki Rachtman, former host of MTV’s “Headbangers Ball,” presides over an evening at District 142, 142 Maple St., Wyandotte. Doors at 8 p.m. district142live.com.

• Iranian-American rap and rock stylist Aries promotes his latest album, “Glass Jaw,” at Saint Andrew’s Hall, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit. Doors at 7 p.m. 313-961-8961 or saintandrewsdetroit.com.

• Grizz CLL brings his gothy darkwave to the Lager House at 8 p.m. 1254 Michigan Ave., Detroit. Tiffadelice and Vazum open. 313-500-1475 or thelagerhouse.com.

• Florida’s Capstan celebrates the 10-year anniversary of its “Cultural Divide” album at 6 p.m. at El Club, 4114 W. Vernor Highway, Detroit. 313-757-7942 or elclubdetroit.com.

• Cleveland’s Inoculation brings its brand of death metal to Sanctuary Detroit, 2932 Caniff, Hamtramck. Doors at 6 p.m. 313-462-4117 or sanctuarydetroit.com.

• The Macomb Symphony Orchestra plays Dvorak, Elgar and Britten at 3 p.m. at the Macomb Center, 44575 Garfield Road, Clinton Township. 586-286-2222 or macombcenter.com.

• The C-Notes play a 3 p.m. matinee at the Cadieux Cafe, 4300 Cadieux Road, Detroit. 313-882-8560 or cadieuxcafe.com.

• Alejandro Escovedo brings a long career of music as well as his latest album, “Echo Dancing,” to the Ark for a 7:30 p.m. show. 316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor. 734-761-1800 or theark.org.

• Trumpeter Anthony Stanco and his Quintet perform at 6 and 7:30 p.m. at the Blue Llama Jazz Club, 314 S. First St., Ann Arbor. 734-372-3200 or bluellamaclub.com.

• Virtual: Harry Styles’ “One Night in Manchester” concert, held March 6 to launch his new album “Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally,” will stream beginning at noon on Netflix.

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson and the GOP leadership are calling for Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas to withdraw from his reelection race after he admitted having an affair with a former staff member who later died by suicide.

The Republican leadership announced its decision Thursday, a day after Gonzales acknowledged a relationship that has upturned the political world in his home state and in Washington, and after the House Ethics Committee announced an investigation into his conduct.

“We have encouraged him to address these very serious allegations directly with his constituents and his colleagues,” said Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Whip Tom Emmer, and GOP Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain in a statement.

“In the meantime, Leadership has asked Congressman Gonzales to withdraw from his race for reelection.”

Johnson, R-La., has been under enormous pressure from his own GOP lawmakers to take action, and several Republicans have already called for Gonzales to step aside.

Republicans are struggling to maintain their slim majority in the House in the fall midterm elections.

Gonzales, appearing on the “Joe Pags Show” on Wednesday was asked whether he had a relationship with the aide, Regina Ann Santos-Aviles.

Santos-Aviles, 35, died after setting herself on fire in the backyard of her home in Uvalde, Texas. The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office later ruled her death a suicide.

“I made a mistake and I had a lapse in judgment, and there was a lack of faith, and I take full responsibility for those actions,” Gonzales said.

The congressman, now in his third term, has said he would not step down in response to the allegations, telling reporters recently that there will be opportunities for all the details and facts to come out.

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST and PAUL WISEMAN

WASHINGTON (AP) — Some two dozen states challenged President Donald Trump’s new global tariffs on Thursday, filing a lawsuit over import taxes he imposed after a stinging loss at the Supreme Court.

The Democratic attorneys general and governors in the lawsuit argue that Trump is overstepping his power with planned 15% tariffs on much of the world.

Trump has said the tariffs are essential to reduce America’s longstanding trade deficits. He imposed duties under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 after the Supreme Court struck down tariffs he imposed last year under an emergency powers law.

Section 122, which has never been invoked, allows the president to impose tariffs of up to 15%. They are limited to five months unless extended by Congress.

The lawsuit is led by attorneys general from Oregon, Arizona, California and New York.

“The focus right now should be on paying people back, not doubling down on illegal tariffs,” said Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield. The suit comes a day after a judge ruled t hat companies who paid tariffs under Trump’s old framework should get refunds.

The new suit argues that Trump can’t pivot to Section 122 because it was intended to be used only in specific, limited circumstances — not for sweeping import taxes. It also contends the tariffs will drive up costs for states, businesses and consumers.

Many of those states also successfully sued over Trump’s tariffs imposed under a different law: the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

Four days after the Supreme Court struck down his sweeping IEEPA tariffs Feb. 20, Trump invoked Section 122 to slap 10% tariffs on foreign goods. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant told CNBC on Wednesday that the administration would raise the levies to the 15% limit this week.

The Democratic states and other critics say the president can’t use Section 122 as a replacement for the defunct tariffs to combat the trade deficit.

The Section 122 provision is aimed at what it calls “fundamental international payments problems.’’ At issue is whether that wording covers trade deficits, the gap between what the U.S. sells other countries and what it buys from them.

Section 122 arose from the financial crises that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s when the U.S. dollar was tied to gold. Other countries were dumping dollars in exchange for gold at a set rate, risking a collapse of the U.S. currency and chaos in financial markets. But the dollar is no longer linked to gold, so critics say Section 122 is obsolete.

Awkwardly for Trump, his own Justice Department argued in a court filing last year that the president needed to invoke the emergency powers act because Section 122 did “not have any obvious application’’ in fighting trade deficits, which it called “conceptually distinct’’ from balance-of-payment issues.

Still, some legal analysts say the Trump administration has a stronger case this time.

“The legal reality is that courts will likely provide President Trump substantially more deference regarding Section 122 than they did to his previous tariffs under IEEPA,’’ Peter Harrell, visiting scholar at Georgetown University’s Institute of International Economic Law, wrote in a commentary Wednesday.

The specialized Court of International Trade in New York, which will hear the states’ lawsuit, wrote last year in its own decision striking down the emergency-powers tariffs that Trump didn’t need them because Section 122 was available to combat trade deficits.

Trump does have other legal authorities he can use to impose tariffs, and some have already survived court tests. Duties that Trump imposed on Chinese imports during his first term under Section 301 of the same 1974 trade act are still in place.

Also joining the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.

By PETER SMITH

On its own, the phrase “Christ is king” sums up a core tenet of the Christian faith, that Jesus is the divine ruler of the universe. Catholics and many Protestants celebrate a Christ the King Sunday each year.

