The U.S. sank an Iranian warship in international waters, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday, as it intensified its bombardment with Israel of Iran's security forces and other symbols of power. Tehran vowed to completely destroy the Middle East's military and economic infrastructure signaling the war was nowhere near over and could expand further.

The tempo of the strikes on Iran was so intense that state television announced the mourning ceremony for Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the conflict, would be postponed. Millions attended the funeral of his predecessor Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989.

RELATED STORY | 6 US service members killed as Iran conflict intensifies

In addition to striking Tehran on the fifth day of the conflict, Israel hit the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, while Iran fired on Bahrain, Kuwait and Israel. As the conflict spiraled, Turkey said NATO defenses intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Iran before it entered Turkeys airspace.

The war has killed more than 1,000 people in Iran and dozens in Lebanon, while disrupting the supply of the worlds oil and gas, snarling international shipping, and stranding hundreds of thousands of travelers in the Middle East.

Both sides are unrelenting in their attacks

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said a torpedo from a U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship. He did not name the ship, but earlier an Iranian warship sank off the coast of Sri Lanka.

In a Pentagon briefing, Hegseth said that the Tuesday night strike on an Iranian warship was the first such attack on an enemy since World War II.

An American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters, Hegseth said. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo.

RELATED STORY | Ambassador says US cannot help Americans leave Israel amid escalating Iran conflict

Sri Lankan authorities said 32 people were rescued from the Iranian ship and that others died.

Israel said it hit buildings associated with Iran's Basij, the all-volunteer force of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard that conducted a bloody crackdown on protesters in January that killed thousands and saw tens of thousands detained in the country.

The Israeli military also said it hit buildings associated with Irans internal security command, which also has suppressed demonstrations in the past. It also pounded towns near Beirut.

Israel and the U.S. have said they want to see the Iranian public overthrow the country's theocracy, and strikes against counterprotest forces are likely part of that effort.

Iranian state television showed the ruins of buildings in the center of the capital of Tehran, with interviewees saying the attacks damaged their homes. Strikes have also been reported in the holy Shiite seminary city of Qom, targeting a building associated with a clerical panel set to pick Irans next supreme leader. Iranian media said it was empty at the time.

State TV has begun calling the conflict the Ramadan war, a reference to the holy Muslim fasting month currently taking place. But that term also suggested leaders are trying to prepare the public for a protracted conflict.

Adm. Brad Cooper, the top U.S. military commander in the Middle East, echoed that sentiment, saying: Weve just begun.

Cooper said American forces have damaged Irans air defenses and taken out ballistic missiles, launchers and drones. Israeli military spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said that such damage has led to a decline in launches from Iran.

Still, explosions echoed in the skies over Jerusalem on Wednesday, and Israels military said Iran had launched missiles toward the country, while Hezbollah sent rockets.

Iran has also struck around the region, and air sirens sounded Wednesday morning across Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navys 5th Fleet.

At least 1,045 people have been killed in Iran, the country's Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs said Wednesday. Eleven people in Israel have been killed. More than 50 people have been killed in Lebanon, according to the Health Ministry. Six U.S. troops have been killed.

State Rep. James Talarico topped Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett in an expensive and fiercely contested Texas Senate Democratic primary that once again has the party dreaming of a big upset in November.

Who Talarico will face depends on a May runoff between longtime Republican Sen. John Cornyn and MAGA favorite Ken Paxton a race expected to get increasingly nasty over coming months and could hinge on whether or not President Donald Trump offers an endorsement.

Texas, along with North Carolina and Arkansas, on Tuesday kicked off midterm elections with control of Congress at stake and against the backdrop of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.

No Democrat has won a statewide race in the reliably Republican state in over 30 years, but in a statement after his victory, Talarico proclaimed We're about to take back Texas.

RELATED STORY | Roy Cooper and Michael Whatley clinch North Carolina Senate nominations

Crocketts campaign said she planned to sue over voting issues in Dallas and she spoke only briefly on Tuesday night to warn that people have been disenfranchised."

Republicans head to round 2

Cornyn, meanwhile, is seeking a fifth term but is facing a tough challenge from Paxton, the state attorney general. Cornyn hopes to avoid becoming the first Republican senator in Texas history to seek reelection and not be renominated.

The GOP contest also featured U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt, who finished a distant third and conceded. But him making it a three-way race made it tougher for any candidate to reach the 50% vote threshold needed to win the nomination outright and avoid the May 26 runoff.

All three campaigned on their ties to Trump, who did not make an endorsement in the race. Now both Cornyn and Paxton will again fiercely compete to curry the president's favor.

Cornyn was facing a tough enough battle that he didn't hold an election night party. Instead, in comments to reporters in Austin, he sought to make the case that a runoff win by Paxton would leave a dead weight at the top of the ticket for Republicans.

Ive worked for decades to build the Republican Party, both here in Texas and nationally, Cornyn said. I refuse to allow a flawed, self-centered and shameless candidate like Ken Paxton to risk everything weve worked so hard to build over these many years.

Addressing supporters in Dallas, Paxton made a point of saying he felt like he had during a recent trip to Mar-a-Lago, Trumps Florida estate. He also proclaimed: We proved something theyll never understand in Washington.

Texas is not for sale, he said.

Cornyns cool relationship with Trump is part of what made him vulnerable. He and allied groups spent at least $64 million in television advertising alone since July to try stabilize his support.

Paxton, who began campaigning in earnest only last month, has made national headlines for filing lawsuits against Democratic initiatives. He remained popular in Texas despite a 2023 impeachment trial on corruption charges, of which he was acquitted, and accusations of marital infidelity by his wife.

Senate GOP leaders, who are backing Cornyn, worry that Paxtons liabilities would make it harder to defend the seat if he is the nominee and require significant spending that could be better used elsewhere.

Confusion at some polling places

In the Democratic campaign, Crockett and Talarico each argued that they would be the stronger general election candidate in a state that backed Trump by almost 14 percentage points in 2024.

Voting was extended in Dallas County and Williamson County, outside Austin, after voters reported being turned away and directed to different voting precincts because of new primary rules. Paxtons office later challenged a decision keeping the polls open longer, and the state Supreme Court ruled that ballots cast by people not in line by 7 p.m. should be separated from others.

RELATED STORY | Texas primaries snarled by confusion as voters are turned away in some counties

It was not immediately clear how the courts action would be carried out or how many eligible ballots remained to be counted in Dallas County, Crocketts home base. Crockett said she would seek legal action after voting was concluded.

And in Harris County, which includes Houston, a spokesperson said that as of 10 p.m. there were still voters at 20 centers.

Democratic race featured clash of styles

Crockett and Talarico waged a spirited race as Democrats look for their first Senate win in Texas since 1988.

Crockett has built a national profile for zinger attacks on Republicans and focused on turning out Black voters in the Dallas and Houston areas. Talarico, a seminarian who often references the Bible, held rallies across the state, including in heavily Republican areas.

We are not just trying to win an election," a jubilant Talarico told supporters in Austin before the race was called. We are trying to fundamentally change our politics. And its working.

Dallas voter Tanu Sani said she cast her ballot for Talarico because he really spoke to me in the way he tries to unify.

