Iran launches barrage of missiles after Israel kills 2 of its top officials
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israel killed two senior Iranian security officials in a major blow to the country’s leadership. Iran, which confirmed both killings, renewed its attacks Wednesday on its Gulf Arab neighbors and Israel. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced the deaths of Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, and Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force. Larijani was considered one of the most powerful figures in the country since Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed on the first day of the war.
About 90 ships cross the Strait of Hormuz as Iran exports millions of barrels of oil despite the war
HONG KONG (AP) — About 90 ships including oil tankers have crossed the Strait of Hormuz since the beginning of the war with Iran. Maritime and trade data platforms report it is still exporting millions of barrels of oil at a time when it said it closed the key waterway for vessels of the U.S. and its allies. Analysts say Iranian oil export volumes remain resilient. Many of the vessels that have passed through the Strait are so-called “dark” transits evading Western sanctions that likely have ties with Iran. More recently, vessels with ties to India and Pakistan have also successfully crossed the strait as governments stepped up negotiations.
Top counterterrorism official Kent resigns over Trump’s Iran war, says Iran posed no imminent threat
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is pushing back against claims by the director of the National Counterterrorism Center about the motivations for the Iran war. In announcing his resignation Tuesday, Joe Kent claimed Iran “posed no imminent threat” to the United States. Trump says Iran is a “tremendous threat.” Kent also says it’s clear the U.S. started the war “due to pressure from Israel.” The Republican president previously has denied Israel forced the U.S. to act. Kent is a former Washington state political candidate with connections to right-wing extremists. As head of the National Counterterrorism Center, Kent was in charge of an agency tasked with analyzing and detecting terrorist threats.
Trump postpones his China trip to focus on the war in Iran
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is delaying a diplomatic trip to China that was planned for months but began to unravel as he pressured Beijing and other world powers to form a military coalition to protect the vital Strait of Hormuz. Trump said Tuesday while meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin in the Oval Office that he would be going to China in five or six weeks’ time instead of at the end of the month. Trump’s visit to China is seen as an opportunity to build on a fragile trade truce between the two superpowers, but it became tangled in his effort to find an endgame to his war in Iran.
Republicans are launching a voting bill debate that could last days or even weeks
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans have launched an unprecedented effort to hold the Senate floor and talk for days about a bill that they know won’t pass — an attempt to capture public attention on legislation requiring stricter voter registration rules as President Donald Trump pressures Congress to act before November’s midterm elections. The talkathon began Tuesday and could last a week or longer as Senate Majority Leader John Thune tries to navigate Trump’s insistence on the issue and Democrats’ united opposition. The legislation would require Americans to prove they are U.S. citizens before they register to vote and to show identification at the polls, among other new voting requirements.
Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton wins Democratic primary for US Senate
CHICAGO (AP) — Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton of Illinois has won the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. She will face Republican nominee Don Tracy in the November general election. The retirement of Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin triggered a competitive campaign. It drew as candidates two sitting members of the U.S. House and the state’s lieutenant governor, among others. Furious fundraising and sharp elbows marked the race. It also tested the influence of Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker. The races were also testing grounds for some of the biggest issues facing the Democratic Party, from support for Israel to immigration enforcement and the cryptocurrency and AI industries. Super PACs poured millions into the hotly contested primaries.
What to know about the deepening economic and political turmoil in Cuba
Cuba’s widening economic turmoil along with its growing political tensions with U.S. President Donald Trump have paralyzed much of the island. There’s also uncertainty about what’s next. The country was plunged into darkness this week by its third major blackout since December. That opened the door for Trump to suggest that he might have the “honor of taking Cuba.” Cuba is struggling under the weight of an U.S. energy blockade. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that Cuba’s current political and governmental system can’t fix the country’s problems. Rubio says they need dramatic changes.
Gunman killed and employee hospitalized after a shooting at a Georgia VA clinic, police say
JASPER, Ga. (AP) — Police in Georgia say they have responded to a shooting at a Department of Veterans Affairs clinic, where a suspect was shot and killed by police. A VA employee was airlifted to the hospital. Officials say Jasper police were sent to the VA clinic around 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The city says in a statement on Facebook that officers confronted the suspected shooter, who was shot. One victim was found at the scene and airlifted to a hospital. Calls to the Pickens County CA clinic were routed to various recordings Tuesday afternoon and no one answered the phone.
Attorney General Pam Bondi subpoenaed to answer questions from Congress about the Epstein files
WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Pam Bondi has been subpoenaed to answer questions from Congress about the Justice Department’s sex trafficking investigation of Jeffrey Epstein and the agency’s handling of millions of files related to the disgraced financier. Bondi was ordered Tuesday to appear for a deposition on April 14 by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform after a vote earlier this month that was supported by five Republicans. The Justice Department’s failure to fend off the subpoena from the Republican-led committee underscores widespread discontent among President Donald Trump’s own base over Bondi’s management of the review and release of a trove of documents from the criminal investigation into Epstein.
Flight cancellations and delays continue after US storms dump snow in the Midwest and head east
ATLANTA (AP) — Thousands of flights are canceled or delayed one day after powerful storms swept across the eastern half of the country and disrupted thousands of others. The flight-tracking site FlightAware says more than 1,000 flights scheduled to fly into, out of or within the U.S. have been called off Tuesday, It says 4,200 others have been delayed. Travelers have been facing additional jams at airport security checkpoints as a partial government shutdown strains screener staffing. The disruptions come at an already challenging time for air travel, in part because the shutdown that began Feb. 14 has pressured staffing at some security checkpoints.