But the ancient proclamation can morph into something political, controversial or even sinister, depending on who says it and how it’s said.

In recent years, “Christ is king” and similar phrases have been chanted at political rallies, posted on social media and proclaimed in speeches by voices on the right.

At times the phrase is used to support the notion of America as a Christian nation or as one that owes its allegiance specifically to the Christian God. Some current Cabinet officials and recent members of Congress have used the phrase in speeches and on social media.

But other times, political activists have paired “Christ is king” with anti-Zionist statements or negative Jewish stereotypes.

The phrase has gained popularity among far-right figures and their followers. Conservative influencer Candace Owens, who shares antisemitic conspiracies, sells branded “Christ is King” coffee mugs and T-shirts.

The controversy connects to a larger schism on the right, with some conservatives pushing back against an increasingly vocal faction whose denunciations of Israel, critics say, often combine with blatant antisemitism. Some of the latter group insist they’re not antisemitic, just anti-Zionist. That itself is a sharp break from what was once a near-consensus of pro-Israel sentiment among Republicans.

But there are times when the use of the phrase “Christ is king” is unquestionably hostile toward Jews, said a 2025 report by the Rutgers University-affiliated Network Contagion Research Institute.

Analyzing social media postings between 2021 and 2024, the institute reported a dramatic increase of the phrase “Christ is king,” often used as a hate meme targeting Jews. The report lamented this deviation from its historical use as a hopeful, sacred affirmation with biblical roots.

“The weaponization or hijacking of ‘Christ is King’ represents a disturbing inversion of its original intent. Rather than sacralizing shared values, extremists have exploited this religious expression to justify hatred,” the report said.

Controversy spotlighted at religious liberty hearing

A recent meeting of the Religious Liberty Commission, a group President Donald Trump created and appointed, put the phrase and related controversies in the spotlight.

At a Feb. 9 hearing focused on antisemitism, a witness, Seth Dillon, spoke of often hearing people use the phrase “Christ is king” followed immediately by a highly contemptuous slur toward Jews.

“This should offend every Christian,” said Dillon, the CEO of the conservative satirical site The Babylon Bee.

Commission member Carrie Prejean Boller repeatedly grilled witnesses about whether opposing Zionism could be construed as anti-Jewish. She said that as a Catholic she opposes Zionism but that this is not antisemitic. She asked Dillon if he thought “saying ‘Christ is king’ is antisemitic.”

Dillon said no and that, as a Christian, he regularly declares that “Christ is my king” — but context matters.

He testified that the phrase has been co-opted by Groypers, alluding to the followers of far-right influencer Nick Fuentes, who has spread antisemitic views.

It’s “using the Lord’s name in an abusive manner,” Dillon said.

Fuentes’ supporters chanted “Christ is king” at the Million MAGA March, a November 2020 rally denying the Republican Trump’s defeat to Democrat Joe Biden in that year’s presidential election.

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Republican who chairs the Religious Liberty Commission, announced Prejean Boller’s removal from the panel after the meeting. He asserted that she tried to “hijack” the hearing for her own agenda.

Following the commission meeting, Prejean Boller has posted prolifically on X, denouncing “Zionist supremacists” and repeatedly using the phrase “Christ is King.” She also has denounced the war launched by the U.S. and Israel against Iran.

A recent Catholic convert, she said she opposes a popular evangelical view that modern-day Israel exists in fulfillment of biblical prophecy.

A religious phrase ‘co-opted by extremist figures’

The commission hearing was hardly the first forum to air controversy over “Christ is king.”

The Network Contagion Research Institute’s 2025 report noted that while many “Christ is king” references on social media are strictly religious, the phrase has been “systematically co-opted by extremist figures.”

The report said Fuentes and other extremists use the phrase as a “white supremacist mantra publicizing their antisemitic beliefs.”

Fuentes has said the Holocaust was exaggerated, and he has denounced “organized Jewry in America.” He has claimed to be in battle with “satanic, globalist elites,” an antisemitic trope.

The religious phrase “Christ is king” is not inherently political, said Brian Kaylor, president and editor-in-chief of Word&Way, a progressive site covering faith and politics.

But that fact provides a “deniability” to those politicizing it, he said.

“We’re at a dangerous point with the phrase ‘Christ is king’ because of the heavy activity and use of it on the far right in very fascist, antisemitic ways,” said Kaylor, a Baptist minister and author of several books on religion and politics. “We’re at the danger of that phrase losing its meaning to where this new antisemitic use is the dominant definition.”

The phrase has also gained popularity in political settings with some on the Catholic and evangelical right who are strongly pro-Israel and have repeatedly denounced antisemitism, such as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Kaylor said the phrase is often used as “a declaration of Christian nationalism ” asserting that “the nation should be brought under the dictates of Christ.”

A dispute over politics and religion

The controversy has highlighted both religious and political fissures.

The Vatican has diplomatic relations with Israel and has also recognized a state of Palestine. Pope Leo XIV has called for a two-state solution while denouncing antisemitism. During the Israel-Hamas war, popes Francis and Leo denounced the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas and Israel’s massive military response, with Leo demanding a halt to Israel’s “collective punishment” of Gaza’s population.

Other Catholics on the Religious Liberty Commission noted that Jesus and his followers were Jews and that a seminal 1965 Vatican document rejects antisemitism and the blaming of all Jews, including those alive today, for Jesus’ crucifixion.

Patrick, the commission chairman, said the dispute with Prejean Boller reflects “a real problem with a very small group in our Republican Party.” Antisemitism needs to be repudiated or “this is going to destroy our party,” he said on “The Mark Levin Show,” a podcast.

But Prejean Boller has galvanized supporters from a staunchly conservative group called Catholics for Catholics, a lay-led, self-described “militant organization dedicated to the evangelization of this great country.”

It plans to honor Prejean Boller at a March 19 event with a Catholic Champion Award in Washington featuring speakers such as Owens.

Prejean Boller has reposted announcements of the event on X, including one post that shared a Spanish-language statement that translates to “We will not rest until we convert the USA into a Catholic nation.” The post concluded in English with “Christ is King!”

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

By J.M. HIRSCH

MIAMI (AP) — Rachael Ray isn’t sick. Her marriage is healthy, too. And yes, she’s still on TV.

Rumors have swirled around the woman who gave us 30-minute meals since she stepped away from her daily show. But that hasn’t diminished her thrill at rolling through her mid-50s still cooking on television and still pulling crowds for beachside burger parties.

Welcome to Ray’s third act, the recipe for which is equal parts serendipity and returning to her hands-in-pans roots.