Tomas Sanchez, a voter in Dallas County, said he supported Crockett because she cares about immigrants, she cares about the American people in a way that a lot of the Republicans have proven they havent.

Talarico outspent Crockett on television advertising by more than four to one as of late February. He got a burst of attention and campaign contributions last month from CBS' decision not to air his interview with late-night host Stephen Colbert, who said the network pulled the interview for fear of angering Trump's FCC.

Other key primaries

Texas races also featured new congressional district boundaries that GOP lawmakers urged on by Trump redrew to help elect more Republicans. The result matched several Democratic incumbents in primary fights and set up new general election battlegrounds.

Republican former Rep. Mayra Flores was attempting a comeback but was defeated by Eric Flores, a lawyer endorsed by Trump, for the nomination to run against Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez. Mayra Flores made history in a 2022 special election as the first Republican to win in the Rio Grande Valley in 150 years but lost her bid for a full term later that year.

Incumbent Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw lost his primary to state Rep. Steve Toth, who was endorsed by Sen. Ted Cruz.

Another incumbent GOP incumbent, Rep. Tony Gonzales, was considered vulnerable after an alleged affair with a staffer who killed herself. He was challenged by gun manufacturer and YouTube influencer Brandon Herrera, who calls himself the AK guy. The two will head to a runoff in a district that includes Uvalde, site of a deadly 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary School.

Former Major League Baseball star Mark Teixeira clinched the Republican primary to succeed GOP Chip Roy in southwest Texas.

Democrat Bobby Pulido, a Latin Grammy winner, won his party's primary in South Texas against physician Ada Cuellar. Pulido will face two-term Republican Rep. Monica De La Cruz.

In suburban Dallas, Democratic Rep. Julie Johnson was facing former Rep. Colin Allred, a former NFL linebacker and 2024 Senate nominee.

Democratic Rep. Al Green was fighting to stay in office after his Houston-based district was drawn to lean Republican. Green, 78, ran in a newly drawn district against Democratic Rep. Christian Menefee, 37, who won a January special election for the current 18th District.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott easily won his primary and will face Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa. Roy advanced to a primary runoff with Mayes Middleton for attorney general.

Tensions flared as questions mounted at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday over the Trump administrations shifting rationale for war with Iran as lawmakers demand answers over the strategy, exit plan and costs to Americans in lives and dollars in what is quickly becoming a widening Middle East conflict.

Trump officials arrived at the Capitol for a second day of closed-door briefings, this time with all members of the House and Senate as the administration tries to stave off a looming war powers resolution vote intended to restrict Trumps ability to continue the joint U.S.-Israel campaign against Iran.

"The president determined we were not going to get hit first. Its that simple, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a testy exchange with reporters at the Capitol.

RELATED STORY | Rubio walks back claim that US strikes on Iran were influenced by Israel

Rubio pushed back on his own suggestion a day earlier that Trump decided to strike Iran because Israel was ready to act first. Instead, he said Trump made the decision to attack this past weekend because it presented a unique opportunity with maximum chance for success.

There is no way in the world that this terroristic regime was going to get nuclear weapons, not under Donald Trumps watch," he said.

The sudden pivot to a U.S. wartime footing has disrupted the political and policy agenda on Capitol Hill and raised uneasy questions about the risks ahead for a prolonged conflict and regime change after the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. At least six U.S. military service personnel have died so far.

The turn of events has intensified the push in Congress for the war powers resolution among the most consequential votes a lawmaker can take, with the war well underway as administration officials are telling lawmakers it will need supplemental funds to pay for the conflict. It comes at the start of a highly competitive midterm election season that will test Trump's slim GOP control of Congress.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer left the closed hearing said he was concerned of mission creep in a long war.

Senators demand answers, and some cheer Trump on

Senators spent the morning grilling Trump officials during an Armed Services Committee hearing over Rubios claim Monday that the president, believing that Israel was ready to act, decided it was better for the U.S. to launch a preemptive strike to prevent Iran's potential retaliation on American military bases and interests abroad.

RELATED STORY | Trump suggests 'somebody from within' Iranian regime could succeed Khamenei

Sen. Angus King, the independent from Maine, said its very disturbing that Trump took the U.S. to war because Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wanted to bomb Iran. Past U.S. presidents, he said, have consistently said, No.

Defense official Elbridge Colby told senators the president directed the military campaign to destroy Iranian missiles and deny the country nuclear weapons.

Trump himself disputed the idea that Israel had forced his hand. In his own Oval Office remarks, he said, "I might might have forced their hand.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, a Trump ally from Oklahoma, said the president did the world a favor.

How about we say, Thank you, Mr. President, for finally getting rid of this nuisance, he said.

But Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., demanded to know how this fits into Trumps America First campaign promise not to commit U.S. troops to protracted military campaigns abroad.

Trump has suggested the war could drag on, and has not ruled out sending American troops into Iran.

America First and peace through strength are served by rolling back as the military campaign is designed to do the threats posed, Colby responded. This is certainly not nation-building. This is not going to be endless.

Whats next for the Iranian regime and its people

Questions are growing over who will lead Iran after the death of Khamenei, who has ruled the country for decades, as are worries of a leadership vacuum that creates unrest.

Democrats warned against sending U.S. military troops into Iran after more than two decades of war in Iraq and Afghanistan in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

I am more fearful than ever we may be putting boots on the ground, said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., after the closed briefing.

The reason why theres so much consternation on our side is because President Trump has not given us a clear reason why he is in Iran, said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. If he wants to declare war on Iran, that is the job and responsibility of Congress under the Constitution.

Republicans insist its not for the Americans to decide the future of Iran.

That's going to be largely up to the Iranian people, said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican.

Sen. Tom Cotton, the GOP chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, pointed to the aftermath of the U.S. attacks on Venezuela in January that ousted President Nicholas Maduro and elevated his vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, to power.

Cotton said on CBS over the weekend that he imagines some leaders inside of Iran who might be jockeying to audition for the role of Irans Delcy Rodriguez.

Trump, in calling for Iranians to use this opportunity to take back their country, has acknowledged the uncertainty.

Most of the people we had in mind are dead, Trump said Tuesday. He also panned the idea of elevating Reza Pahlavi, the exiled crown prince of Irans last shah, to take over in Iran.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Trump confidante, said over the weekend, Its about the threats, not about whos in charge. If the next group in Iran continues to threaten America, they will meet the same fate.

War powers resolutions become a consequential vote

Both the House and Senate are preparing to vote on war powers resolutions that would restrain Trump's ability to continue waging war on Iran without approval from Congress.

Under the U.S. Constitution, it's up to Congress, not the president, to decide when the country goes to war. But lawmakers often shirk that duty, enabling the executive branch to amass more power to send the military into combat without congressional approval.

Why are we spending billions of dollars to bomb Iran? said House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who said there would be strong support from Democrats for the resolution.

But House Speaker Mike Johnson has said it would be frightening to tie the president's hands at this time, when the U.S. is already engaged in combat.

Other lawmakers have suggested that if Congress does not vote to restrain Trump, it should next consider an Authorization of the Use of Military Force, which would require lawmakers to go on record with affirmative support for the Iran operation.

