Travelers flying this week may want to arrive at the airport earlier than usual as the Department of Homeland Security shutdown stretches into its fourth week.

Lines at several airports across the country have stretched through concourses, with some travelers waiting more than an hour to pass through security.

About 300 Transportation Security Administration agents have quit their jobs since the shutdown began, according to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who said employee callouts have also doubled during the standoff. TSA agents have already missed a partial paycheck and are now missing a full pay period.

RELATED STORY | TSA says PreCheck still operational after previous announcement of suspension during funding fight

Some airports, including those in Denver and Seattle, have begun asking for donations to support TSA workers during the shutdown, which Duffy blamed on political gridlock.

The funding dispute centers on immigration enforcement policy.

Democratic lawmakers have proposed changes to immigration enforcement as part of negotiations to restore DHS funding. The proposals include banning face masks worn by federal immigration agents, requiring judicial warrants before agents can enter private property, mandating body cameras for all agents, and establishing a standard uniform with a badge, identification number and last name prominently displayed.

Republicans have not agreed to all of the proposals, leaving DHS funding unresolved.

RELATED STORY | Travelers without REAL ID will face $45 charge and delays at airports

As the war in Iran enters its third week, the fighting continues to disrupt global oil shipping, pushing prices even higher.

AAA reports the national average price for a gallon of gas surpassed $3.70 as of Monday. One month ago, the average was around $2.93 per gallon.

Much of the uncertainty pushing prices higher is over the Strait of Hormuz the narrow waterway that is a vital trade route, with nearly one-fifth of the world's oil supply passing through it.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | US military sends 2,500 Marines and at least one more ship to Mideast

Fears have mounted that Iran could restrict the flow of oil and goods in retaliation for U.S. and Israeli airstrikes. Irans new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has vowed to close the strait as the bombing campaign continues.

Over the weekend, President Donald Trump urged other countries to deploy naval forces to the Middle East to help keep the strait open. He suggested that nations affected by Irans actions would join the U.S. in "policing" shipping.

Many Countries, especially those who are affected by Irans attempted closure of the Hormuz Strait, will be sending War Ships, in conjunction with the United States of America, to keep the Strait open and safe, Trump said Saturday.

We have already destroyed 100% of Irans Military capability, but its easy for them to send a drone or two, drop a mine, or deliver a close range missile somewhere along, or in, this Waterway, no matter how badly defeated they are," he added. "Hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others, that are affected by this artificial constraint, will send Ships to the area so that the Hormuz Strait will no longer be a threat by a Nation that has been totally decapitated.

RELATED STORY | Trump says war in Iran is 'pretty well complete,' but does not give specific end date

Irans foreign minister Abbas Araghchi suggested that the Trump administration is growing desperate.

The touted U.S. security umbrella has proven to be full of holes, inviting trouble rather than deterring it, Araghchi said. The U.S. is now begging others, even China, to help make Hormuz safe. Iran calls on brotherly neighbors to expel foreign aggressors, especially as their only concern is Israel.

Paul Thomas Andersons One Battle After Another was crowned best picture at the 98th Academy Awards, handing Hollywoods top honor to a comic, multi-generational American saga of political resistance.

The ceremony Sunday, which also saw Michael B. Jordan win best actor and Sinners cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw make Oscar history as the first female director of photography to win the award, was a long-in-coming coronation for Anderson, a San Fernando Valley native who made his first short at age 18 and has been one of Americas most lionized filmmakers for decades. Before Sunday, Anderson had never won an Oscar.

But One Battle After Another, the favorite coming in, won six Oscars, including best director and best adapted screenplay for Anderson, the Oscars' first trophy for best casting and best supporting actor for an absent Sean Penn.

I wrote this movie for my kids to say sorry for the housekeeping mess that we left in this world were handing off to them, said Anderson while accepting the screenplay trophy. But also with the encouragement that they will be the generation that hopefully brings us some common sense and decency.

RELATED STORY | 'Sinners' shatters Oscar record with 16 nominations, making history

Ryan Coogler's Jim Crow-set, blues-soaked vampire tale Sinners, which came in with a record 16 nominations, also landed some big and even historic wins. Coogler, the widely loved filmmaker, won the first Oscar in an unblemished career that started out with Jordan in 2013's Fruitvale Station.

Arkapaw was also the first Black person to win for best cinematography. Only the fourth female cinematographer ever nominated, her win was a long-in-coming triumph for women behind the camera.

I really want all the women in room to stand up, said Arkapaw. Because I dont feel like I get here without you guys.

And Jordan, one of Hollywood's most liked leading men, won best actor in one of the night's closest races. The Dolby Theatre rose to its feet in the most thunderous applause of the night.

Yo, momma, whats up? said Jordan after staggering to the stage.

The Oscar night belonged to Warner Bros., the studio of One Battle After Another and Sinners, which scored a record-tying 11 wins. It was an oddly poignant note of triumph for the fabled studio, which weeks earlier agreed to a sale to Paramount Skydance, David Ellisons rapidly assembled media monolith. The $111 billion deal, which awaits regulatory approval, has Hollywood bracing for more layoffs.

But Sinners and One Battle After Another the much-acclaimed heavyweights of the season were each Hollywood anomalies: big-budget originals born from a personal vision. In a year where anxiety over studio contraction and the rise of artificial intelligence often consumed the industry, both films gave Hollywood fresh hope.

Jessie Buckley won best actress for her performance as Agnes Shakespeare in Hamnet, making her the first Irish performer to ever win in the category. At an Oscars where no other acting award seemed a sure thing, Buckley cruised into Sundays Oscars at the Dolby Theatre as the overwhelming favorite.

It's Mother's Day in the U.K., said Buckley on the stage. I would like to dedicated this to the beautiful chaos of a mother's heart.

KPop and Frankenstein win for Netflix

From the start, when host Conan O'Brien sprinted through the year's nominees as Amy Madigan's character in the horror thriller Weapons in a pre-taped bit, Sunday's ceremony was quirky, a little clunky and preoccupied with the shifting place of movies in culture. There was, of all things, a tie for best live-action short film.

As expected, the Netflix sensation KPop Demon Hunters, 2025s most-watched film, won best animated feature, as well as best song for Golden. It was a big win for Netflix but a more qualified victory for the movies producer, Sony Pictures. Though it developed and produced the film, Sony sold KPop Demon Hunters to the streaming giant instead of giving it a theatrical release.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | 'Hamnet' and 'One Battle After Another' take top honors at Golden Globes

On Netflix, KPop Demon Hunters became a cultural phenomenon and the streaming platforms biggest hit. It has more than 325 million views and counting.