Three years ago, the woman who turned culinary effervescence, EVOO and garbage bowls into a media empire stepped away from the Food Network and her syndicated daytime talk show. Today, she acknowledges, “It can be hard to find me.”

Ray sat down with the AP recently during a break from events at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival to talk about what’s next, what keeps her going and why she doesn’t care about her legacy.

“I’ll be dead, so who cares?” She said that a lot, actually. About her critics. About the gossip. About whether people today get her and her decisions.

Except, clearly she does care. Particularly about the thread common to it all — giving people kitchen confidence. She once described her cooking as the food equivalent of a pop song. Which sounds flip. But when your entire career is built around breaking barriers to food, the easy digestibility of pop is an apt analogy.

“That was the message I wanted to bring to people. Don’t be scared of this,” she said. “If it doesn’t come out all right, who cares? It’s just dinner.”

From store demos to TV celebrity

The story of Ray’s rise is well-trod. Young woman from upstate New York gets noticed while doing food demos at an upscale grocery store, lands a gig on the Food Network demystifying cooking with a focus on fast and affordable, parlays that into a daytime show backed by Oprah Winfrey, and in short order she and her rat-a-tat Yum-o!-punctuated vernacular — not to mention her knives, books, pans, magazine, pet food and all manner of other products — were ubiquitous.

Then, in 2023 — after 17 seasons on daytime TV — she jarred fans by walking away from much of it, a decision she’d been quietly considering for years. Network television brought with it armies of executives and lawyers.

“I just didn’t want to do that anymore. I didn’t want to live by committee,” she said. “I wanted to focus more on food the way I want to teach it, talking to people I want to talk to, and being just me.”

Stepping out of the limelight

To many, she seemed to slow down or even disappear. After fire destroyed her home in upstate New York and flooding ruined her city apartment, she moved much of her life to Italy. A podcast was started, then quietly shuttered. All amid rumors of failing health and marriage.

Moved under the radar might be more accurate than slowed down. But let’s start with the gossip.

“We’re very volatile people. We’re loud, and then we’re lovey dovey, and I think we confuse a lot of folks because of that,” she said of her marriage to musician and lawyer John Cusimano. “I have a great marriage. My health is fine. I lift weights every morning, 4 o’clock, you know. I’m doing just fine.”

As for slowing down?

After ending her daytime show — the only thing she misses is the energy of the live audience — she created her own production company, Free Food Studios, an effort to control her content (sans layers of lawyers) and launch new talent. A&E soon acquired a 50% stake in it and ordered hundreds of episodes, including several new series starring Ray.

“People tell me on the plane or at the airport or at the grocery store, ‘Oh, I miss your show so much!’ And I’m like, I have many! You know, look on YouTube or look at A&E or look at Disney or Hulu,” she said. “It rotates through all these different platforms now, so it’s harder for people to find.”

In fact, her “Meals in Minutes” recently was renewed for more than 100 new episodes, and she’s producing two additional shows with other stars. Meanwhile, she’s planning an eighth humanitarian trip to Ukraine — she’s been collaborating on them with José Andrés since early in the war — recently launched her own gin, and still sells plenty of pots and pans and pet foods, the latter of which helps fund The Rachael Ray Foundation, which has donated $140 million to animal welfare and nutritional advocacy groups.

Crashing the chefs’ A-list

Today, culinary pedigrees among food celebrities are few and far between, making the early critiques of Ray — She’s not a serious cook! She’s not a chef! — seem quaint, sexist, maybe both. She’s thankful social media has lowered the bar for entry to her world, saying fresh faces no longer need money, connections, a culinary degree or blind luck to get noticed.

What hasn’t changed is the way aging women are judged, particularly when they have the audacity to do so as a public figure. Her appearance has been a hot topic in recent years, but Ray said she refuses to join the beauty bandwagon. “I tried Botox here (pointing at her eyebrows) years ago,” she said. “And I just looked sort of shocked or something. And I thought, this isn’t you.”

At this year’s South Beach festival’s Burger Bash, which Ray has hosted for two decades — consuming some 568 burgers over the years, but who’s counting? — crowds swarmed her with stories of growing up on her recipes and shows. At a private dinner the next night, 20-plus people paid $500 each to clamor as she served pasta alle vongole and told family stories while Cusimano mixed cocktails.

“Honey! I’m talking too much! This got hot!” Ray said, handing him a Martinez cocktail to refresh. “I don’t drink a hot cocktail. I almost never drink the second half of my cocktail.” The crowd of mostly middle-aged women nodded enthusiastically, clearly adopting a new Ray-endorsed rule to foist on their own spouses.

“I love the fact that it’s still relevant that I come here,” Ray said. “I’m a woman in her mid-50s that’s still employed, still making programming, and still can book an event and have thousands of people come out. That means a lot to me.”

What comes next?

“I like not knowing,” she said. “I like watching things evolve and discovering what’s next for myself. So there’s no plan. There’s no road map.”

J.M. Hirsch is a food and travel journalist, and the former food editor for The Associated Press.

By CHEYANNE MUMPHREY

Children living through the latest war in the Middle East or seeing images of the conflict may need help making sense of events that many adults find unnerving. Exposure to war, even if it is indirect, can affect how kids think, feel and behave, according to mental health experts.

Child psychologists and development specialists encourage parents to check in with their children, make time for age-appropriate conversations and to correct misinformation without going into excessive detail.

“Sometimes adults think if they don’t talk about something that is difficult, than it doesn’t exist. But we know that’s not the reality in children’s lives,” said Rebecca Smith, the global head of child protection at Save the Children, an international aid and advocacy organization. “Ignoring or avoiding the topic of conflict can lead to children feeling lost, alone and scared. … It is essential to have open and honest conversations with children to help them process what is happening.”

Below are suggestions for having conversations with children about war and its impacts.

Create a safe space, then listen and validate feelings

Experts recommend starting with what a child might know about what is happening in Ukraine, Gaza, Iran, Israel, Sudan or other parts of the world before attempting to address any feelings of fear, sadness, anger or anxiety.

Some children may not know that fighting has escalated between the United States and Israel on one side and Iran and its proxies on the other. Other kids may be more aware than their families realize and suppress their emotions. Children visiting or living in Middle Eastern countries directly impacted will have seen weapons light up the sky and may know people killed or have to leave their homes.

“For some children where missiles are now visible in the skies, this might be an entirely new and terrifying experience,” Smith said. “When events like this happen, they disrupt a child and family’s sense of safety. What once felt stable and secure may suddenly feel uncertain.”