Former President George W. Bush sought, and received, authorization from Congress to launch the post-9/11 wars.

A sell-off for stocks wrapped around the world and hit Wall Street Tuesday, while oil prices climbed even higher on worries about the widening war with Iran. But the big moves that rocked markets in the morning eased substantially as the day progressed.

By the end of trading, the S&P 500 had sunk 0.9%. That would be a solid loss on a typical day, but the index had been down as much as 2.5% in the morning because of worries that the war may do more sustained damage to the economy than feared.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 403 points, or 0.8%, after plunging more than 1,200 points earlier in the morning. The Nasdaq composite pared its loss to 1%.

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It was just a day earlier that U.S. stocks opened the morning with a sharp loss, only to recover all of it and end the day with a tiny gain. Helping to drive that rebound was a record showing that past wars and conflicts in the Middle East have not usually meant long-term pain for U.S. stocks.

But that was with the caveat that oil prices did not jump too high, like above $100 per barrel. On Tuesday, oil prices rose again and raised more alarms. The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, briefly leaped above $84.

The jump lessened through the day, though, which helped moderate the losses for stocks. Brent settled at $81.40, up 4.7%. A barrel of benchmark U.S. crude rose 4.7% to $74.56.

The moves showed oil prices, and how much theyre set to worsen inflation, are among the central fears for investors. More expensive fuel will mean less money for U.S. and other households to spend. It would also raise expenses for companies worldwide, which would likewise hurt their profits. And corporate profits are the lifeblood of stock markets.

Tuesdays climb for oil prices came after Iran struck the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia, part of a widening of targets that also includes areas critical to the worlds oil and natural gas production. Worries are particularly high about the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Iran, a narrow passageway where roughly a fifth of the worlds oil passes.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | How they got him: Khamenei confirmed dead after CIA tracked Iran's Supreme Leader for months

Iranian Brig. Gen. Ebrahim Jabbari, an adviser to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, vowed that any ships that passed through the strait would be set on fire.

The fears about oil prices ebbed a bit later in the day as President Donald Trump said the U.S. Navy could begin escorting tankers through the strait, if necessary, to ensure the FREE FLOW of ENERGY to the WORLD.

Making things uncertain for markets is the question about how long this war may continue.

A major attack by the United States and Israel has already killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but Trump said late Monday night on his social media network, Wars can be fought forever, and very successfully with the supply of munitions that the United States possesses.

Some professional investors said again Tuesday they dont think this is the beginning of a long-term down market and that stocks could rebound if the war doesnt last that long. But they acknowledge it could take a while for that to become clear, and Tuesdays swings for markets show how uncertain things are.

Tuesdays sell-off started in Asia, where the Kospi stock index in South Korea, a big energy importer, plunged 7.2% as markets reopened after a holiday on Monday. That was its worst day since two summers ago, and it had been setting records recently.

Tokyos Nikkei 225 dropped 3.1%, even as analysts said Japan has a sizable stockpile lasting more than 200 days. In Europe, where prices for natural gas have soared because of the war, Frances CAC 40 lost 3.5%.

On Wall Street, nearly three out of every four stocks within the S&P 500 dropped. Unlike a day before, influential Big Tech stocks werent able to prop up indexes, and Nvidia fell 1.3%.

Among the winners on Wall Street was Target, which rose 6.7% after the retailer reported a better profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 64.99 points to 6,816.63. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 403.51 to 48,501.27, and the Nasdaq composite sank 232.17 to 22,516.69.

In the bond market, Treasury yields leaped in the morning with worries about inflation. The yield on the 10-year Treasury briefly rose above 4.10% before pulling back just below 4.06%. It was at 4.05% late Monday and just 3.97% on Friday.

Higher yields can make it more expensive for U.S. households and businesses to borrow money, affecting everything from mortgages to bond issuances. They also put downward pressure on prices for stocks and all kinds of other investments.

When Treasurys are paying more in interest, they can also undercut the price of gold, which pays its investors nothing. Gold fell 3.5% Tuesday to settle at $5,123.70 per ounce, halting a strong run that had taken it above $5,300 as investors looked for safer places to park their money.

High inflation could also tie the Federal Reserves hands and keep it from cutting interest rates. The Fed lowered rates several times last year and indicated more cuts were to come in 2026. That would help boost the economy and job market, but lower rates can also worsen inflation.

Traders are now pushing back their forecasts further into the summer for when the Fed could resume cutting rates, according to data from CME Group. Thats even though Trump has been calling for Fed officials in angry and personal terms to cut rates now.

Frustrated and anxious travelers clamored Tuesday for flights out of the Middle East and other regions where a widening Iran war has stranded tens of thousands of people, closed major airports and caused widespread cancellations.

The U.S. State Department urged all Americans to leave more than a dozen countries in the region, while other nations scrambled to arrange repatriation flights for their citizens. But with airspaces closed or restricted across the Gulf, many werent sure what to do.

RELATED STORY | State Department now urges Americans to leave Middle East countries as war intensifies

They say Get out, but how do you expect us to get out when airspaces are closed? said Odies Turner, a 32-year-old chef from Dallas who was stuck in Doha, Qatar. They just have been canceling every flight. I want to go home.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Mora Namdar posted Monday on X that Americans in 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, should DEPART NOW using any available commercial transportation.

Scramble to get home

While governments around the world worked to evacuate citizens who were stuck overseas, Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, said that right now, the options are fairly limited. He warned there was only so much the U.S. government could do.

The U.S. Embassy is not in a position at this time to evacuate or directly assist Americans in departing Israel, Huckabee wrote on X, adding information about a shuttle bus to Egypt the embassy provided as a courtesy as you make your own security plans.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | This was our last best chance to strike: Trump defends action against Iran

Many travelers were holed up in hotels near major Mideast gateways. Others were forced to seek shelter because of airstrikes, or were marooned on cruise ships that couldnt sail through the Strait of Hormuz.

We called our children at 3 a.m. to ask forgiveness because we might die and to tell them we love them and to let them know that its over for us, said Mariana Muicaru, among hundreds of Romanian pilgrims who had been stranded on a church trip to Israel.

Muicara, who watched rockets fly across the sky, finally reached Bucharest on Tuesday.

Critical travel route

Anita Mendiratta, an international aviation and tourism consultant who was stuck in Bangkok, said the location of the war would inevitably upend travel and trade.

Effectively within the Middle East, an eight-hour flying distance covers two-thirds of the world population, she said. When that corridor is blocked, it forces aviation to either move far north which is going into potentially other conflict airspace, such as Russia, such as Pakistan, or fly south. That puts huge pressure on the airlines.

Still, some were slowly making their way out.

Tess Arnold, a 34-year-old travel writer from Seattle, had been caught in Dubai, but managed to get to London on Tuesday and hopes to return home a day later.

After days of the unsettling booms and the site of what appeared to be missile or drone interceptions, she was elated to be on her way.

Huge relief, she said by text message. The entire plane was whooping and clapping.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem testified in the Senate on Tuesday in her first congressional appearance since the shooting deaths of two protesters in Minneapolis galvanized widespread opposition to how the Trump administration was executing its mass deportation agenda.