This is for Korea and Koreans everywhere, said co-director Maggie Kang.

Another Netflix release, Guillermo del Toros Frankenstein picked up three awards for its lavish craft, for costume design, makeup and hairstyling and for production design.

Amy Madigan won best supporting actress for her performance in the horror thriller Weapons, a win that came 40 years after the 75-year-old actor was first nominated, in 1986, for Twice in a Lifetime. Letting out a giant laugh as she hit the stage, Madigan exclaimed, This is great!

O'Brien presides over a ceremony shadowed by politics

Hosting for the second time, O'Brien began the Dolby Theatre show alluding to chaotic and frightening times. But he argued that the current geopolitical climate made the Oscars all the more resonate as a globally unifying force.

We pay tribute tonight, not just to film, but to the ideals of global artistry, collaboration, patience, resilience and that rarest of qualities today optimism, O'Brien said. Were going to celebrate. Not because we think all is well, but because we work, and hope, for better.

Throughout the show, O'Brien hit a number of targets, like Timothe Chalamet who again missed out on winning his first Oscar, this time for Marty Supreme for his diss of opera and ballet. But the ceremony seldom wasn't shadowed by politics, whether in references to changes under U.S. President Donald Trump or the recently launched war in Iran.

Joachim Trier, whose Norwegian family drama Sentimental Value won best international film, quoted James Baldwin in his acceptance speech: All adults are responsible for all children, he said. Lets not vote for politicians that dont take this seriously into account.

Presenter Jimmy Kimmel, whose late-night show last year was suspended after comments he made about Charlie Kirk's killing, was among the most blunt.

There are some countries that dont support free speech, said Kimmel. Im not at liberty to say which. Lets just leave it at North Korea and CBS.

Shortly after, Mr. Nobody Against Putin, a film about a Russian primary schoolteacher who documents his students' indoctrination to support Russia's war with Ukraine, won best documentary.

'Mr. Nobody Against Putin' is about how you lose your country, co-director said. And what we saw when working with this footage is that you lose it through countless, small, little acts of complicity.

We all face a moral choice, he added, but, luckily, a nobody is more powerful than you think.

Tributes to Reiner, Redford and others

Elegy also marked the Oscars. Producers expanded the in memoriam segment following a year that featured the deaths of so many Hollywood legends, including Keaton, Robert Duvall and Redford. Barbra Streisand spoke about Redford, her The Way We Were co-star.

Bob had real backbone, said Streisand, who called Redford an intellectual cowboy before singing a few bars of The Way We Were.

Billy Crystal paid tribute to Rob and Michele Reiner, who were killed in their home in December. Crystal, a close friend of Rob Reiner's who memorably starred in 1989's When Harry Met Sally... and 1987's Princess Bride. In his moving remarks, Crystal quoted the latter.

All we can say is: Buddy, how much fun we had storming the castle, said Crystal.

Theatrical bests streaming, again

Yet again, the nights final award again didn't go to a streaming release; Apple's CODA remains the only streaming film to achieve that distinction. Sinners and One Battle After Another were both theatrical releases shot on film.

Apple's top contender this time, the Formula One race drama F1, a movie that it partnered with Warner Bros. to distribute theatrically, won for best sound. The lone blockbuster of the year to go home with a win was Avatar: Fire and Ash, for visual effects.

Some of OBriens best digs came at the expense of the streamers. Netflix chief Ted Sarandos, he joked, was in a theater for the first time. The host also lamented the lack of nominees for Amazon MGM: Why isnt the website I order toilet paper from winning more Oscars?

Im honored to be the last human host of the Academy Awards, said OBrien. Next year its going to be a Waymo in a tux.

A broad and erratic patchwork of severe weather rumbled across much of the U.S. on Sunday, dumping heavy snow and making roads impassable in the Upper Midwest while damaging high winds swept across the Plains. Hawaii also continues to be affected by severe flooding.

And portions of the mid-South readied for late-day thunderstorms. Forecasters said the storms will spread eastward and by Monday threaten a large swath of the Eastern U.S., with mid-Atlantic states including Washington, D.C. at greatest risk for high winds and tornadoes.

Successive punches of snow, wind and severe weather are going to impact the eastern half of the United States," AccuWeather senior meteorologist Tyler Roys said in an interview. Beyond the threat to lives and property, whether its wind gusts from a squall line, blizzard or snow, or just wind because of the storm, youre looking at several major airports being impacted.

Big snows in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan

Over 20 inches (51 centimeters) of snow had fallen in some portions of southeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin as of Sunday afternoon, according to National Weather Service reports, with more snow likely to fall in places like Minneapolis amid blizzard warnings by the weather service.

Warnings of hazardous road conditions were issued across Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin, where transportation officials warned of worsening conditions Sunday with low visibility and snow-covered roadways.

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More than 600 flights flying out of and into the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport were canceled Sunday, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks flight disruptions. Dozens more through Detroit were also scrapped.

An area from central Wisconsin to Michigan's Upper Peninsula was likely to see over 2 feet (60 centimeters) of snow, with higher isolated totals on the peninsula, Roys said. Lower snow accumulations in places like Chicago and Milwaukee will still likely create trouble for commuters on Monday, he added.

Wisconsin snowplow driver Aaron Haas said it was one of the worst storms he had seen in years. On Sunday around the town of Marshfield, Haas was stacking piles of snow as high as his truck.

You cant see anything when youre on the highways outside of the city, he said.

Jim Allen, 45, who lives on the Upper Peninsula, said his family stocked up on necessities and he was ready to clear snow several times Sunday with the shovel and snowblower.

"Were basically prepared to just kind of hunker down for a few days if we need to, Allen said.

Landslides, rescues, collapsed home on Maui

Rain continued falling on Sunday in Hawaii, where acres of farmland and homes have been flooded, roads have been closed and shelters opened. PowerOutage.us, which tracks outages nationwide, reported over 50,000 electric customers in Hawaii without power as of early Sunday.

Flash flooding has been a major problem in recent days in places like Maui, Molokai and the Big Island, where rain had been falling from 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5 centimeters) an hour overnight, according to the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency.

Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen said in a social media post late Saturday that some areas of Maui had received more than 20 inches (51 centimeters) of rain in the previous 24 hours.

Were seeing flooding, landslides, sinkholes, debris and downed power lines across the county, he said. Expressing gratitude in the Hawaiian language, the mayor added "mahalo for continuing to look out for one another.

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Footage incorporated into the mayor's video showed washed out or collapsed roads, a car stuck by floodwaters and raging waterways. National Guard and fire department workers have made multiple floodwater rescues, Bissen said.