To help children work through their emotions, the trusted adults in their lives also need to take care of themselves, according to experts. Guidance from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network says adults sharing their own feelings with children can be an opportunity to convey personal beliefs and values about how to treat others. The key is to not assume what children might be thinking or feeling.

If children do not want to talk or are not ready, experts suggest adults remain patient and tell children they are there for them.

“It is necessary to respect child’s ability to refuse communication, their ability not to talk or not to tell about something. Because they can have their own feelings, their own states, which they might not want to share,” child psychologist Nataliia Sosnovenko said, speaking in Ukrainian. Sosnovenko works with Voices of Children, a Ukrainian organization that provides psychological support and documents children’s experiences in the country during the yearslong war with Russia.

Some children might share what they have seen or heard, how they feel or ask questions when given an opportunity. Experts say this is when adults should validate their feelings and address what’s happening honestly while taking their ages and maturity levels into account.

Let their age guide the conversation

The American Psychological Association recommends giving kids basic, age-appropriate information about war and conflict, and addressing any upsetting images, headlines or conversations they were exposed to without going into details that might make them unnecessarily anxious. But ultimately, parents know their children best, experts say.

Families who have loved ones in the region may need to take the extra time to discuss the safety of their relatives and friends, and the difficulty of uncertainty. Families in the region themselves may need to have a plan in place for what to do if they become separated. Experts with Save the Children say to keep it simple and to practice the plan calmly.

Depending on how young, some children can understand the idea that two countries are fighting. But young children living abroad may not be able to distinguish between what they see on screens and what is happening nearby. For children in the U.S., the Iran war can seem much closer than it is if they are frequently seeing images on TV or social media, meaning they may need additional reassurance they are safe from danger.

Older children are likely to understand war and its consequences, which means they might be more concerned and have more questions, the American Psychological Association says. Adults may want to consider focusing on what is within their control and giving children some agency, such as supporting humanitarian efforts, staying informed and addressing misinformation.

UNICEF, the United Nations agency that provides humanitarian aid and long-term support to children worldwide, says it is OK to not have all the answers.

In Lebanon, some families have sought refuge since Saturday in a brick school building. Nora Ingdal, Save the Children’s Lebanon Country Director, says children there are asking several questions about the reason for conflict and when things might return to normal.

“This one daughter was clinging to her mother and looking up to her mom and asking, ‘Mom, why are they fighting? Why are they attacking us?’ The mother looks at me, but has no answer. Then she’s asking, ‘When are we gonna go home?’ Again, the mom looked at me,” Ingdal said. “I said to her, ‘It’s all right to say that you don’t know, you cannot guarantee anything, but I’m here with you.’”

Limit unnecessary exposure and use this as a teaching opportunity

While some global agencies say children should be aware of what is happening in the world, experts say adults still have a responsibility to keep youngsters safe and limit unnecessary exposure.

Parents are encouraged to pay attention to how exposed children are to the news. The younger the child, the less exposure they should have, according to the National Child Traumatic Stress Network.

Some agencies recommend switching off the news entirely or limiting conversations about distressing events with other adults if children can hear. Others recommend using the opportunity to educate children on the importance of news, understanding where to find accurate facts and how to identify when something is not true or deceiving.

Save the Children says caregivers can model responsible digital behavior, encourage kids not to spread harmful or graphic information and remind them to think twice before sharing content that is possibly inaccurate or emotionally triggering.

It is important for caregivers of children living in conflict zones to remember that some kids do not know a time before war and do not have the ability to disconnect from what is happening around them, Sosnovenko said. That’s where professional help might support conversations and education.

“During the war, the types of people who come to us have changed,” she said. “Thanks to the fact that the psychological culture of the population is improving, people began to understand that therapy is important. These days, help of a psychologist is needed by most people and children as well.”

AP journalist Illia Novikov in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed to this story.

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal panel reviewing President Donald Trump’s plans to build a ballroom at the White House has set April 2 for a final vote on the project, the chairman said as the agency prepared to give additional consideration to the construction plans.

Will Scharf, chairman of the National Capital Planning Commission and a top aide to the Republican president, made the announcement Thursday at the start of the panel’s March meeting.

The panel will hear additional details about the project from the White House as well as its own staff, and had been expected to vote on Thursday.

But Scharf announced that the vote was switched to April to give every member of the public who wants to comment a chance to do so. More than 100 people had signed up to comment at Thursday’s meeting, which was being conducted online as a result.

The panel has also been flooded with written comments submitted by more than 35,000 people, according to the commission, with the majority opposed to Trump’s plans to build a 90,000-square-foot (8,360-square-meter) addition where the East Wing of the White House once stood. Trump has said it will cost about $400 million and be paid for with private money. Trump had the East Wing demolished in October.

Scharf said the meeting was being conducted online to ease the public testimony portion, which he said was likely to extend into Friday given the number of people who had signed up to speak.

“They are taking time out of what I presume are busy schedules to join us,” he said. “One way or the other, we are going to make sure that members of the public have the opportunity to be heard on this project.”

Critics of the project have argued that Trump should not have demolished the East Wing until the National Capital Planning Commission and a separate panel, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, had reviewed and voted on his plans. The fine arts panel approved the project last month.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a private, nonprofit group, asked a federal judge to temporarily halt construction until the White House submitted the plans both to federal panels and to Congress for approval, and allowed the public to comment.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon rejected the request last week, and the trust has said it plans to file an amended lawsuit.

By BILL BARROW

Jasmine Crockett on Wednesday conceded the Democratic primary in the Texas Senate race to James Talarico.

The congresswoman called on the party to unify behind the state representative, who clinched the nomination overnight.

“Texas is primed to turn blue and we must remain united because this is bigger than any one person,” Crockett said in a statement. “This is about the future of all 30 million Texans and getting America back on track.”

Crockett’s campaign had previously suggested that she would file a lawsuit over voting challenges in the primary. A spokesperson did not immediately respond to a question about those plans.

Talarico will face the winner of the Republican runoff, either Sen. John Cornyn or state Attorney General Ken Paxton.

By STEPHEN GROVES, LISA MASCARO and MARY CLARE JALONICK

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Senate is headed toward a vote Wednesday on President Donald Trump’s decision to embark on a war against Iran, an extraordinary test in Congress for a conflict that has rapidly spread across the Middle East with no clear U.S. exit strategy.

The legislation, known as a war powers resolution, gives lawmakers an opportunity to demand congressional approval before any further attacks are carried out. The Senate resolution and a similar bill being voted on in the House later this week face unlikely paths through the Republican-controlled Congress and would almost certainly be vetoed by Trump even if they were to pass.