Noem's appearance in front of the Judiciary Committee also comes after a weekend shooting at a bar in Texas that is being investigated as a possible act of terrorism, leading to concerns that the escalating conflict in Iran could have repercussions for security in the U.S.

Her department's immigration tactics triggered a clash in Congress over its routine funding, which remains unresolved, although a spending bill passed last year granted it a significant infusion of cash for the Republican administration's mass deportation policy.

RELATED STORY | Minnesota launches investigation that could bring charges against federal immigration officers

Noem defended her agency's treatment of immigrants caught up in enforcement activities, and blamed activists and others for attacks against officers. She also lashed out at Democrats for the congressional funding showdown.

"The latest Democrat-led shutdown of DHS is reckless," Noem said. "It's unnecessary, and it undermines the American national security, and it harms the men and women who work at DHS and their families."

Noem last appeared in Congress in December. But since then, President Donald Trump's immigration agenda and its enforcement by Noem's department have met fierce resistance in Minnesota, culminating in the deaths of two protesters, both U.S. citizens, at the hands of federal immigration officers.

In what was initially billed as an effort to root out fraud in Minnesota, Homeland Security eventually sent hundreds of officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection to the state. They were met by protesters who organized marches, patrolled neighborhoods for ICE activity with whistles and ferried food to immigrants too afraid to leave their homes.

RELATED STORY | DHS accused of using surveillance technology to track legal observers

Renee Good was shot and killed by an ICE officer on Jan. 7, setting off intense protests by Minnesota politicians and residents pushing for Homeland Security to end its operation in the state. Then on Jan. 24, Customs and Border Protection officers opened fire on another Minnesota resident, Alex Pretti, who had been filming enforcement operations.

Those deaths led to cries for accountability and transparency. Noem, whose initial comments portrayed both Good and Pretti as the aggressors, has come under withering criticism by Democrats and even some Republicans, who have called for her to resign.

After public outrage over the deaths, Trump sent border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis to take control of operations on the ground there. Homan has since announced a drawdown of the ICE and CBP officers who had been sent to Minnesota to carry out what had been dubbed Operation Metro Surge, although he's been adamant that the president's mass deportation agenda will continue.

Noem faced questioning from Democrats who say officers under her control have abused their power, used excessive force and violated people's constitutional rights in carrying the Trump administration's agenda.

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the committee, repeatedly questioned Noem about comments she made immediately after the deaths of both Good and Pretti that cast them as the aggressors in the events leading up to their deaths. He called on her to apologize.

"You and your agency rushed to brand these victims as, quote, domestic terrorists," Durbin said. "We have ample video evidence and eyewitness testimony proving you are wrong. Your statements caused immeasurable pain to these families."

Noem said she was relying on information from people on the scene and blamed "violent protesters" for contributing to the chaos officers encountered.

"I was getting reports from the ground from agents at the scene, and I would say that it was a chaotic scene, as you've seen in Minneapolis and St. Paul," she said. Her officers "worked at targeting the worst of the worst" and many times faced violence from protesters, she added.

Homeland Security has often blamed conflicts in places like Minneapolis and Chicago where it's carrying out immigration enforcement activities as the fault of Democratic politicians who they say encourage people to oppose officers as they try to make arrests.

Noem is also slated to appear Wednesday in front of a House committee.

A gunman in Texas opened fire on a crowded bar in Austin's busy nightlife district over the weekend before being fatally shot by police in an attack that authorities are investigating as a possible act of terrorism.

The shooting early Sunday killed three people and wounded more than a dozen others. The suspect was wearing clothes with an Iranian flag design and the words Property of Allah," a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.

RELATED STORY | Gunman who opened fire on Texas bar was not on FBI radar, authorities say

The mass shooting happened after the U.S. and Israel launched an attack on Iran. The FBI and Austin police said they are still looking for a motive behind the shooting, which sent people in the bar and surrounding streets scrambling for cover.

Suspect fired first shots, parked, then fired again

Police said the gunman drove past Bufords Backyard Beer Garden before circling back and firing the first shots from his SUV at people on the sidewalk and inside the bar.

Some college students dove for cover while others stayed motionless inside the bar and across the street next to a food truck, trying to understand what was happening.

The shooting stopped for a moment. Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said the suspect parked, got out with a rifle and fired on others before officers rushed to the intersection and shot him.

Davis identified two victims as 21-year-old Savitha Shan and 19-year-old Ryder Harrington. Austin Police announced Monday evening that 30-year-old Jorge Pederson also died from his injuries.

Harrington joined the Beta Theta Pi fraternity at Texas Tech University in 2024, the fraternity said in an Instagram post. Shans LinkedIn profile listed her as a dual-degree student majoring in management information systems and economics at the University of Texas.

University president says shooting affected students

The bar is on Sixth Street, a nightlife destination filled with bars and music clubs near the flagship campus of the University of Texas system. The school is one of the nation's largest universities with 55,000 enrolled students.

Nathan Comeaux, a 22-year-old senior, spent the evening there with friends and said the bar was full of college students, probably mostly UT kids, shoulder to shoulder, hundreds just enjoying their nights.

Some of those affected included members of our Longhorn family, University President Jim Davis said, using the name of the school's mascot.

Police taped off several square blocks around Sixth Street after the shooting. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents and other federal investigators joined local police at the scene.

Shooter was originally from Senegal and legally bought the weapons

Both the FBI and police in Austin said Monday that its too soon to identify the motive.

Police said the gunman was 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne. He legally bought the pistol and rifle he used in the attack several years ago in San Antonio, Davis said.

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Diagne was originally from Senegal, according to multiple people briefed on the investigation who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation.

He first entered the U.S. in 2000 on a B-2 tourist visa, becoming a lawful permanent resident six years later after marrying a U.S. citizen, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Associated Press reporters on Monday were unable to reach Diagnes family members in the Austin area or his ex-wife, who recently was listed as living near San Antonio. A person who answered the door at a house listed for his ex-wife declined to comment and told a reporter to talk with investigators.

Police responded within 1 minute

The entertainment district has a heavy police presence on weekends, and officers were able to confront the gunman within a minute of the first call for help, the police chief said.

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson praised the fast response of police and emergency workers.

They definitely saved lives, he said.

Comeaux, the UT Austin senior, filmed the suspect as he walked toward Buford's with his gun pointed at officers, and officers fired at him.

The shooter was walking towards where I was and towards where the bar was, where there could have been 10 times as much damage if hed gone back to the bar where hundreds of students were hiding, Comeaux said. So Im just very grateful for the heroic police officers who were able to stop the suspect.

A Georgia man whose teenage son is accused of killing two students and two teachers at a high school was convicted of second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter Tuesday.

Colin Gray also was found guilty of all other charges in the September 2024 shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, northeast of Atlanta. Gray is one of a number of parents across the country who have been charged after their children were accused in fatal shootings.

He was found guilty of second-degree murder in the deaths of two 14-year-old students, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo. Georgia law defines second-degree murder as causing the death of a child by committing the crime of cruelty to children. Gray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the killings of teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53.