Tom and Carrie Bashaw said they could do little to prevent part of their home in Maui's Iao Valley from collapsing beneath rising waters. On Friday, the water's force starting overtaking nearby trees.

When we lost the mango and monkey pod, we started throwing stuff in bags and packing up, Tom Bashaw told HawaiiNewsNow. They returned Saturday morning and the whole backside of the house was gone, he said.

Maui resident and real estate broker Jesse Wald, who recorded video of a coastal road's collapse Saturday, said other parts of road were flooded out by mud and sediment.

In the 20 years Ive been here Ive never seen this much rain," Wald said. Im from Wisconsin and we get thunderstorms, you know pretty often in the summer, so it felt like a Wisconsin thunderstorm but times 10."

Power outages remain, some from earlier high winds

More than 210,000 utility customers in six Great Lakes states were without electricity as of Sunday afternoon, according to PowerOutage.us. Some originated on Friday when gusts in the region reached 85 mph (137 km).

In Nebraska, about 30 National Guard members were deployed to help combat multiple wildfires across a broad swath of range and grassland, the state's Emergency Management Agency said.

As of Saturday, three of the largest wildfires had damaged well over 900 square miles (2,331 square kilometers), the agency said. One fire-related fatality was reported on Friday, and in a news release Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen urged residents to follow locally-issued evacuation orders, adding that winds were "supposed to be extraordinary on Sunday.

The weather service issued a high-wind warning Sunday for most of Nebraska, with wind gusts of up to 60 mph (97 kph) possible amid falling snow. Roys said high winds would affect a region stretching from the U.S.-Mexico border to the Great Lakes, and from Denver eastward to the Appalachian Mountains.

Forecasters warn about line of storms, tornadoes

The National Weather Service warned that a line of severe storms with damaging winds would cross much of the Eastern U.S. by late Monday. It was to begin Sunday afternoon and cross the Mississippi, Tennessee and Ohio valleys.

The storm threat was expected to enter the Appalachians early Monday, then move toward the East Coast, where severe thunderstorms with widespread damaging winds and several tornadoes were expected during the day Monday, the weather service said.

A stretch from parts of South Carolina to Maryland appeared most likely to experience the greatest damaging winds Monday afternoon, the weather service said. That could include Raleigh, North Carolina; Richmond, Virginia and the nation's capital. The weather service said an increased albeit much lower risk stretched north to New York and south to Florida, with thunderstorms possible in New England.

Hollywood will convene Sunday night for a nail-biter Academy Awards thats steering toward a coronation for either Paul Thomas Anderson or Ryan Coogler. Most would call that a win-win.

Andersons One Battle After Another is the favorite heading into the ceremony at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. But Cooglers Sinners comes in the lead nominee with a record 16 nominations. Both filmmakers are poised to leave with their first Oscar.

RELATED STORY | 'Sinners' shatters Oscar record with 16 nominations, making history

But little else is assured at an Academy Awards where Michael B. Jordan or Timothe Chalamet (despite the ballet diss heard 'round the world) could win their first Academy Award in a too-close-to-call best actor race.

How to watch and stream the Oscars and red carpet

The telecast will air live on ABC and stream on Hulu beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern. (YouTube will be the new home of the Oscars beginning in 2029.) The official red carpet preshow begins on ABC and Hulu at 6:30 p.m. EDT, while E! will kick off its red-carpet broadcast at 4 p.m.

What to expect from the 2026 Oscars

Conan OBrien is returning as host for the second year in a row. Despite the war in Iran and expanding geopolitical turmoil, OBrien has pledged an entertaining show in the mold of hosts like Bob Hope and Johnny Carson. Lets have fun with it, is my attitude, OBrien told reporters earlier in the week.

Still, the already high security will be even greater this year at an Oscars, taking place two weeks after the United States and President Donald Trump launched the war with Iran.

Of course, every year we monitor whats going on in the world, Raj Kapoor, executive producer of the show, said earlier in the week. We have the support of the FBI and the LAPD, and its a close collaboration.

Two of the five best song nominees will be performed: I Lied to You, from Sinners, with Miles Caton, Raphael Saadiq and others; and Golden from KPop Demon Hunters.

Theatrical looks to best streaming, again

KPop Demon Hunters, a Sony Pictures production that was sold to Netflix, was the most-watched movie of 2025. (It has 325 million views and counting, making it Netflix's most-streamed movie ever.) But it seems all but certain that the nights final award wont go to a streaming release; Apple's CODA remains the only streaming film to achieve that. Instead best picture is likely to go to an anomaly in todays movie industry: big-budget original films from a personal vision.

Sinners and One Battle After Another were both theatrical releases shot on film. And both came from Warner Bros., the legacy studio thats agreed to merge with David Ellisons new media colossus, Paramount Skydance. The $111 billion deal, which awaits regulatory approval, has rattled an industry already reconciling itself to the acquisitions of MGM (by Amazon) and 20th Century Fox (by The Walt Disney Co.).

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | 'Hamnet' and 'One Battle After Another' take top honors at Golden Globes

Elegy may mark Sundays Oscars. The in memoriam segment is expected to include, among many others, remembrances of Robert Redford, Diane Keaton and Robert Duvall. OBrien, who had hosted a party attended by Rob and Michele Reiner the night before their deaths, has promised a very powerful tribute.

New this year is a best casting category. Another innovation is a requirement that Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences members watch all nominees before voting. On the academys streaming platform even Oscar voting is streamed voters had to check a box attesting to having watched each nominee before voting in a category.

Few sure things in the acting categories

Whether those changes will have any effect on some of the nights closest races remains to be seen. Coming into the show, best actor is one of the most hard-to-call categories. Chalamet had been seen as the front-runner for his performance in Marty Supreme. But a swaggering meta campaign, that drew headlines, of all things, a perceived slight of ballet and opera, may have helped put Jordan into the lead. (In Chalamet's favor, the uproar only started as voting was ending.)

While Jessie Buckley (Hamnet) is widely expecting to win best actress, a first for Irish performers, the supporting categories are highly competitive. Amy Madigan (Weapons) is the slight favorite in best supporting actress, but Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another) and Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners) are in the mix, too.

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Despite almost no campaigning, Penn is viewed as the best supporting actor favorite. That award, could easily also go to Stellan Skarsgrd (Sentimental Value) or Delroy Lindo (Sinners).

Though the Oscars often feel largely removed from their times, a crop of nominees that explicitly grapple with the current political moment will be center stage. That includes not just One Battle After Another, which opens with a raid on an immigration detention facility, but movies like Kleber Mendona Filhos Brazilian political thriller The Secret Agent and Jafar Panahis Iranian revenge drama It Was Just an Accident.

