A 10-day ceasefire agreed on by Israel and Lebanon goes into effect<\/p>\n
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) \u2014 A 10-day truce began in Lebanon on Friday that could pause fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group and boost attempts to extend the ceasefire between Iran, the United States and Israel after weeks of devastating war.<\/p>\n
U.S. President Donald Trump announced the agreement as a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. However, Israel has not been fighting with Lebanon itself, but rather with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants inside the country, who were not formally part of the agreement.<\/p>\n
Barrages of gunshots rang out across Beirut as residents fired into the air just after midnight to celebrate the beginning of the truce. <\/p>\n
Displaced families began moving toward southern Lebanon and Beirut\u2019s southern suburbs, despite warnings by officials not to attempt to return to their homes until it became clear whether the ceasefire would hold. <\/p>\n
Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he agreed to the ceasefire \u201cto advance\u201d peace efforts with Lebanon, but said Israeli troops would not withdraw.<\/p>\n
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US military will target Iran-linked ships worldwide, broadening scope beyond blockade<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 The U.S. military has widened its efforts beyond the blockade of Iran’s ports to allow its forces around the world to stop any ship tied to Tehran or those suspected of carrying supplies that could help its government, from weapons to oil, metals and electronics.<\/p>\n
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, specifically pointed to operations in the Pacific, saying the U.S. would be targeting vessels that left before the blockade began earlier this week outside the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for energy and other shipments.<\/p>\n
U.S. forces in other areas of responsibility \u201cwill actively pursue any Iranian-flagged vessel or any vessel attempting to provide material support to Iran,\u201d he told reporters at the Pentagon.<\/p>\n
The military also detailed an expansive lists of goods that it considers contraband, declaring that it will board, search and seize them from merchant vessels \u201cregardless of location.\u201d A notice published Thursday says any \u201cgoods that are destined for an enemy and that may be susceptible to use in armed conflict\u201d are \u201csubject to capture at any place beyond neutral territory.\u201d<\/p>\n
The expansion of U.S. military efforts to target Iranian shipping is another pressure point for Tehran and comes as a ceasefire is set to expire in mere days. Mediators are pressing for an extension to a truce that has paused almost seven weeks of war between Israel, the U.S. and Iran.<\/p>\n
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Justin Fairfax killed his estranged wife and himself 2 weeks before a court deadline to move out<\/p>\n
ANNANDALE, Va. (AP) \u2014 Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, a rising star in the Democratic Party until sexual assault allegations ruined his political fortunes, killed his estranged wife and then himself weeks before a judge’s deadline to move out of their family home, according to police and court records.<\/p>\n
Officers called to the home in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Annandale early Thursday found the bodies of Fairfax, 47, and his wife, Dr. Cerina Fairfax, 49, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said.<\/p>\n
Justin Fairfax fatally shot his wife, a successful dentist, in the basement before going to an upstairs bedroom and killing himself, Davis said. Their son called 911.<\/p>\n
One of Justin Fairfax’s longtime friends told The Associated Press that he became increasingly despondent after his wife filed for divorce last year. The judge overseeing the divorce recently wrote that his \u201cisolation, drinking, and a lack of participation in family life are manifestations of what seems to be a sense of fatalism and hopelessness.\u201d<\/p>\n
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County prosecutor charges ICE agent with assault for pointing gun at people on Minneapolis highway<\/p>\n
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) \u2014 A federal immigration agent accused of pointing his gun at occupants of a car after pulling alongside them on a Minneapolis-area highway is wanted on felony assault charges, Minnesota prosecutors said Thursday.<\/p>\n
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said it is the first criminal case against a federal officer involved in the Minnesota immigration crackdown, which was part of a surge of forces into cities including Los Angeles, Chicago and New Orleans.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no such thing as absolute immunity for federal agents who violate the law in the state of Minnesota,\u201d Moriarty told a news conference, saying the agent acted outside the scope of a federal officers\u2019 authority.<\/p>\n
An arrest warrant filed in Hennepin County, which includes Minneapolis, says Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr. is charged with two counts of second-degree assault. Minnesota authorities say Morgan, 35, was driving back to immigration offices at the end of his shift when the incident occurred Feb. 5. <\/p>\n
The driver and front-seat passenger of a car called 911 saying the driver of an unmarked SUV pulled alongside them, rolled down his window and pointed a handgun at them both. The car’s driver told investigators they feared it was a \u201ccrazy person driving down the road aiming guns at people,” according to the warrant.<\/p>\n