RELATED STORY | Georgia authorities release video of interviews with school shooting suspect

Prosecutors said Gray gave his son, Colt, access to a gun and ammunition after receiving sufficient warning that Colt Gray would harm and endanger the bodily safety of another.

Colt Gray, who was 14 at the time of the shooting, was indicted on a total of 55 counts, including murder. He has pleaded not guilty and the judge in his case has set a status hearing for mid-March.

Investigators said Colt Gray carefully planned the Sept. 4, 2024, shooting at the school attended by 1,900 students.

He boarded the school bus with a semiautomatic, assault-style rifle in his book bag, the barrel sticking out and wrapped in poster board, investigators said. He left his second-period class and emerged from a bathroom with the gun and then shot people in a classroom and hallways, investigators said.

RELATED STORY | Authorities arrest father of high school shooting suspect in Georgia

Colin Gray had given his son the gun as a gift the Christmas before the shooting and allowed him to have access to the gun and ammunition, despite his awareness that his sons mental health had deteriorated, a prosecutor said.

Colin Gray knew his son was obsessed with school shooters, even having a shrine in his bedroom to Nikolas Cruz, the shooter in the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, prosecutors said.

Violent clashes between protesters and security forces in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi and in the country's north left at least 22 people dead and more than 120 others injured as demonstrators supportive of the Iranian government attempted to storm a U.S. Consulate on Sunday, authorities said.

In the north of the country, demonstrators attacked U.N. and government offices.

The violence came after the United States and Israel attacked Iran, killing its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Police and officials at a hospital in Karachi said that at least 50 people were also wounded in the clashes and some of them were in critical condition.

RELATED STORY | 3 US service members killed as Iran retaliates after strikes on Khamenei

President Asif Ali Zardari expressed his profound sorrow over the martyrdom" of Khamenei and conveyed his condolences to Iran, according to his office. He said: Pakistan stands with the Iranian nation in this moment of grief and shares in their loss.

Summaiya Syed Tariq, a police surgeon at the city's main government hospital, confirmed six bodies and multiple injured people were brought to the facility. However, she said the death toll rose to 10 after four critically wounded people died.

In addition, 12 people were killed and over 80 wounded in clashes with police in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region when thousands of protesters angered by U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran attacked the offices of the U.N. Military Observer Group and the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP), local police official Asghar Ali said.

A government spokesman, Shabir Mir, said all staff working for those organizations was safe. He said protesters repeatedly clashed with police at various places in the region, damaged the offices of a local charity, and set fire to police offices. However, he said authorities had deployed troops and brought the situation under control.

RELATED STORY | Trumps Iran attack raises legal concerns among Democrats in Congress

The U.S. Embassy in Pakistan said in a post on X that it was monitoring reports of ongoing demonstrations at the U.S. Consulates General in Karachi and Lahore, as well as calls for additional protests at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad and the consulate general in Peshawar.

It advised U.S. citizens in Pakistan to monitor local news, stay aware of their surroundings, avoid large crowds and keep their travel registration with the U.S. government up to date.

U. S. Consulate windows smashed

In Karachi, which is the capital of southern Sindh province and Pakistans largest city, senior police official Irfan Baloch said that protesters briefly attacked the perimeter of the U.S. Consulate, but were later dispersed.

He dismissed reports that any part of the consulate building was set on fire. However, he said that protesters torched a nearby police post and smashed windows of the consulate before security forces arrived and regained control.

Protests in the area surrounding the consulate went on for hours, with dozens of youth, some covering their faces, throwing stones at law enforcement officials and vowing to reach the consulate where hundreds of police and paramilitary officers have been deployed.

The clashes prompted Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to issue an appeal for calm.

Following the martyrdom of Ayatollah Khamenei, every citizen of Pakistan shares in the grief of the people of Iran, Naqvi said in a statement, but urged people not to take the law into their own hands and to express their protests peacefully. The provincial government of Sindh also urged citizens to express their views peacefully and warned against engaging in violence.

Protests took place elsewhere in Pakistan

In Islamabad, police fired tear gas and swung batons as hundreds of protesters, angered by the killing of Khamenei, tried to march toward the U.S. Embassy. The clashes took place outside the city's diplomatic enclave, where the embassy is located, and additional police had been deployed.

Meanwhile, in the northwestern city of Peshawar, authorities also used tear gas and batons to disperse thousands of demonstrators attempting to approach the U.S. Consulate to hold a rally and to denounce the killing of the Iranian leader, police said.

Protesters also held a peaceful rally in Multan, a city in Punjab province, chanting slogans against Israel and the United States.

Mamoona Sherazi, who attended the rally, said that she was protesting Khamenei's killing. God willing, we will never bow before America and Israel, she said.

Protesters also rallied and clashed with police repeatedly near the U.S. Consulate in Lahore, the capital of eastern Punjab province, police said. Authorities said that the government has stepped up security around the U.S. Embassy in the capital, and consulates across the country to avoid any further violence.

Hundreds of thousands of stranded travelers scrambled to make new connections and get through to airlines on jammed phone lines after the attack on Iran by the United States and Israel shut down much of the Middle East to air travel.

RELATED STORY | How they got him: Khamenei confirmed dead after CIA tracked Iran's Supreme Leader for months

Tourists and business travelers crowded hotels and airports, with no word on when many airports would reopen or when flights to and through the Middle East would resume. Some governments advised their stranded citizens to shelter in place.

Shutdown airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha including Dubai International Airport, one of the busiest in the world are important hubs for travel between Europe, Africa and the West to Asia. All three were directly hit by strikes.

Mohammad Abdul Mannan, in the crowd at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, Bangladesh, said he wasn't concerned about the war, but that he needs to get his flight to the Middle East to make a living.

We have set out to go for work, and we must go," he said. "My only concern is how to go abroad and how to earn an income.

In Dubai, stranded travelers could hear fighter jets overhead and an explosion when the Fairmont Palm Hotel was hit by a missile strike.

Many were unable to get updated flight information from tour operators or Dubai-based Emirates Airlines, which suspended all flights to and from Dubai until at least Monday afternoon.

Louise Herrle and her husband had their flight to Washington canceled on their way back to their Pittsburgh home after a tour of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, with no word when they could reschedule.

Were in the hotel room, we are not leaving it, so youre not going to give it up until we know we have a flight out of here, Herrle said. Im sure everyone else is in the same situation.

RELATED STORY | Strikes on Iran could push US gas prices well above $3, analysts warn

Cirium, an aviation analytics firm, said it is hard to calculate the number of travelers affected worldwide.

However, it estimated that at least 90,000 people alone change flights daily in the airports in Dubai, Doha or Abu Dhabi on just three airlines, Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways.

Airports and airspaces still closed

Airspace or airports in Israel, Qatar, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates were closed, according to flight tracking sites and government agencies there.

More than 1,800 flights were canceled Sunday to airports across the Middle East, including those in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey and Egypt, according to Cirium. At least that number of flights were canceled Saturday.

Cancellations will extend beyond Sunday, at least.

Emirates Airlines suspended all flights to and from Dubai until at least Monday afternoon. The Qatar airport was closed until at least Monday morning, according to Qatar Airways. Israeli airline El Al said it was preparing a recovery effort to bring home Israelis stranded abroad once the airspace reopened.