The war in Iran has particular meaning to Panahi, whose film is nominated for best international feature and for best screenplay. The esteemed Iranian filmmaker and last year's Palme d'Or winner has made films clandestinely in his native Iran despite repeated imprisonment, travel ban and even home arrest. While promoting the film, Panahi was sentenced to a year in prison. At least one of his cowriter nominees, Mehdi Mahmoudian, was unable to leave Iran to attend Sundays awards.

Twenty three years ago, the Academy Awards were also held amid war in the Middle East. The 2003 Oscars took place just three days before the Iraq War began. Many in Hollywood protested the war. Chicago won best picture.

The Pentagon has released the identities of six U.S. Air Force members who died last week when a military refueling tanker plane crashed in western Iraq during a mission in support of Operation Epic Fury.

Maj. John A. Klinner, 33, of Auburn, Alabama; Capt. Ariana G. Savino, 31, of Covington, Washington; Tech. Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt, 34, of Bardstown, Kentucky; Capt. Seth R. Koval, 38, of Mooresville, Indiana; Capt. Curtis J. Angst, 30, of Wilmington, Ohio; and Tech. Sgt. Tyler H. Simmons, 28, of Columbus, Ohio, were killed when their U.S. KC-135 refueling aircraft was lost over Iraq on Thursday, according to U.S. officials.

Klinner, Savino and Pruitt were assigned to the 6th Air Refueling Wing at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. Koval, Angst and Simmons were assigned to the 121st Air Refueling Wing at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in Columbus, Ohio.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | US military sends 2,500 Marines and at least one more ship to Mideast

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine said the crew members were on a combat mission over "friendly" territory at the time their plane went down and that the incident was not not the result of hostile or friendly fire. U.S. Central Command said in a statement that a second plane involved in the operation was able to land safely. The incident remains under investigation.

The tanker is the fourth U.S. plane to go down since the war against Iran began. Earlier this month, U.S. ally Kuwait mistakenly downed three F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets. All six crew members aboard those jets safely ejected and were recovered.

Israeli soldiers fired on a car carrying a family in the northern West Bank, killing four people including two children, the Palestinian Authoritys Health Ministry said.

The official Palestinian news agency said the family was shot late Saturday after going out to buy new clothes for Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan this week. Israel said it was investigating the shooting.

The Palestinian Red Crescent rescue service said that Ali and Waed Odeh, and two of their four children, were shot in the head. The Odehs two surviving children had shrapnel wounds that were examined by first responders once they were granted access, the group said, accusing Israel of delaying ambulances dispatched to the scene.

RELATED STORY | Israel sends tanks into West Bank for first time in decades, says fleeing Palestinians can't return

Israels military and police said in a joint statement Sunday that forces opened fire after a car accelerated toward them in Tammun. They said the forces were pursuing suspects accused of terrorist activity and that the shooting was under investigation.

The members of the Odeh family were the latest casualties in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli settlers and soldiers had previously shot and killed at least eight Palestinians since the start of the Iran war.

Since Israel and the U.S. attacked Iran on Feb. 28, Israeli authorities have restricted movement across the West Bank, intermittently closing hundreds of gates and checkpoints on roads used by residents, ambulances and commercial traffic. The barriers have tightened movement and made emergency response significantly more difficult, the Red Crescent told The Associated Press last week.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | Gaza's border crossing to Egypt reopens but few Palestinians can cross

Israeli rights group Yesh Din said on Wednesday that it had documented 109 incidents of settler violence in the occupied West Bank in dozens of Palestinian communities since the start of the war.

The toll is lower than at this point in 2025 a record year for violence that began with Israel invading northern West Bank cities that the military said were militant strongholds. Israeli forces still maintain a presence there.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has recorded 18 Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank since the start of 2026, including eight by Israeli settlers. Metz reported from Ramallah, West Bank.

Representatives from Beijing and Washington began their economic and trade talks in Paris on Sunday, paving the way for U.S. President Donald Trumps state visit to Beijing to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping in about two weeks.

The delegations, led by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, convened in the French capital in the morning, China's official news agency Xinhua reported. The White House has said that Trump will travel to China from March 31 to April 2, though Beijing has not officially confirmed it.

Bessent said on Thursday that his team will continue to deliver results that put America's farmers, workers and businesses first. The U.S. Treasury Department said Bessent will meet He on Sunday and Monday.

Chinas commerce ministry said Friday the two sides are set to discuss trade and economic issues of mutual concern.

RELATED STORY | Trump holds wide-ranging call with Xi, touching on Iran, Taiwan and trade

Trumps visit to China will be the first for a U.S. president since he went in his first term in 2017. It will come five months after the two leaders met in the South Korean city of Busan and agreed to a one-year truce in a trade war that temporarily saw tit-for-tat tariffs soar to triple digits before the two sides climbed down.

Still, trade remains a source of tensions. The commerce ministry on Friday hit back against the Trump administrations new trade investigation into 16 trading partners, including China. The investigation which came after a Supreme Court ruling struck down Trumps sweeping global tariffs that were imposed last year could pave the way for new tariffs.

Another issue that could be discussed is the Iran war, especially when global anxiety is soaring over oil prices and supplies. Trump said Saturday that he hopes China, France, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom and others will send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz open and safe.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | Trump asks allies to deploy warships as Iran vows to block oil flow

Before Sunday's talks, Gary Ng, a senior economist at French bank Natixis and a research fellow at the Central European Institute of Asian Studies, said the Paris meeting is likely the most important bilateral one before the Xi-Trump summit.

The key issue is "whether China and the U.S. can agree on what is agreed and manage disagreement. Iran is a new factor, but Beijing is more concerned about the flip-flopping of U.S. policies, he said.

Last week, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said it would be a big year for China-U.S. relations. While he did not confirm the state visit, Wang said that the agenda of high-level exchange is already on the table.

Bessent and He have led trade negotiations between the countries since last year, having met in Geneva, London, Stockholm, Madrid and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Hundreds of thousands of people were left without power Saturday after high winds raked eastward from the Great Lakes region, leaving trees down and substantial property damage in their wake. Further west, at least one person died in a massive wind-driven wildfire in Nebraska.

Nearly 450,000 customers were still affected by midafternoon in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan, according to PowerOutage.us, which tracks outages nationwide.

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A 66 mph gust at Pittsburgh International Airport on Friday was deemed its fourth-strongest on record that was not caused by a thunderstorm, according to the National Weather Service. Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport saw winds hit 85 mph Friday afternoon.