Nonetheless, the votes marked a weighty moment for lawmakers. Their decisions on the five-day-old war — which Trump entered without congressional approval — could determine the fates of U.S. military members, countless other lives and the future of the region.

“Wars without clear objectives do not remain small. They get bigger, bloodier, longer and more expensive,” said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer at a news conference Tuesday. “This is not a necessary war. It’s a war of choice.”

Trump administration scrambles for congressional support

After launching a surprise attack against Iran on Saturday, Trump has scrambled to win support for a conflict that Americans of all political persuasions were already wary of entering. Trump administration officials have been a frequent presence on Capitol Hill this week as they try to reassure lawmakers that they have the situation under control.

“We are not going to put American troops in harm’s way,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in a raucous news conference at the Capitol Tuesday.

But six U.S. military members were killed over the weekend in a drone strike in Kuwait.

Trump has also not ruled out deploying U.S. ground troops. He has said he is hoping to end the bombing campaign within a few weeks, but his goals for the war have shifted from regime change to stopping Iran from developing nuclear capabilities to crippling its navy and missile programs.

“I think they are achieving great success with what they’ve done so far,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Tuesday, adding that what happens next in the country will be “largely up to the Iranian people.”

Almost all Republican senators were readying to vote Wednesday against the war powers resolution to halt military action, but a number still expressed hesitation at the idea of deploying troops on the ground in Iran.

“I don’t think the American people want to see troops on the ground,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., as he exited a classified briefing Tuesday. He added that Trump administration officials “left open that possibility,” but it wasn’t an option they were emphasizing.

Lawmakers to go on record

The votes in Congress this week represented potentially consequential markers of just where lawmakers stand on the war as they look ahead to midterm elections and the consequences of the conflict.

“Nobody gets to hide and give the president an easy pass or an end-run around the Constitution,” said Sen. Tim Kaine, the Virginia Democrat leading the war powers resolution. “Everybody’s got to declare whether they’re for this war or against it.”

Republican leaders have successfully, though narrowly, defeated a series of war powers resolutions pertaining to several other conflicts that Trump has entered or threatened to enter. This one, however, is different.

Unlike Trump’s military campaigns against alleged drug boats or even Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, the attack on Iran represents an open-ended conflict that is already ricocheting across the region. For Republicans who are used to operating in a political party dominated by Trump and his promises of keeping the U.S. out of foreign entanglements, the moment represented a bit of whiplash.

“War is ugly, it always has been ugly, but we’re taking out a regime that has been trying to attack us for quite some time,” said Sen. Markwayne Mullin, an Oklahoma Republican.

Meanwhile, Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican who has long pushed Trump to engage overseas, argued that the widening conflict represented an opportunity for Arab and European countries to join in the fight against Iran and the militant groups it supports.

“I don’t mind people being on record as to whether or not they think this is a good idea,” he told reporters, but also argued that too much power over the military was ceded to Congress in the War Powers Act, which mandates that presidents must withdraw troops from a conflict within 90 days if there is no congressional authorization.

House vote looms

On the other side of the Capitol, House leaders were also readying for an intense debate over the war followed by a vote Thursday.

“I do believe we have the votes to defeat it, I certainly hope we do,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said after an all-member briefing on Tuesday night.

Meanwhile, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said he expected a strong showing from Democrats in favor of the war powers resolution.

As lawmakers emerged from a closed-door briefing Tuesday night, Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, implored the Trump administration to “come to Congress” and speak directly to the American people about the rationale for the war.

His voice filled with emotion as he said, “Our young men and women’s lives are on the line.”

By Ansar Khan, Tribune News Service

The Detroit Red Wings made a pitch for Vancouver Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers, but it appears he’s not willing to waive his no-trade clause.

Now they must turn their attention elsewhere.

Acquiring a second-pair defenseman, preferably a right-shooter, by Friday’s trade deadline is a priority.

The Red Wings need someone to pair with Ben Chiarot, enabling them to move rookie Axel Sandin-Pellikka down to the third pairing, where he’ll face fewer difficult matchups.

Here are nine possibilities, with age and contract status after this season:

Justin Faulk, St. Louis (age 33, one year at $6.5 million): A solid two-way player who might be at the top of the Red Wings’ wish list. Problem is, several teams are in on him, elevating the cost. He has a partial no-trade list.

Dougie Hamilton, New Jersey (age 32, two years at a $9 million AAV): He’s one of the more offensively dynamic defensemen who might be moved. He has a no- movement clause.

Nick Jensen, Ottawa (age 35, unrestricted free agent): The former Red Wing is a serviceable stay-at-home defender.

Rasmus Ristolainen, Philadelphia (age 31, one year at $5.1 million): Speaking of having played for a lot of bad clubs, this longtime Sabres and Flyers stay-at-home defender has appeared in 798 regular season games and no playoff games.

Luke Schenn, Winnipeg (age 36, unrestricted free agent): Physical defenseman has played for nine teams in 18 NHL seasons and could be on the move again.

Braden Schneider, N.Y. Rangers (age 24, restricted free agent): This young, physical, shutdown defender, drafted 19th overall in 2020 won’t come cheap as an impending RFA. The Rangers have no urgency to move him now.

Logan Stanley, Winnipeg (age 27, unrestricted free agent): Even though he shoots left, this 6-7 defender experiencing his best season might be the Red Wings’ most realistic trade target. He’ll be moved if the Jets can’t re-sign him this week.

MacKenzie Weegar, Calgary (age 32, five years at a $6.25 million AAV): He scored 20 goals in 2023-24, but that was an outlier, as he’s mostly valued for his defense. That’s a huge contract to assume for a player that age, however. He has a full no-trade clause.

Zach Whitecloud, Calgary (age 29, two years at a $2.75 million AAV): Traded from Vegas to Calgary on Jan. 18 in the Rasmus Andersson deal, Whitecloud could be on the move again.

©2026 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit mlive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By SUMAN NAISHADHAM and JOSEPH WILSON

MADRID (AP) — Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez again criticized the U.S. and Israel’s military actions in Iran, standing firm on Wednesday against trade threats from Washington and warning that the war in the Middle East risked “playing Russian roulette” with millions of lives.

“We are not going to be complicit in something that is bad for the world and is also contrary to our values ​​and interests, just out of fear of reprisals from someone,” Sánchez said in a televised address.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to end U.S. trade with Spain because of Spain’s refusal to allow the U.S. to use joint military bases in the country in its attacks on Iran.