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Jet fuel supplies are lagging. What does that mean for airlines and travelers?<\/p>\n
NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 A looming jet fuel shortage in Europe and Asia sparked by the Iran war and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz could further upend world travel within weeks if oil doesn’t start flowing again soon \u2014 meaning higher airfares and flight cancellations as the summer travel season approaches.<\/p>\n
In an exclusive Associated Press interview Thursday, International Energy Agency Director Fatih Birol said Europe has \u201cmaybe six weeks\u201d of remaining jet fuel supplies and said the global economy faces its “largest energy crisis.” <\/p>\n
In general, some European countries hold several months’ worth of jet fuel inventory at a time, according to an IEA report released this week. <\/p>\n
Jet fuel \u2014 a refined kerosene-based oil product \u2014 is airlines’ biggest cost, making up about 30% of overall expenses, according to the International Air Transport Association. And jet fuel prices have roughly doubled since the war began. Shortages could start next.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery passing day that the Strait of Hormuz remains shut, Europe is edging closer to supply shortages,\u201d said Amaar Khan, head of European jet fuel pricing at Argus Media. \u201cThe strait accounts for around 40% of Europe\u2019s jet fuel imports, but no jet fuel has passed the strait since the war broke out.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Trump bets his tax cuts will please Las Vegas voters on his swing West<\/p>\n
LAS VEGAS (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump is betting that the tax cuts he signed into law last year will resonate with voters in Las Vegas, where he highlighted his tax breaks for tipped workers in an appeal targeted at this year’s midterm elections.<\/p>\n
Workers who earn tips and overtime are seeing bigger returns this tax season, but those savings and others resulting from the \u201cOne Big Beautiful Bill Act\u201d that Trump signed last year have been eaten away by higher gas pricesdriven by the Iran war.<\/p>\n
The president recalled in his remarks how a woman in Las Vegas gave him the idea to make tips tax-free, a move that he said is now helping \u201cthousands of Nevada waiters and waitresses, casino dealers, bartenders, bellmen, barbers, caddies.”<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery single American at every income level has more money in their pockets this week because of the Republican tax policies,\u201d Trump said. \u201cAnd we got to win the midterms. If we don’t, these policies are going to be taken away from you.\u201d<\/p>\n
The president\u2019s rare trip out West comes as Trump faces growing political pressure to wrap up the war and focus on a message that helps his party as they try to defend their congressional majorities in November\u2019s elections. Trump insisted before departing from the White House for Las Vegas that gas prices were \u201cnot very high\u201d compared with what he thought they would be because of the Iran war.<\/p>\n
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Trump rails against court decision that once again stalls his White House ballroom project<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump railed against a federal judge’s decision on Thursday that continues to block above-ground construction of a $400 million White House ballroom, allowing only below-ground work on a bunker and other \u201cnational security facilities\u201d at the site.<\/p>\n
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon\u2019s latest ruling comes in response to an appeals court\u2019s instruction to clarify an earlier decision on the 90,000-square-foot (8,400-square-meter) ballroom planned for the site where it demolished the East Wing of the White House.<\/p>\n
Trump on social media called Leon, who was nominated to the bench by Republican President George W. Bush, a \u201cTrump Hating\u201d judge who \u201chas gone out of his way to undermine National Security, and to make sure that this Great Gift to America gets delayed, or doesn\u2019t get built.\u201d<\/p>\n
The administration filed a notice that it will ask the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to review Leon’s latest decision, too.<\/p>\n
National Trust for Historic Preservation president and CEO Carol Quillen, whose group sued to challenge the project, said in a statement that the group is pleased with the court’s ruling.<\/p>\n
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Wall Street sets another record after US stocks tick higher<\/p>\n
NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 The U.S. stock market ticked to another record high Thursday as Wall Street waits for more clues about what will happen in the Iran war before making its next big move. <\/p>\n
The S&P 500 rose 0.3%, a day after topping its prior all-time high set in January, for its 11th gain in 12 days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 115 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.4%. <\/p>\n
U.S. stocks have leaped more than 10% since hitting a low in late March, driven by hopes for an end to the war or something that could avert a worst-case scenario for the global economy. Now, the wait is on to see if such hopes were prescient or just wishful thinking. <\/p>\n
Pakistan\u2019s powerful army chief met Thursday with Iran\u2019s parliament speaker as part of efforts to press for an extension to a ceasefire that has paused almost seven weeks of war between Israel, the U.S. and the Islamic Republic.<\/p>\n