Winds took down a gas station canopy in New Franklin, Ohio, and an auto parts store sign in Baldwin, Pennsylvania. Trees and tree limbs fell into or onto homes and cars from Cleveland to Pittsburgh. The roof of a school building in the Chicago suburb of Niles, Illinois, was severely damaged by wind.

High winds fueled multiple wildfires across a broad swath of Nebraskas range and grassland, causing one death in Arthur County, officials said. The victim was not immediately identified and the sheriffs office did not disclose other details about the death.

What state officials have dubbed the Morrill County fire has burned at least 735 square miles across four counties since Thursday. At least 12 structures have been destroyed, according to the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency.

Chelle Ladely of Sidney said her home is currently safe, lying about 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of the nearest fire. But she worries for other friends and family in the area.

Smoke is filling the air and at night, I can see the burn of the fires on the horizon, Ladely said. My father is a crop agronomist, and his company as well as other local farmers are all gathering their water trucks to help aid with the fires, and truckloads of bottled water and food is being supplied by our good patrons for our volunteer firemen trying to extinguish the blazes.

Several other wildfires being pushed by winds of up to 65 mph burned another 225 square miles for a total of nearly 938 square miles by midday Saturday. The strong winds have kept firefighters from containing any of the fires, the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency said. Gov. Jim Pillen on Saturday toured areas burned by the Morrill County fire.

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In Chicago, thousands of revelers turned out to see the city's namesake river dyed bright green and a downtown parade celebrating the St. Patrick's holiday, despite the threat of snow and stiff winds that drove the feels-like temperature to well below freezing.

Dangerous winds are but one piece of a wild weather mosaic that includes heavy rains in Hawaii, triple-digit heat ahead in Phoenix and the return of winter cold to the Midwest and Northeast. Chicago was expected to approach the single digits Fahrenheit by Tuesday, with Minneapolis seeing lows around zero.

Several Minnesota cities have already declared snow emergencies starting Sunday, when what could be the seasons largest snowfall is expected to hit. Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula are also in the crosshairs.

AccuWeather is describing conditions as a potent triple-threat March megastorm from Sunday into Monday.

Its definitely a very active weather weekend, thats for sure, AccuWeather senior meteorologist John Feerick said. Its a highly amplified pattern, which means you get a lot of extremes. Also, not just the Lower 48, but Hawaiis getting hit hard right now with some very heavy rain.

Feerick said people along the Wisconsin-Iowa border might see some ice as travel conditions become dangerous in large parts of the Upper Midwest.

The federal government has responded to a judge's order on why ICE detained Nashville Noticias reporter Estefany Rodriguez.

Attorneys for the government say that Rodriguez entered the US on a valid B-2 visa on March 10, 2021 and was authorized to stay through September 9, 2021.

The government claims she remained in the U.S. illegally and did not obtain any paperwork to allow her to remain in the country.

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Attorneys say Rodriguez was ordered in January and February to report to the Nashville ICE field office, but they say a warrant was issued when Rodriguez did not show up.

According to court documents, the government states that a G-56 letter to report was issued to Rodriguez on January 8, directing her to report on January 26 to the Nashville ICE Field Office.

On February 10, they added that another G-56 letter to report was issued to the petitioner, directing her to report on February 25, 2026.

Rodriguez's husband, Alejandro Medina III, who was with her when ICE agents surrounded the couple in the Nashville Noticias news vehicle, said that a massive winter storm shut down practically all of Nashville on the same day as the first scheduled meeting. A second meeting in February was also rescheduled when he said ICE officials could not find anything related to a scheduled meeting in their system.

"There was a valid warrant for her arrest as an alien issued on March 2, 2026, two days prior to her arrest," the court document reads. "The arrest warrant clearly marked the cause of her arrest."

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She was detained on March 4th and was sent to a detention center in Alabama.

Attorneys for Rodriguez argue her First and Fifth Amendment rights were violated when ICE agents detained her and believe her detention was retaliation for her reporting on ICE activity through Nashville.

A hearing between her attorneys and the government is set for next Monday.

This article was originally published by Kelly Broderick for the Scripps News Group station in Nashville.

Math nerds and dessert enthusiasts unite to celebrate Pi Day every March 14, the date that represents the first three digits of the mathematical constant pi.

Representing the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, pi is approximately equal to 3.14159 but its digits go on forever. In school, you might have used it to calculate the area of a circle or the volume of a cylinder. But the applications of pi are endless and part of every corner of our world.

The holiday was created in 1988 by Larry Shaw, a physicist at the Exploratorium science museum in San Francisco.

He had a very open and expansive view of the world and saw an opportunity with this number, mathematical concept, to invite people into the joy of mathematical learning, said Sam Sharkland, program director of public programs at the museum, who worked with Shaw before he died in 2017.

While it began as a small staff celebration featuring pie, it soon turned into a grand procession where hundreds of visitors marched around the pi shrine, each carrying a digit. Attendees often show up early to claim their favorite digit for the parade. One woman who has the symbol tattooed on her neck comes every year and marches near the front with a pi flag, Sharkland said.

RELATED STORY | 10 fascinating things to know about pi on Pi Day

The celebration begins at 1:59 p.m., signifying the next three digits of pi.

Here are a few ways pi is being used on the cutting edge of science.

Pi in outer space

In Artur Davoyan's field of mechanical and aerospace engineering, pi is so fundamental that it would be hard to pinpoint one use case for it, he said.

Pi is part of literally every single formula that you would use to do any calculation, like for spacecraft motion, for materials and how they work, or propulsion systems, said Davoyan, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Anything that is round or has cyclical or repeating properties such as radio waves involves pi. Even squares or irregular blobs can be broken down into a series of progressively smaller circles and calculated using pi, Davoyan said.

Davoyan's research looks at how to create new propulsion systems to send spacecrafts more quickly to the far reaches of the solar system to gather and send back information to Earth. He pointed to NASAs Voyager 1 and 2, which launched in 1977 but didn't reach interstellar space until 2012 and 2018.

To send a signal to those space probes, NASA must calculate Earth's exact position in orbit around the sun and design antennas for communication using pi. Then scientists use pi once more when receiving and breaking down complex signals that are being beamed back to Earth.

Say aliens send something to us, something that we dont know how to deal with, Davoyan said. So the very first thing that you would do, you would try to split it into simple functions... and turns out that when you do this operation, you will naturally have pis in it.

Tiny droplets of pi

Pi also comes up frequently when studying small amounts of fluids.

Dino Di Carlo, chair of the bioengineering department at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, conducts research that involves creating little particles out of polymers that act as tiny test tubes for cells. This is used as an important tool to examine cells closely and learn about their functions and what's inside them.