Sánchez has called the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran an “unjustifiable” and “dangerous” military intervention.

It’s not clear how Trump would cut off trade with Spain, which is a member of the European Union. The EU negotiates trade on behalf of all its 27 member states.

On Wednesday, Sánchez expressed concern that the attacks on Iran could lead to another costly military quagmire in the Middle East, similar to the past American interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“In short, the position of the government of Spain can be summarized in four words,” Sánchez said. “No to the war.”

The EU said Wednesday it would protect its interests and work to stabilize its trade relationship with the U.S, with which it struck a trade deal last year after months of economic uncertainty over Trump’s tariff blitz.

“We stand in full solidarity with all member states and all its citizens and, through our common trade policy, stand ready to act if necessary to safeguard EU interests,” said European Commission spokesperson Olof Gill.

After Spain denied U.S. use of its bases, Trump on Tuesday said “we could use their base if we want,” referencing the Rota and Morón installations in southern Spain that the U.S. and Spain share, but which remain under Spanish command. “We could just fly in and use it,” Trump said. “Nobody’s going to tell us not to use it, but we don’t have to.”

Tuesday’s threats from Washington were just the latest instance of the U.S. president wielding the threat of tariffs or trade embargoes as punishment. The U.S. Supreme Court last month struck down Trump’s far-reaching global tariffs, saying emergency powers do not allow the president to unilaterally impose sweeping tariffs.

However, Trump maintains that the court allows him to instead impose full-scale embargoes on other nations of his choosing.

Spain has not had any direct contact with the U.S. since Trump’s criticisms, Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo said Wednesday.

“I want to send a message of calm,” Cuerpo told Spanish radio station Cadena Ser. “Beyond those comments (by Trump), there have not been any more moves (by the U.S.).”

Spain’s main business groups expressed concerns over the U.S. trade threat, calling the U.S. a “key partner from an economic and political standpoint.”

“We trust that our trade relations will ultimately not be affected in any way,” the Spanish business chambers CEOE, CEPYME and ATA said Tuesday.

Last year, Spain’s central bank issued a report that concluded Europe’s fourth-largest economy was relatively cushioned compared to the EU average when it came to exposure to tariffs by Trump.

Spain’s exports and imports with the U.S. accounted for 4.4% of GDP, the Bank of Spain said, while trade with the U.S. for the EU as a whole was 10.1%.

Exports of Spanish goods to the U.S. accounted for 1% of Spain’s GDP, or $18.6 billion, making it Spain’s sixth largest export market for goods, the bank concluded. The Southern European nation’s main exports to the U.S. include pharmaceutical products, olive oil refined gas and electrical transformers, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity.

Spain’s position on the Iran conflict is the latest flare-up in its relationship with the Trump administration.

Spain was an outspoken critic of Israel’s war in Gaza and attracted Trump’s ire last year when it backed out of NATO’s pledge to increase defense spending by members to 5% of GDP. At the time, Spain said it could meet its estimated defense needs by spending less — just 2.1% of its GDP — a move that Trump roundly criticized and also threatened with tariffs in response.

Wilson reported from Barcelona. Associated Press journalist Sam McNeil in Brussels contributed to this report.

By Jacob Richman, Tribune News Service

The Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers had two thrilling matchups over the past week, splitting the results and offering a sneak peak of what could be a matchup in this year’s playoffs.

Both matchups have featured intense play, but off the court the Cavaliers drew some attention as cleveland.com reported an anonymous Cleveland player said after Friday’s game that the Pistons “aren’t in our class.”

The words caught some attention on social media after the game and before Tuesday’s matchup, coach J.B. Bickerstaff was asked for his response.

The second-year Pistons coach didn’t need many words to react.

“I have no response,” Bickerstaff said. “If you mean it, don’t say it anonymously.”

It’s no surprise that a playoff caliber team like Cleveland — or Detroit for that matter — would have plenty of confidence in their ability to compete.

The Pistons (45-15) firmly believe the Eastern Conference runs through them right now as they’ve held tight to the top spot since early November. But the Cavaliers (39-24) have now backed up some of their words by winning the rematch with a returning James Harden.

To suggest the two teams are separated by a considerable margin is hard to give much credence, given they split the regular-season series 2-2 and the past two games have come down to the very end.

There are no more regular-season meeting for the Central Division foes, so if there’s going to be more to this saga, it’s going to come in the playoffs.

With the Pistons holding the No. 1 seed and Cleveland currently the No. 4, a second-round playoff matchup would be in the cards if the first round went chalk.

It’s hard to think of a better way to decide which team is a class above than a playoff series.

©2026 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit mlive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

The Detroit Lions have had a busy week, making multiple roster moves that have shaken up their plans for free agency.

On Monday, the team traded veteran running back David Montgomery to the Houston Texans for offensive lineman Juice Scruggs and two draft picks, then released center Graham Glasgow. As a result, the team has added some cap space and could be more active in free agency.

While the team may not be in position to make a massive move, there are certainly marginal mid-tier players who could have big roles on the team’s 2026 roster.

Here are six potential free agent targets for the Lions when free agency begins next week, ranked by potential impact in 2026 and beyond.

6. S Jalen Thompson

The Lions have some uncertainty at the safety position due to injuries, as Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph are both nursing significant injuries. While both could wind up returning to form, at this stage of the offseason there’s no guarantee that they’ll be ready to go by the start of the regular season.

As a result, the Lions should be proactive and go get a veteran capable of starting in the back-half of their defense. Thompson is a seven-year veteran who has spent the duration of his career in Arizona, and has notched nine interceptions in that span. A willing run defender, Thompson would be an effective veteran addition who could provide insurance on a short-term deal.

5. OT Braxton Jones

Having already made an external addition to their interior offensive line by acquiring Scruggs, but could also be looking to add veteran help at tackle. Swing tackle Dan Skipper retired and joined the team’s coaching staff, and this could be a role the Lions look to a veteran to fill.

Enter Jones, who has starter upside but at the very least will be a serviceable depth piece behind Taylor Decker and Penei Sewell. With Decker being hampered by injuries last year, it would be a good investment by Detroit to add a veteran who has 44 starts under their belt like Jones.

4. CB Kader Kohou

Kohou may be a forgotten name amongst fan circles, as he missed all of last season with a knee injury. However, the Lions have pursued players with similar profiles over Holmes’ tenure as head coach, and the Lions have a need for secondary depth.

Amik Robertson, who has been the team’s slot corner for the better part of the last two years, is set to be a free agent. As a result, any addition the team could make would likely need to have some versatility. Kohou’s background is in the slot, as he had predominately played nickel for the Dolphins.