Two airports in the United Arab Emirates reported strikes as the government there condemned what it called a blatant attack involving Iranian ballistic missiles on Saturday.

Officials at Dubai International Airport said four people were injured, while Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi said one person was killed and seven others were injured in a drone strike. Strikes were also reported at Kuwait International Airport.

Iran did not publicly claim responsibility.

Flight delays and cancellations are likely to continue

Airlines urged passengers to check their flight status online before heading to the airport. Some airlines issued waivers to affected travelers that will allow them to rebook their flight plans without paying extra fees or higher fares.

For travelers, theres no way to sugarcoat this, said Henry Harteveldt, an airline industry analyst and president of Atmosphere Research Group. You should prepare for delays or cancellations for the next few days as these attacks evolve and hopefully end.

Mike McCormick, who used to oversee air traffic control for the Federal Aviation Administration, said countries might reopen their airspace once American and Israeli officials tell airlines where military flights are operating and how capable Iran remains at firing missiles.

Check your flight status before you travel

The reverberations echoed far outside the Middle East for example, airport authorities in the resort island of Bali in Indonesia said more than 1,600 tourists were stranded at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport on Sunday after five flights to the Middle East were canceled or postponed.

Airlines that are crossing the Middle East will have to reroute flights around the conflict with many flights headed south over Saudi Arabia. That will cause delays and higher costs.

Jonathan Escott and his partner had arrived at the airport in Newcastle, England, on Saturday only to find out that his direct flight to Dubai on Emirates airline was canceled, leaving everyone on the flight stuck there.

Escott had no idea when he may be able to travel.

No one knows, Escott said. No one really knows whats going on with the conflict, really. Not Emirates, Emirates dont have a clue. No one has a clue.

A crowd gathered at a commuter gate at Reagan National Airport on Friday as fog-laden Washington skies caused an hourlong ground stop that backed up passengers hoping to head out from American Airlines' Terminal D.

But soon the already densely packed area swelled even more, as word spread across nearby gates that, of the hundreds of air travelers coming and going, only one among them was accompanied by a U.S. Secret Service detail, along with uniformed local police officers: former President Joe Biden.

Biden, who has rarely made public appearances since leaving office last year, sat, like many of his fellow passengers, awaiting a flight that would take him to Columbia, South Carolina, for an evening event with the South Carolina Democratic Party.

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Passengers whispered and gaped in wonder: Why would a man who for a time was leader of the free world be, like they were, at the mercy of airport travel delays, even as he sat ensconced in his security detail?

Maybe for Biden it made more sense than for some other former presidents. Known for years as Amtrak Joe, Biden as a senator prided himself on becoming arguably the nations biggest Amtrak fan, regularly taking the train home to Delaware rather than taking up residence in Washington. Now, as a former president, he's been spotted riding the rails since, taking selfies with and chatting up his fellow passengers.

On Friday, the vibe was about the same, as Biden seated in the third row of the tiny first class cabin on the commuter jet boarded the flight ahead of other passengers, along with his detail, members of which were spread throughout the plane.

God bless you, sir, one woman said, as she filed past Biden in his window seat, newspaper in his lap.

Thank you for your service, a man said, shaking Biden's hand.

RELATED STORY | If shes shining, hes dimmed: Kamala Harris recounts strained ties with Biden team

The woman who took the aisle seat next to the former president first set down her coffee on the arm rest they shared, deposited a bag in the overhead compartment, then sat down and realized her seatmate was the nation's 46th president.

Biden set his hand on her cup to steady it, then met her gaze with a hello as she took her seat.

I feel like I'm about to cry, the woman said, as they shook hands and, over the course of the next hour, chatted throughout the flight.

Former presidents and their spouses receive lifelong Secret Service protection under federal law, but there are no provisions guaranteeing the elite levels of private travel that were necessary features of their time in office.

Oil markets currently closed for the weekend are set to see price swings next week as the impact from the U.S. and Israeli strikes on oil supplies from the Middle East remains unclear.

Scenarios before the latest conflict with Iran foresaw a quick price spike that fades if the attacks didn't affect oil shipping and infrastructure such as Iranian pipelines and its Kharg island terminal. However, there would be a bigger price spike and longer-lasting impact if oil infrastructure or supplies were interrupted, for instance because of disruption of tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

RELATED STORY | Trump announces 'major combat operations' in Iran, reportedly killing hundreds

Oil prices have already risen on war fears. International benchmark Brent crude closed at a seven-month high of $72.87 on Friday.

Iran exports some 1.6 million barrels of oil a day, most of it going to China, where privately owned refineries are less concerned about the U.S. sanctions that prevent Iran from selling its oil elsewhere. If that supply is disrupted, Chinese customers would look elsewhere for oil on the global market, potentially driving up prices.

Another question is around the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of global oil supply pass through each day. Middle East exporters Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates send most of their exports through the strait. However analysts say Iran has no incentive to try to close the strait because it would cut off its own exports and hurt its only big customer, China.

Limited strikes on Irans nuclear program and the Revolutionary Guard that avoid regime change or all-out war could see prices jump $5-$10 based on fear alone, according to Rystad Energy in a prewar scenario.

RELATED STORY | Trumps Iran attack raises legal concerns among Democrats in Congress

A wider war involving Iranian disruption of tanker traffic could see crude push past $90 per barrel and US gas prices well above $3 per gallon, according to another prewar scenario from Clayton Seigle at the Center for Strategic & International Studies. U.S. gas prices averaged $2.98 per gallon last week, according to U.S. motoring club AAA.

Hours after its competitor was punished, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced on Friday night that his company struck a deal with the Pentagon to supply its AI to classified military networks, potentially filling a gap created by Anthropics ouster.

The Trump administration on Friday ordered all U.S. agencies to stop using Anthropics artificial intelligence technology and imposed other major penalties, escalating an unusually public clash between the government and the company over AI safety.

President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other officials took to social media to chastise Anthropic for failing to allow the military unrestricted use of its AI technology by a Friday deadline, accusing it of endangering national security after CEO Dario Amodei refused to back down over concerns the company's products could be used in ways that would violate its safeguards.

RELATED STORY | Trump directs all government agencies to stop using Anthropic's AI tools

But Altman said that the same red lines that were the sticking point in Anthropics dispute with the Pentagon are now enshrined in OpenAIs new partnership.

Two of our most important safety principles are prohibitions on domestic mass surveillance and human responsibility for the use of force, including for autonomous weapon systems, Altman wrote, adding that the Defense Department agrees with these principles, reflects them in law and policy, and we put them into our agreement.

Altman also said he hopes the Pentagon will offer these same terms to all AI companies as a way to de-escalate away from legal and governmental actions and toward reasonable agreements.

Anthropic had said it sought narrow assurances from the Pentagon that its AI chatbot Claude would not be used for mass surveillance of Americans or in fully autonomous weapons. The Pentagon said it was not interested in such uses and would only deploy the technology in legal ways, but it also insisted on access without any limitations.

RELATED STORY | Hegseth reportedly gives Anthropic deadline to allow unrestricted AI military use

No amount of intimidation or punishment from the Department of War will change our position on mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapons, the company said. We will challenge any supply chain risk designation in court.