The pi constant is used in calculating how to form those droplets, surface tension calculations that define how droplets can break up, and how researchers can control the size of those volumes, Di Carlo said.

Di Carlo is using this technique to find antibodies small proteins that fight diseases in your body that could block signals put out by cancer cells.

Pi is also an important part of calculations when looking at how liquids flow through tubes and barriers. One example is when the fluid sample slowly flows sideways in a take-home COVID-19 test.

Di Carlo used these properties to devise a new test for Lyme disease that can be completed in 20 minutes, rather than days or weeks like previously.

As an engineer and scientist, (pi) is just a part of life, Di Carlo said. Maybe Ive taken it for granted.

President Donald Trump said the U.S. destroyed military sites on an island vital to Irans oil network and warned that its oil infrastructure could be next if Iran continues to interfere with the passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump said U.S. forces on Friday obliterated targets on Irans Kharg Island, which is home to the primary terminal that handles the countrys oil exports. The speaker of the Iranian parliament had warned that such strikes would provoke a new level of retaliation.

Meanwhile, an American official said 2,500 more Marines and an amphibious assault ship are being sent to the Middle East nearly two weeks into the war with the Islamic Republic.

RELATED STORY | Trump says war in Iran is 'won,' but administration expects fighting to continue for weeks

Iran has continued to launch widespread missile and drone attacks on Israel and neighboring Gulf states, and effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the worlds traded oil passes, even as U.S. and Israeli warplanes pummel military and other targets across Iran.

The humanitarian crisis in Lebanon deepened, with nearly 800 people killed and 850,000 displaced as Israel launched waves of strikes against Iran-backed Hezbollah militants and warned there would be no let up.

Marines and assault ship will add to US forces

Elements from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli have been ordered to the Middle East, according to the U.S. official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military plans.

Marine Expeditionary Units are able to conduct amphibious landings, but they also specialize in bolstering security at embassies, evacuating civilians, and providing disaster relief. The deployment does not necessarily indicate that a ground operation is imminent or will take place.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the new Marine deployment.

The 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, as well as the Tripoli and other amphibious assault ships carrying the Marines, are based in Japan and have been in the Pacific Ocean for several days, according to images released by the military. The Tripoli was spotted by commercial satellites sailing alone near Taiwan, putting it more than a week away from the waters off Iran.

Earlier in the week, the Navy had 12 ships, including the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and eight destroyers, operating in the Arabian Sea. Should the Tripoli join this flotilla, it would be the second-largest ship behind the Lincoln in the region.

RELATED STORY | Oil market sees its worst disruption ever as Iran war threatens supply

While the total number of U.S. service members on the ground in the Middle East is not clear, Al-Udeid Air Base alone, one of the largest in the region, typically houses some 8,000 U.S. troops in Qatar.

US strikes Persian Gulf island after Iranian warning

The U.S. strikes on Irans Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf targeted military sites but left its oil infrastructure alone for now, Trump said in a social media post.

But he warned that if Iran or anyone else interferes with the passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, he will reconsider his decision not to wipe out the Oil Infrastructure.

Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf warned on Thursday in a social media post that attacks on the islands on Irans southern maritime frontier would cause Iran to abandon all restraint, underscoring how central they are to the countrys economy and security.

On Saturday, Irans joint military command reiterated its threat that it will attack the U.S.-linked oil and energy facilities in the region if the Islamic Republic's oil infrastructure is hit.

Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, warned they will target all oil, economic, and energy infrastructures belonging to oil companies across the region that have American shares or cooperate with America.

The joint military command also threatened to attack cities in the United Arab Emirates, saying the U.S. used ports, docks and hideouts within UAE cities to launch strikes on the islands, without providing evidence. It called on people to evacuate those areas where it said U.S. forces were sheltering

Irans semiofficial Fars news agency Saturday said the U.S. strikes caused no damage to oil infrastructure on the island.

It reported at least 15 explosions followed the strikes, which it said targeted an air defense facility, a naval base, the airport control tower and an offshore oil companys helicopter hangar.

Missile strikes inside US Embassy compound in Baghdad

A missile struck a helipad inside the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad, two Iraqi security officials said.

Associated Press footage showed a column of smoke rising Saturday morning over the embassy compound.

The sprawling embassy complex, one of the largest U.S. diplomatic facilities in the world, has been repeatedly targeted by rockets and drones fired by Iran-aligned militias.

There was no immediate comment from the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. On Friday, the embassy renewed its Level 4 security alert for Iraq, warning that Iran and Iran-aligned militia groups have previously carried out attacks against U.S. citizens, interests and infrastructure, and may continue to target them.

The U.S. military Friday bombed new targets on Kharg Island, a primary terminal for Iran's oil exports.

According to a social media post from President Donald Trump, the strikes targeted Iranian military installations on the island but left oil infrastructure untouched.

"For reasons of decency, I have chosen NOT to wipe out the Oil Infrastructure on the Island," the president wrote. "However, should Iran, or anyone else, do anything to interfere with the Free and Safe Passage of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz, I will immediately reconsider this decision."

RELATED STORY | Iran disrupts shipping routes near Strait of Hormuz as Israel, Hezbollah exchange attacks

The escalation comes as Iran has targeted shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.

This week, two tankers linked to Western interests were struck and set ablaze in Iraqi waters. One sailor was reported dead, and 37 crew members were pulled from the water. One of the vessels is owned by an American company.

Iran has also threatened to deploy sea mines in the waterway, which prompted the U.S. to strike and destroy much of its mine-laying fleet earlier in the week.

Commercial traffic in the strait remains effectively closed. The International Energy Agency on Thursday described the situation as the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market.

The Pentagon on Friday ordered 2,500 U.S. Marines and at least one amphibious assault ship to the Iran theater.

Speaking about the growing crisis in the strait on Friday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said we have been dealing with it and dont need to worry about it.

President Trump said in an interview on Friday the conflict with Iran would end "when I feel it in my bones."

RELATED NEWS | US strikes Iranian minelayers as it warns Iran to keep the Strait of Hormuz open

Flights were briefly halted at several Washington-area airports Friday after a strong chemical smell was reported at a nearby air traffic control facility, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

"The FAA has temporarily stopped traffic at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) and Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI) because of a strong chemical smell at the Potomac TRACON that is impacting some air traffic controllers," the FAA told Scripps News in a statement.

Ground stops at the airports began shortly after 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time and were lifted about two hours later.

Affected airports were still experiencing flight delays on Friday evening that could extend for hours, according to the FAA.

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A separate ground stop was in effect for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport due to staffing issues.

Arriving flights at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport were also briefly stopped earlier on Friday due to snowy and icy conditions.