In an ideal world, the Lions are able to get the best out of Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw along with a strong year from D.J. Reed. However, Kohou has some upside at age 27 and could be a nice addition to the mostly young secondary.

3. RB Brian Robinson Jr.

The trade of Montgomery shakes up the Lions’ backfield, and breaks up what had been one of the league’s most prolific duos. As a result, the Lions could be in the market for another back to pair with the dynamic Jahmyr Gibbs.

Robinson is a big-bodied back who has fit nicely in a tandem throughout his career. He was a feature back at times for the Commanders, but was most recently a complimentary piece behind Christian McCaffrey in San Francisco.

In four seasons, Robinson has totaled 662 carries and 2,729 yards. With a career average of 4.1 yards per carry, he’s a big back who can be a nice second option behind Gibbs.

2. EDGE Boye Mafe

Aidan Hutchinson is one of the unquestioned top pass-rushers in the game, but the Lions will need to be sure to add or retain players around him at the position. Both Al-Quadin Muhammad and Marcus Davenport are free agents, and the Lions would be well-suited to look externally.

Mafe doesn’t have eye-popping statistics, but a closer look at his impact for the Super Bowl champion Seahawks indicates that he could fit Detroit’s defense well. He plays with a high motor, and could thrive working opposite of Hutchinson.

1. IOL Cade Mays

Even after acquiring Scruggs, the Lions still have some uncertainty on the interior offensive line. For starters, the release of Glasgow leaves them without a true center. Dan Campbell and company may be inclined to give Tate Ratledge another shot at the position, but Mays seems to be an ideal fit.

Mays started 27 of his 52 appearances over four seasons in Carolina, and impressed in 2025 when given the opportunity to start at the pivot position. The Tennessee product has the chance to blossom in a more consistent role, and the Lions’ current vacancy is the perfect fit for him.

Detroit may be out of the price range on top centers Tyler Linderbaum and Connor McGovern, but a player like Mays is a mid-tier, affordable option with plenty of upside to help stabilize the offensive line.

This article was produced by the staff at Detroit Lions On SI. For more, visit si.com/nfl/lions/onsi

Denver is on track to see one of the city’s driest winters on record after only traces of snow fell in February, according to the National Weather Service.

Roughly 13.4 inches of snow fell in the Denver area between September and February, according to the weather service. On average, Denver records 34.8 inches of snow during that timeframe.

Denver’s driest September to February periods include, according to the weather service:

• 2025 to 2026, with 13.4 inches of snow
• 1900 to 1901, with 13.5 inches of snow
• 1887 to 1888, with 13.6 inches of snow
• 1903 to 1904, with 14.5 inches of snow
• 2002 to 2003, with 16.2 inches of snow
• 1883 to 1884, with 16.8 inches of snow
• 2008 to 2009, with 16.9 inches of snow
• 2001 to 2002, with 17 inches of snow
• 1888 to 1889, with 17.7 inches of snow
• 2010 to 2011, with 18.1 inches of snow
• 1962 to 1963, with 18.1 inches of snow

With only traces of snow falling in Denver in February, the city officially tied its record for the least-snowy February since 1882, when the agency started keeping snowfall records, according to the weather service. The previous record for lack of February snowfall was set in 2009.

Denver saw 0.02 inches of total precipitation, making it the second-driest February on record, and an average monthly temperature of 42.1 degrees, the third-warmest on record, weather service meteorologists said.

The warmest February in Denver’s history was in 1954, with an average temperature of 43.7 degrees, according to the agency. Temperature and precipitation records started in 1872.

One of the warmest and driest Februaries on record for much of northeast Colorado.

Denver's stats:

Least snowiest (trace)
2nd driest (0.02")
3rd warmest (42.1°F)

Records began in 1872 for temperature and precip, and 1882 for snow. #COwx pic.twitter.com/SW1LjIrj5A

— NWS Boulder (@NWSBoulder) March 1, 2026

Most of northeastern Colorado recorded one of the warmest and driest Februarys on record, according to the weather service.

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By Hannah Fingerhut, Konstantin Toropin, and Rebecca Boone THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor was just days away from returning home to her husband and two children when a drone strike at a command center in Kuwait killed her and five other U.S. service members.

“She was almost home,” her husband, Joey Amor, said from their home in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, on Tuesday. “You don’t go to Kuwait thinking something’s going to happen, and for her to be one of the first – it hurts.”

Amor was one of four U.S. soldiers killed in the Iran war on Sunday and identified Tuesday by the Pentagon; two soldiers haven’t yet been publicly identified. The members of the Army Reserve worked in logistics and kept troops supplied with food and equipment.

They died just one day after the U.S. and Israel launched its military campaign against Iran. Iran responded by launching missiles and drones against Israel and several Gulf Arab states that host U.S. armed forces.

Those killed also included Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; and Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, lowa, who was posthumously promoted from specialist. No other names were released.

“These men and women all bravely volunteered to defend our country, and their sacrifice will never be forgotten,” Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll said.

All were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command, which provides food, fuel, water and ammunition, transport equipment and supplies.

“Sadly, there will likely be more, before it ends. That’s the way it is,” President Donald Trump said of deaths.

One of the youngest in his class

Coady had just told his father last week that he had been recommended for a promotion from specialist to sergeant, a rank he received posthumously.

He was one of the youngest people in his class but seemed to impress his instructors, his father Andrew Coady said Tuesday.

“He was very good at what he did,” he said.

Coady trained as an information technology specialist with the Army Reserves and was studying cybersecurity at Drake University in Des Moines. He was taking online classes while in Kuwait and wanted to become an officer.

“I still don’t fully think it’s real,” his sister Keira Coady said. “I just remember all of our conversations about what he was going to do when he came back.”

A mother of two who loved gardening

Amor, 39, was an avid gardener who enjoyed making salsa from the peppers and tomatoes in her garden with her son, a senior in high school. She also enjoyed rollerblading and bicycling with her fourth-grade daughter.

A week before the drone attack, Amor was moved off-base to a shipping container-style building that had no defenses, Joey Amor said.

“They were dispersing because they were in fear that the base they were on was going to get attacked and they felt it was safer in smaller groups in separate places,” he said.

He last spoke to her about two hours before she was killed. He said she was working long shifts and they had been messaging about her tripping and falling the night before.

“She just never responded in the morning,” he said.

A calling to serve his country

Khork was very patriotic and drawn from a young age to serving the U.S., his family said in a statement Tuesday.