The governments effort to assert dominance over the internal decision-making of the company comes amid a wider clash over AIs role in national security and concerns about how increasingly capable machines could be used in high-stakes situations involving lethal force, sensitive information or government surveillance.

Hours after the U.S. and Israel conducted strikes on Iran, Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said it launched a first wave of drones and missiles targeting Israel, where a nationwide warning was issued as the military said it was working to intercept incoming Iranian missiles. There was no immediate word on any damage or casualties from the ongoing attack.

U.S. Central Command said there have been no reports of U.S. casualties or combat-related injuries. Damage to U.S. installations was minimal and has not impacted operations, it said.

Israeli police and emergency services said several people were lightly wounded in missile strikes, while the military intercepted many of the incoming missiles.

Israel issued a nationwide warning and put the country on high alert, canceling school and most gatherings across the country.

Qatars Defense Ministry says the military has successfully repelled the second wave of Iranian attacks that targeted several parts of the nation.

The Qatari Foreign Ministry condemned the attacks, calling them a flagrant violation of its sovereignty. It added that Qatar has been always among the sides calling for a dialogue with Iran.

The Foreign Ministry said that the targeting of Qatar by a neighbor cannot be accepted under any justification or pretext as the gas-rich Gulf nation has always distanced itself from regional conflicts.

Meanwhile, Bahrain said that a missile attack targeted the U.S. Navys 5th Fleet headquarters in the island kingdom. Witnesses heard sirens and explosions in Kuwait, home to U.S. Army Central. Explosions could be also be heard in Qatar.

Iraq and the United Arab Emirates closed their airspace, and sirens sounded in Jordan.

RELATED STORY | Trump announces 'major combat operations' in Iran, multiple casualties reported

Iraqi officials also reported a drone strike hit a headquarters of the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia in Iraq, killing two people and wounding three Saturday. The group had earlier threatened to enter the fray should Iran come under attack. An Israeli military official said Israel was not aware of any Israeli strikes on Kataib Hezbollah headquarters in Iraq.

The Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, meanwhile, vowed to resume attacks on Red Sea shipping routes and on Israel, according to two senior Houthi officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity because there was no official announcement from the Houthi leadership.

U.S. embassies or consulates in Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Israel posted on social media that they told staffers to shelter in place and recommended all Americans do the same until further notice.

Earlier on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that major combat operations were underway Iran and warned the Iranian regime it would face overwhelming force.

Explosions were reported in Tehran following weeks of U.S. military buildup in the region, including additional aircraft carrier strike groups and cargo and tanker flights. Tensions had escalated amid nuclear talks that Trump suggested had stalled.

Federal prosecutors said Friday they won't appeal a judges ruling that bars them from seeking the death penalty against Luigi Mangione in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

In a letter, Deputy U.S. Attorney Sean Buckley told Judge Margaret Garnett that the government will not ask the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse her decision, clearing the way for a trial beginning in September. His state murder trial is set to start in June.

Garnett last month dismissed a federal murder charge murder through use of a firearm that had enabled prosecutors to seek capital punishment, finding it legally flawed.

She wrote that she did so to foreclose the death penalty as an available punishment to be considered by the jury when it weighs whether to convict Mangione in the December 2024 killing in Manhattan.

The judge, a former Manhattan federal prosecutor appointed to the bench by President Joe Biden, also threw out a gun charge but left in place stalking charges that carry a maximum punishment of life in prison.

RELATED STORY | A man impersonating an FBI agent tried to get Luigi Mangione out of jail, authorities say

To seek the death penalty, prosecutors needed to show that Mangione killed Thompson while committing another crime of violence. Stalking doesnt fit that definition, Garnett wrote in a 39-page opinion, citing case law and legal precedents.

The ruling disrupted the Trump administrations bid to see Mangione executed for what U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi called a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America. It was the first capital case brought by the Justice Department in President Donald Trumps second term.

Mangione, 27, has pleaded not guilty in the federal and state cases. The state charges also carry the possibility of life in prison. At a recent court hearing, he spoke out against the prospect of back-to-back trials, telling a judge: Its the same trial twice. One plus one is two. Double jeopardy by any commonsense definition.

Thompson, 50, was killed on Dec. 4, 2024, as he walked to a midtown Manhattan hotel for UnitedHealth Groups annual investor conference. Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting him from behind. Police say delay, deny and depose were written on the ammunition, mimicking a phrase used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims.

Mangione, a University of Pennsylvania graduate from a wealthy Maryland family, was arrested five days later after he was spotted eating breakfast at a McDonalds in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 230 miles west of Manhattan.

His lawyers have argued that authorities prejudiced his case by turning his arrest into a Marvel movie spectacle, including by having armed officers parade him up Manhattan pier after he was flown to New York, and by publicly declaring their desire to see him executed even before he was formally indicted.

RELATED NEWS | Luigi Mangione's court outburst: 'Double jeopardy by any commonsense definition'

Jury selection in Mangiones federal case is scheduled for Sept. 8, followed by opening statements and testimony on Oct. 13. His state trial is scheduled to begin June 8, but the judge in that case, Gregory Carro, said it could have been pushed back until Sept. 8 if federal prosecutors appealed the death penalty ruling.

In her ruling, Garnett acknowledged that the decision may strike the average person and indeed many lawyers and judges as tortured and strange, and the result may seem contrary to our intuitions about the criminal law.

But, she said, it reflected her committed effort to faithfully apply the dictates of the Supreme Court to the charges in this case. The law must be the Courts only concern.

Neil Sedaka, the hit-making singer-songwriter whose boyish soprano and bright melodies made him a top act in the early years of rock n' roll and led to a second run of success in the 1970s, has died.

Sedaka, whose hits included Breaking Up Is Hard to Do and Laughter in the Rain, died Friday at age 86.

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Our family is devastated by the sudden passing of our beloved husband, father and grandfather, Neil Sedaka, his family said in a statement. A true rock and roll legend, an inspiration to millions, but most importantly, at least to those of us who were lucky enough to know him, an incredible human being who will be deeply missed.

No other details of his death were immediately available.

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A key member of the Brill Building songwriting factory, Sedaka teamed with lyricist and boyhood neighbor Howard Greenfield on songs that reflected the teen innocence of the post-Elvis/pre-Beatles era of the late 1950s-early 1960s, including Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen, Calendar Girl and Oh! Carol, a lament for his high school sweetheart, Carole King.

After a long dry spell, he reemerged with such smashes as Laughter in the Rain and Bad Blood. The Captain & Tennille's cover of his Love Will Keep Us Together was a chart-topper in 1975.

U.S. stocks sank Friday as Wall Street kept punishing companies that could become losers in the artificial-intelligence revolution. A surprisingly discouraging update on inflation also hurt the market, while oil prices climbed with worries about tensions between the United States and Iran.

The S&P 500 fell 0.4% and staggered to the finish of just its second losing month in the last 10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 521 points, or 1.1%, the Nasdaq composite sank 0.9%.

The losses came as investors returned to knocking down software companies and other businesses they suspect could get supplanted by AI-powered competitors.