As of Friday afternoon, there had been close to 7,000 delays affecting U.S. flights and 647 cancellations, according to FlightAware.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Mixed martial arts fans will have a chance to watch a historic UFC fight card near the White House on June 14.

UFC CEO Dana White said about 85,000 tickets for the event will be given away.

You should plan on going to Washington, D.C., for this event, White said, adding that details about how to register for free tickets will be announced soon.

White said the tickets will allow fans to gather outside the White House grounds, where they will be able to watch the fights on large screens and, in some areas, potentially see the octagon.

The card is expected to feature six fights, including two championship bouts.

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The main event will feature American Justin Gaethje against Georgian-Spanish fighter Ilia Topuria for the undisputed lightweight championship.

The co-main event will feature UFC superstar Alex Pereira facing Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight championship.

Other fighters on the card include American stars Sean OMalley, Bo Nickal and Michael Chandler.

The event is part of celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of the United States.

President Donald Trump is a longtime UFC fan and has attended numerous events, often receiving a warm welcome from fans. White has been a prominent supporter of Trump and campaigned for him during the 2024 election.

A federal judge has blocked subpoenas seeking records from the Federal Reserve as part of a criminal investigation involving Chair Jerome Powell.

Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said prosecutors failed to show evidence that Powell committed a crime.

The investigation is said to have focused on cost overruns tied to renovations of Federal Reserve buildings and Powells testimony to Congress about the project.

RELATED STORY | Trump demands Fed lower interest rates amid steady inflation, rising mortgage costs

The Federal Reserve was served with grand jury subpoenas in January. Powell said the probe appeared to center on his congressional testimony last summer regarding renovations to the Federal Reserves headquarters in Washington. But in a recorded statement, he suggested the investigation could be broader.

The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the president, Powell said.

RELATED STORY | Fed cuts interest rate for third time this year, signals only one cut in 2026

Although President Donald Trump appointed Powell during his first term, the two have repeatedly clashed over interest rate policy during Trumps second term.

On Thursday, Trump continued his criticism of Powell.

Where is the Federal Reserve Chairman, Jerome Too Late Powell, today? He should be dropping interest rates, IMMEDIATELY, not waiting for the next meeting! Trump wrote on Thursday on Truth Social.

Trumps comments came hours after the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the consumer price index rose 2.4% in the 12 months ending in February. The rate has remained relatively steady but is slightly above the Federal Reserves 2% inflation target.

Roughly 2,500 Marines and at least one amphibious assault ship are headed for the Middle East, a U.S. official told The Associated Press.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military plans, said elements from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli have been ordered to the Middle East. The move marks a major addition of troops to the region.

Iran has continued to launch widespread missile and drone attacks on Israel and neighboring Gulf states, and has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's traded oil passes, even as U.S. and Israeli warplanes pummel military and other targets across Iran.

The humanitarian crisis in Lebanon deepened, with nearly 800 people killed and 850,000 displaced as Israel launched waves of strikes against Iran-backed Hezbollah militants and warned there would be no let up.

With growing global concerns about a possible energy crisis, the price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, hovered around $100 per barrel. Brent prices are about 40% higher than when Israel and the United States launched the war on Feb. 28.

In an interview with Fox News, U.S. President Donald Trump said the war would end when I feel it in my bones.

Explosion rocks area of mass demonstration

An explosion in Tehran rocked the Ferdowsi Square area midday, where thousands had gathered for an annual Quds Day rally in which they chanted death to Israel and death to America.

Israel had issued a warning on a Farsi-language X account for people to clear the area shortly before the blast. But few Iranians would have seen it, as authorities have almost completely shut down the internet since the start of the war. Footage from the scene showed people chanting God is greatest, as smoke rose in the area.

The Israeli military later posted a second message in Farsi, noting the head of Irans judiciary was at the rally and criticizing Iran for blocking many from seeing their warning.

The hard-liner who leads Irans judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, had been giving an interview on state television at the demonstration when the strike happened. His bodyguards encircled him, as he raised his fist and said Iran under this rain and missiles will never withdraw.

US says 15,000 targets struck in Iran since the start of the war

Israel had earlier announced another wave of strikes in Iran targeting infrastructure, and said its air force had hit more than 200 targets in the last 24 hours, including missile launchers, defense systems and weapons production sites.

In Washington, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that over 15,000 enemy targets have been struck, which is more than 1,000 a day since the war began.

He also sought to address concerns about the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, telling reporters: We have been dealing with it and dont need to worry about it.

Irans Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Thursday vowed to continue the attacks and keep the strait closed in his first public statement since succeeding his father, who was killed in the opening day of the war. Khamenei has not been seen in public since taking over leadership and released a written statement.

Hegseth said Khamenei is wounded and likely disfigured, without providing evidence or elaborating. Israel suspects Khamenei was wounded at the start of the war.

All six crew of US refueling plane confirmed dead after crash

The U.S. military confirmed on Friday that all six crew members of an American KC-135 refueling plane were killed when it crashed in Iraq, bringing the U.S. death toll to at least 13 service members.

U.S. Central Command said the crash wasnt related to friendly or hostile fire, and that two aircraft were involved, including one that landed safely.

The KC-135 is the fourth publicly acknowledged aircraft to crash as part of the U.S. militarys operations against Iran. Last week, three American fighter jets were mistakenly downed by friendly Kuwaiti fire.

New Iranian attacks across the region

Iran continued its daily attacks on oil and other infrastructure across the Gulf. In Oman, two people were killed when two drones crashed in the Sohar region, the Oman News Agency reported.

The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Oscar Austin shot down an Iranian ballistic missile over Turkey on Friday, a U.S. official said on condition of anonymity in order to discuss ongoing military operations. It was the third such interception over the NATO member in the last two weeks.

Residents in the southern Turkish city of Adana reported hearing a loud explosion and sirens sounding at Incirlik Air Base, which is used by U.S. forces.

In the latest sign of unease from some close U.S. allies, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called for a convincing plan on how to end the war. He spoke alongside the prime ministers of Norway and Canada at military exercises in Norway.

Fighting escalates between Israel and Hezbollah

At least eight people were killed in an Israeli strike on Lebanon's southern coastal city of Sidon, Lebanons Health Ministry said Friday. Nine others were wounded, the ministry added. The toll could rise as rescuers search the rubble.

The ministry said 773 people including more than 100 children and 62 women have been killed since fighting erupted between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants 10 days ago. More than 1,900 people have been wounded, it said.

Some 850,000 have been internally displaced in Lebanon, according to United Nations Secretary-General Antnio Guterres, who launched a $325 million humanitarian appeal during a surprise visit to the country.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam urged Israel to halt strikes on his country and criticized Hezbollah for firing rockets at Israeli targets.