He enlisted in the Army Reserve and joined Florida Southern College’s ROTC program.

“That commitment helped shape the course of his life and reflected the deep sense of duty that was always at the core of who he was,” said his mother, Donna Burhans, father, James Khork, and stepmother, Stacey Khork, in a statement.

Khork also loved history and had a degree in political science.

His family described him as “the life of the party, known for his infectious spirit, generous heart, and deep care for those who served alongside him and for everyone blessed to know him.”

One of Khork’s friends, Abbas Jaffer, posted on Facebook on Monday that he had lost the best person he had ever known.

“My best friend, best man, and brother gave his life defending our country overseas,” Jaffer said. Khork and Jaffer had been friends for more than 16 years.

A loving father and husband

Tietjens lived with his family in the Washington Terrace mobile home park in the Omaha suburb of Bellevue, Nebraska. He was married with a son, according to a Facebook page.

Tietjens earned a black belt in Philippine Combatives and Taekwondo and was “an instructor who gave his time, discipline, and leadership to others,” the Philippine Martial Arts Alliance said in a Facebook post.

On the mat and as a soldier, “he carried the same values: honor, discipline, service, and commitment to others,” the organization said.

Nebraska Gov. Gov. Pillen paid tribute to the family Tuesday.

“Noah stepped up to serve and defend the American people from foreign enemies around the world — a sacrifice we must never forget,” he wrote.

“We are holding the Tietjens family close in our hearts during this unbelievably difficult time and will keep them in our prayers,” he said.

___

Boone contributed from Boise, Idaho, and Toropin from Washington. Associated Press reporters Sarah Raza in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Ed White in Detroit; Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska; David Fischer in Miami and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed to this report.

By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. and Israel’s joint war in Iran has already upended travel across the Middle East, stranding tens of thousands of people. And the future is anything but certain.

Experts stress that flights scheduled in the coming days and weeks could continue to see disruptions — causing ripple effects globally, especially as the war widens with retaliatory strikes in the Gulf states. Beyond the Middle East, airports in the Gulf serve as critical hubs connecting travelers going to Europe, Africa and Asia.

Amid airspace closures across the region, many carriers have been forced to either cancel flights or shift to longer routes. That’s straining operating costs and ticket prices, both of which could become more expensive if airlines have to pay more for fuel the longer the war drags on. In the near future, experts recommend postponing unnecessary travel if possible, checking refund or insurance policies and, most importantly, monitoring safety advisories.

“This is not a normal delay story. This is a conflict zone airspace story,” said Hassan Shahidi, president and CEO of the Flight Safety Foundation — stressing that halted traffic and guidance from carriers, airports and governments may shift each day, if not by the hour. “Travelers should absolutely expect uncertainty.”

Here’s what travelers should know about upcoming trips.

Monitor advisories and other safety information

Since the U.S. and Israel launched attacks over the weekend, retaliatory strikes and other developments have unfolded rapidly. Iran says hundreds of people have been killed in the country. For travelers across the region, experts stress the importance of following safety guidance and updates from government officials.

A handful of governments have also issued travel advisories and emergency evacuation orders. The U.S. State Department on Monday urged all U.S. citizens to immediately leave Iran and Israel, as well as Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, the Palestinian territories, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen using any available commercial transportation — and Secretary of State Marco Rubio pleaded for the media to publicize ways to help Americans evacuate. Meanwhile, countries like China, Italy, France and Germany moved to organize evacuation efforts for their citizens.

Experts like Shahidi say travelers should monitor these travel advisories from governments and embassies to make sure they have the latest information. And because so many people are still stranded amid swaths of cancellations and airspace closures, he added that it’s wise to reconsider or rebook upcoming trips, if possible.

“If travel is optional, consider postponing it,” Shahidi said. “But if it’s necessary, then make sure that you get refundable or changeable fares.”

Travelers should also monitor updates from airports and airlines. Long-haul carriers Etihad Airways and Emirates, based in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, along with Doha-based Qatar Airways all temporarily suspended certain routes — citing airspace closures and safety requirements.

Read the fine print of refunds and insurance

Many airlines are taking refund requests or offering free rebooking — but such options are often limited to specific dates or routes, so it’s important for travelers to check carriers’ individual websites for more information. For future trips, buying refundable tickets now may provide more flexibility.

Beyond what individual airlines can offer, some may also be seeking travel insurance. But it’s important to read the fine print, particularly the exclusions listed under specific policies.

“Acts of war and civil unrest are typically excluded because they’re unpredictable,” said Suzanne Morrow, CEO of travel insurance agency InsureMyTrip. Consumers could still buy coverage for delays, she added, but travel insurance is “designed to make you whole,” and if an airline does everything to rebook you or offers a refund, you may not have an added claim.

Christina Tunnah, of World Nomads Travel Insurance, reiterates that the majority of her firm’s policies excludes coverage for losses resulting from acts of war, although someone might be able to get compensation in certain scenarios — such as if they purchase a “cancel for any reason” plan. Still, the traveler would have to cancel within a certain time frame.

Tunnah adds that once an event is known, it’s unlikely to be covered. So if a consumer has not already purchased traveler insurance, many insurers may have added restrictions to impacted destinations.

Brace for longer flights and higher ticket prices

Beyond cancellations, many carriers are now taking longer routes to avoid closed airspace. Shahidi noted that includes not only closures stemming from this current war but also previous conflicts worldwide.

Navigating these different conflict zones has become increasingly difficult for airlines, because longer routes can be more expensive. It’s industry standard for carriers to pay “overflight fees” when flying through other countries’ airspace — which there could be more of now. And, of course, longer flights need more fuel.

“Those costs will be passed on to the passengers,” explained Bryan Terry, managing director at Alton Aviation Consultancy. If the conflict continues, he said, travelers should “anticipate that some carriers will likely impose fuel surcharges” or increase existing fees.

Passengers have already reported seeing sky-high ticket prices. Experts say those immediate hikes more likely reflect supply and demand as thousands of flights were canceled in recent days. But the costs of those longer routes — paired with oil prices that have already spiked since the U.S. and Israel launched their attacks — could trickle down to consumers further ahead.

The price of crude oil is a key component for jet fuel, which accounted for about 30% of airlines’ operating costs as of 2024, according to research from the International Air Transport Association.

Many routes within the next week are completely sold out or have exorbitant prices for last remaining seats. The market currently shows those costs, while still elevated, are lower for trips booked further out, Terry notes — but, again, if the war drags on or worsens, “those conditions could change at a moment’s notice.”