Block, the company behind Cash App, Square and other businesses, gave a potential signal of what AI could do after Chair Jack Dorsey said its cutting its workforce by nearly half. Thats even though he said 2025 was a strong year for the company, which is sending more cash to shareholders through stock buybacks.

RELATED STORY |Andrew Yang predicts AI could eliminate half of white-collar jobs

Intelligence tools have changed what it means to build and run a company, Dorsey said in a letter to investors while announcing Blocks latest profit results. Were already seeing it internally. A significantly smaller team, using the tools were building, can do more and do it better.

The co-founder of Twitter also said, I dont think were early to this realization. I think most companies are late. Within the next year, I believe the majority of companies will reach the same conclusion and make similar structural changes.

Block is cutting more than 4,000 jobs from its workforce of over 10,000. Its stock jumped 16.8% after making the announcement, while announcing its latest quarterly results.

Capable AI tools that can replace humans could perhaps replace entire companies, or at least eat away at their profit margins. Fears about AI disruption have caused sudden and swift sell-offs for stocks seen as potentially under threat, and theyve rolled through industries as different as trucking logistics and legal services.

Salesforce, whose platform helps customers manage their relationships with clients, fell 2.3%. It gave back much of its 4% gain from the day before after reporting a better profit than analysts expected.

The pain has also hit private-equity companies that have bought or lent money to software companies, which need to withstand the AI threat to keep repaying those loans. Apollo Global Management dropped 8.6% for the one of the sharpest losses in the S&P 500. Blue Owl Capital, which has been a target for investors because of the loans to it's made to the software industry, fell 6%.

Even the companies currently seeing their revenue and profit soar because of AI-related demand are under pressure. Nvidia fell 4.2% and was the heaviest weight on the U.S. stock market. A day earlier, it dropped to its worst loss since last spring even though it reported a better profit than analysts expected and forecast more in revenue for the current quarter.

Rival chip companies also fell. Worries are hurting such companies not only about whether their stock prices rose too high in recent years but also whether the huge spending driving their growth can continue. Can big spenders like Amazon and Alphabet make back all their billions of dollars in AI investments through higher productivity and profits in the future?

On the winning side of Wall Street was Netflix, which climbed 13.8% after walking away from its bid to buy Warner Bros. Discoverys studio and streaming business. That put Skydance-owned Paramount in a position to take over its Hollywood rival.

Paramount Skydance shares jumped 20.8%, while Warner Bros. Discovery fell 2.2%.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 29.98 points to 6,878.88. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 521.28 to 48,977.92, and the Nasdaq composite sank 210.17 to 22,668.21.

Some of the strongest action in financial markets was for oil, where the price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude rose 2.8% to settle at $67.02. Its the latest swing in a market unsettled by tensions between the United States and Iran over Irans nuclear program.

The U.S. military has already gathered a massive fleet of aircraft and warships in the Middle East, and a conflict could disrupt the global flow of oil and drive prices higher.

Brent crude, the international standard, rose 2.4% to $72.48 per barrel.

Also hurting the broad market was a report showing that inflation at the U.S. wholesale level was at 2.9% last month, much higher than the 1.6% that economists expected.

That could pressure the Federal Reserve to hold off longer on its cuts to interest rates. Lower rates would give the economy and prices for investments a boost, but they risk worsening inflation at the same time.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury sank to 3.96%. It briefly swiveled higher following the inflation report, but its down from its 4.02% level late Thursday. Treasury yields often fall when nervousness is high and investors are moving into investments that are considered safer.

ln stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in Europe and Asia. South Koreas Kospi fell 1% from its latest record, and Hong Kongs Hang Seng rose 0.9% for two of the worlds larger moves.

The U.S. Embassy in Israel on Friday told its staff that it could leave the country and urged anyone considering departure to do so immediately, as the threat of an American strike on Iran looms.

U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee told embassy employees in an email that discussions with officials in Washington had led to a decision authorizing departures for those who wished to leave.

The email was recounted to The Associated Press by someone involved with the U.S. mission who wasn't authorized to share details. Sent before 10:30 a.m., it urged staff considering departure to do so quickly, advising them to to focus initially on getting any flight out of Israel and to then make their way to Washington.

RELATED STORY | US military stages largest Middle East buildup since Iraq war amid heightened tensions with Iran

Those wishing to take AD should do so TODAY," Huckabee wrote, using an acronym for authorized departure.

While there may be outbound flights over the coming days, there may not be," he added.

Huckabee said that there was no need for panic, but for those desiring to leave, it was important to make plans soon.

The email came a day after Iran and the United States walked away from nuclear negotiations without a deal. Airlines such as Netherlands-based KLM have already announced plans to suspend flights out of Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport, and other embassies have also made plans for authorized departures from Israel and neighboring countries.

Australia on Wednesday directed the departure of all dependents of Australian officials posted to Israel in response to the deteriorating security situation in the Middle East. India and several European countries with missions in Iran advised citizens to avoid travel to the country as well.

On a town hall meeting Friday after the email was sent, Huckabee told staff that he was encouraging airlines to keep flying.

RELATED STORY | Trump weighing next steps with Iran

The departure authorizations signal a new level of contingency planning as a massive fleet of U.S. aircraft and warships mass in the Middle East.

Badr al-Busaidi, Oman's foreign minister who is mediating in the negotiations, said that there had been significant progress made on Thursday, though officials from Iran and the United States haven't announced steps forward.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Thursday offered no specifics, but said what needs to happen has been clearly spelled out from our side.

Shares in the financial technology company Block soared more than 20% in premarket trading Friday after its CEO announced it was laying off more than 4,000 of its 10,000 plus employees, reconfiguring to capitalize on its use of artificial intelligence.

The core thesis is simple. Intelligence tools have changed what it means to build and run a company, Jack Dorsey said in a letter to shareholders in Block, the parent company to online payment platforms such as Square and Cash App. A significantly smaller team, using the tools were building, can do more and do it better, he said.

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Dorsey's comments explicitly naming AI as a key driver behind the move were also posted on X, or Twitter, a company he co-founded. The assertion that the job cuts will add to Block's profitability and efficiency led investors to jump in and buy, analysts said.

Blocks shares gained 5% Thursday to $54.53, before it reported its earnings. They shot up to nearly $69 in after-hours trading. The mobile payments services provider reported its fourth quarter gross profit jumped 24% from a year earlier.

For years, we have debated whether AI would dent jobs at the margin. Now we have a public case study in which the CEO explicitly says that intelligence tools have changed what it means to build and run a company, Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

Other large employers have announced tens of thousands of cuts in recent months. Some have downplayed the AI link. Block did not, he said.

A global technology company founded in 2009, San Francisco-based Block operates in the United States, Canada, parts of Europe, Australia and Japan.

RELATED STORY | If cash apps fail, consumers could lose billions, feds warn

In a post on X, Dorsey outlined various ways the company will support those laid off. For employees overseas, the terms might differ, he said.

It was unclear which employees would be laid off where.

Layoffs by American companies remain at relatively healthy levels, but the job cuts at Block are the latest among thousands announced in recent months.

A number of other high-profile companies have announced layoffs recently, including UPS, Amazon, Dow and the Washington Post.