Oil prices climbed, showing that caution still remains in financial markets. The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 4.7% to settle at $99.39. It\u2019s gone from roughly $70 before the war to as high as $119 at times on uncertainty about how long the war will keep oil stuck in the Persian Gulf area and away from customers. <\/p>\n
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Tijuana River sewage is making the air toxic and sickening thousands in California<\/p>\n
SAN DIEGO (AP) \u2014 The smell of rotten eggs permeates Steve Egger’s Southern California home, especially at night as the nearby Tijuana River foams up with sewage from Mexico before emptying into the Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n
Egger, 72, says he and his wife have frequent headaches and wake up congested and coughing up phlegm. Their home is outfitted with a hospital-grade filtration system that cycles the air every 15 minutes. <\/p>\n
Despite those measures, \u201cmost nights we breathe in a horrible stench,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s awful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since 2018, more than 100 billion gallons (378 billion liters) of raw sewage laden with industrial chemicals and trash have poured into the Tijuana River, according to the International Boundary and Water Commission. The river traverses land where three generations of the Egger family once raised dairy cows. The United States and Mexico signed an agreement last year to clean up the longstanding problem by upgrading wastewater plants to keep up with Tijuana\u2019s population growth and industrial waste from factories, many owned by U.S. companies. <\/p>\n
In the meantime, tens of thousands of people are being exposed to the sewage. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin said during a February visit to San Diego that it will take about two years to resolve one of the nation\u2019s worst and longest-running environmental crises, which affects a largely poor, Latino population. <\/p>\n
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Artemis II astronauts praise their moonship’s performance, especially the heat shield<\/p>\n
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) \u2014 The Artemis II astronauts who ignited a lunar renaissance gave high marks Thursday to their moonship, especially the heat shield, for its performance during reentry.<\/p>\n
In their first news conference since returning to Earth, the three Americans and one Canadian said their lunar flyby puts NASA in a much better position for a moon landing by a crew in two years and an eventual moon base. They spoke from NASA\u2019s Johnson Space Center in Houston, their home base.<\/p>\n
Commander Reid Wiseman later told The Associated Press that he\u2019s been so busy since getting back that he hasn\u2019t had time to gaze up at the moon, let alone Carroll Crater, the name suggested by the crew for a bright lunar crater in honor of his late wife. They shared two daughters whose anxieties and fears over their father\u2019s journey ended with his safe splashdown late last week.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing 252,000 miles away from home was the most majestic, gorgeous thing that human eyes will ever witness,\u201d he said in an interview with the AP. But hurtling back through the atmosphere at 39 times the speed of sound, \u201cthat is scary and that is risky.\u201d That\u2019s why he yearned for home midway through his flight. \u201cYou just want to hold your kids and you just want them to know that you\u2019re safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canada\u2019s Jeremy Hansen launched to the moon from Florida on April 1, NASA\u2019s first lunar crew in more than a half-century and by far the most diverse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A 10-day ceasefire agreed on by Israel and Lebanon goes into effect BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) \u2014 A 10-day truce began in Lebanon on Friday that could pause fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group and boost attempts to extend the ceasefire between Iran, the United States and Israel after weeks of devastating war. U.S. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":521,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"guid":"7c96ef4a-3ee5-447b-b9c3-ea05f24c31b4","source":"The Associated Press","byline":"","published":"2026-04-15 21:04:56","updated":"2026-04-16 20:04:52","_infotelid":"","_prepressid":"","_multisite_post_sync":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1303,1304],"tags":[],"region":[1301],"class_list":["post-5493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-international","category-world","region-world"],"blocksy_meta":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/5493\/ap-news-in-brief-at-1104-pm-edt-292\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"AP News in Brief at 11:04 p.m. EDT","url":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/5493\/ap-news-in-brief-at-1104-pm-edt-292\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/5493\/ap-news-in-brief-at-1104-pm-edt-292\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":""},"articleSection":"International","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"The Associated Press"}],"creator":["The Associated Press"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"iNwheels","logo":""},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2026-04-16T04:04:56Z","datePublished":"2026-04-16T04:04:56Z","dateModified":"2026-04-17T03:15:02Z"},"rendered":"