There is no justification in holding an entire nation hostage, he said.

Earlier, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said strikes so far were just the beginning and warned that Lebanons government will pay an increasing price for the damage to Lebanese national infrastructure used by Hezbollah.

Salam pushed back on the criticism, saying the Lebanese army had dismantled more than 500 Hezbollah military positions and weapons depots.

The Israeli military said its strikes have killed more than 350 Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, including what it called key commanders.

Iranian authorities say that more than 1,300 people have been killed in Iran, and Israel has reported 12 deaths.

A man who opened fire in a classroom at Virginias Old Dominion University had been granted an early release from federal prison in 2024 after completing a drug treatment program, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. The person was not authorized to speak publicly and did so on the condition of anonymity.

Mohamed Bailor Jalloh was sentenced to 11 years in prison after pleading guilty in 2017 to providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, the Islamic State group, and was released about 2 years early, according to prison records.

It wasnt clear how Jalloh qualified for a prison drug treatment program, which allows inmates to shave up to a year off their sentences. Inmates serving sentences for terrorism-related offenses typically arent eligible for such programs or other sentence-reducing credits.

RELATED NEWS | Old Dominion shooter previously convicted of trying to support ISIS

Jalloh, a former member of the Virginia Army National Guard, killed one person and injured two other people in Thursdays shooting before ROTC students subdued and killed him.

A message seeking information about Jallohs incarceration and release was left with the federal Bureau of Prisons.

Some elected officials questioned how someone with known ties to the Islamic State group was able to carry out such an attack.

The horrific tragedy that occurred today on ODUs campus never should have happened, U.S. Rep. Jen Kiggans, who represents the congressional district neighboring the university, wrote on Facebook.

After Jalloh pleaded guilty in October 2016 to providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization the Islamic State group a federal judge sentenced him in 2017 to an 11-year prison term with credit for time served retroactive to his July 2016 arrest.

He was on supervised release, which is comparable to probation, when he carried out the attack on Thursday. Based on his release date, that wouldve run into 2029.

Confessions to undercover agents

Jallohs October 2016 plea came after a three-month sting operation in which he, then 26, confessed to an undercover FBI agent that he was thinking about carrying out an attack similar to the 2009 shootings at Fort Hood, which left 13 people dead. Authorities launched the 2016 operation after Jalloh made contact with members of the Islamic State group in Africa earlier that year.

Jalloh later told the informant that the Islamic State group had asked if he wanted to participate in an attack. He tried to donate $500 to the group, but the money actually went to an account controlled by the FBI, according to court documents.

Jalloh then tried to buy an AR-15 assault rifle from a Virginia gun store but was turned away because he lacked the proper paperwork. The affidavit says he returned the next day and bought a different assault rifle. Prosecutors said the rifle was rendered inoperable before Jalloh left the store, unbeknownst to Jalloh. He was arrested the following day.

RELATED STORY | Professor killed at Old Dominion University was retired Army officer remembered as 'true hero'

Debate over sentencing

The Justice Department in 2017 requested a 20-year prison sentence for Jalloh, noting that he had made multiple attempts to join the Islamic State group and had attempted to acquire a gun to carry out a murder plot.

The defendant was fully aware of what he was doing, and the consequences of those actions. His only misgivings seemed to be a fear that he would waver at the critical moment, prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum.

They added: By putting the idea of this murder plot into religious terms, and by suggesting that murdering members of the US military would be a path to heaven, the defendant showed how strongly committed he was to the deadly ideology of the Islamic State group.

Jallohs lawyers asked for a sentence of 6 years in prison and requested that he be placed in a facility that provides residential drug treatment for inmates with addiction and substance abuse issues.

U.S. District Judge Liam OGrady, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, sentenced him instead to 11 years in prison.

The judge also ordered Jalloh to participate in a program for substance abuse testing and treatment and mental health treatment, and requested that he be evaluated for the federal prison systems residential drug program.

Completing the Residential Drug Abuse Program can reduce an inmates prison sentence by up to a year, according to the federal Bureau of Prisons. It wasnt immediately clear if Jalloh qualified for the program. Normally, inmates serving sentences for terrorism-related offenses arent eligible.

In addition, some inmates who stay out of trouble in prison can reduce their sentence by earning up to 54 days of good conduct time credit for each year of their sentence. However, under the 2018 prison reform law known as the First Step Act, inmates convicted of terrorism-related offenses are not eligible for such credit.

Troubled shooter lured by radical cleric

Little is publicly known about Jalloh, who was a naturalized citizen from Sierra Leone. But court documents depict him as a troubled man who was radicalized by Anwar al-Awlaki, a well-known American imam who became an al-Qaida propagandist.

The Virginia Army National Guard confirmed he served as a specialist from 2009 until 2015, when he was honorably discharged. Jalloh told a government informant he quit the National Guard after hearing lectures from al-Awlaki, according to a 2016 FBI affidavit filed in his criminal case.

In a letter to the federal judge that presided over his sentencing, Jalloh wrote: I feel deep regret in having been driven by my emotions rather than my intellect and becoming involved with such an evil organization. I reject and deplore terrorism and any groups associated with it, especially ISIL.

He wrote that he started using drugs after his girlfriend ended their six-year relationship.

The pain I felt internally was unbearable, and drugs and alcohol were the only things that took that pain away, Jalloh wrote. I started doing marijuana, coke and mushrooms using one of them at least on a daily basis in order to kill the pain I was in and to fill in the void I felt internally.

The letter itself remains under seal, but his lawyer included excerpts of it in his sentencing memorandum.

Pope Leo XIV said Christian leaders who bear responsibility for armed conflicts should examine their consciences and seek confession.

"Do those Christians who bear serious responsibility in armed conflicts have the humility and courage to make a serious examination of conscience and to go to confession?" Leo said during a speech on Friday.

The pope did not name any specific conflict or individual, but he has repeatedly appealed for peace in Iran and the Middle East, describing the situation as "deeply disturbing." In January, Leo lamented that "war is back in vogue and a zeal for war is spreading."

The recent comments come as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has framed the United States' military intervention as supported by God. Some Christian leaders were recently seen praying over President Donald Trump in the Oval Office during the Iran war.

RELATED STORY | 6 US troops killed after military refueling tanker crashes in Iraq

Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are Catholics.

Prominent figures in the U.S. Catholic Church have also spoken out against the Iran war. Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago described a video posted on the White House's X account about the war as "sickening."

Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington, D.C., said the US-Israeli strikes are "not morally legitimate" as they don't meet the criteria in Catholic teaching for a just war.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.