AP News in Brief at 11:09 p.m. EDT

Alarm grows after the US inserts itself into Israel’s war against Iran with strikes on nuclear sites

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The world grappled Sunday with the United States inserting itself into Israel’s war by attacking Iranian nuclear sites, an operation that raised urgent questions about what remained of Tehran’s nuclear program and how its weakened military might respond.

Experts warned that worldwide efforts to contain the spread of nuclear weapons by peaceful means would be at stake in the days ahead, while fears of a wider regional conflict loomed large. The price of oil rose as financial markets reacted.

Iran lashed out at the U.S. for crossing “a very big red line” with its risky gambit to strike the three sites with missiles and 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs.

Iran’s U.N. ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani, told an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council that the U.S. “decided to destroy diplomacy,” and that the Iranian military will decide the “timing, nature and scale” of a “proportionate response.” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi flew to Moscow to coordinate with close ally Russia.

Tens of thousands of American troops are based in the Middle East. Ali Akbar Velayati, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, said any country used by the U.S. to strike Iran ”will be a legitimate target for our armed forces,” the state-run IRNA news agency reported.

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Trump is open to regime change in Iran, after his administration said that wasn’t the goal

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Sunday called into question the future of Iran’s ruling theocracy after a surprise attack on three of the country’s nuclear sites, seemingly contradicting his administration’s earlier calls to resume negotiations and avoid an escalation in fighting.

“It’s not politically correct to use the term, ‘Regime Change,’ but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change???” Trump posted on social media. “MIGA!!!”

The posting on Truth Social marked something of a reversal from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Sunday morning news conference that detailed the aerial bombing.

“This mission was not and has not been about regime change,” Hegseth said.

What the administration has made clear is that it wants Iran to stop any development of nuclear weapons, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio warning on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” that any retaliation against the U.S. or a rush toward building a nuclear weapon would “put the regime at risk.”

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11 days in June: Trump’s path to ‘yes’ on bombing Iran

WASHINGTON (AP) — For more than a week, President Donald Trump kept the world wondering whether he would join Israel’s attacks on Iran in an attempt to decapitate the country’s nuclear program. The guessing ended this weekend, when American stealth bombers, fighter jets and a submarine struck with bombs and missiles.

Trump’s decision marks one of the riskiest foreign policy decisions by a U.S. president in recent memory, potentially plunging the nation back into armed conflict in the Middle East with no clear endgame.

Like most of Trump’s presidency, the path to military action was unconventional and played out on social media, as he alternatively pledged diplomacy, demanded the evacuation of Tehran, threatened the ayatollah and ultimately announced the U.S. strike.

Here’s a look at how the last 11 days unfolded, a cascade of events that could reshape a combustible corner of the globe. All dates below are in Eastern time.

The first sign that conflict could be on the horizon came when families of U.S. troops began leaving the Middle East. “They are being moved out because it could be a dangerous place, and we’ll see what happens,” Trump said as he arrived at the Kennedy Center for opening night of “Les Misérables,” one of his favorite musicals.

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Oil rises and US stock futures, Asian shares slip after US strike on Iran nuclear sites

NEW YORK (AP) — The price of oil rose and U.S. stock futures fell as global markets react to the U.S. strike against nuclear targets in Iran.

The price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 2.6% to $79 a barrel. U.S. crude rose 2.6% to $75.76 a barrel.

On Saturday, U.S. forces attacked three Iranian nuclear and military sites, further increasing the stakes in the war between Israel and Iran.

Futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.4%, while Nasdaq futures fell 0.5%. Treasury yields were little changed. The modest moves indicate markets are taking the latest development in stride.

That was evident in early Asian trading. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index fell 0.6%. Other major regional markets also logged moderate declines.

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Police say a man opened fire outside a church before staff fatally shot him, averting mass shooting

WAYNE, Mich. (AP) — A man who opened fire outside a Michigan church filled with worshippers on Sunday was struck by a vehicle and then fatally shot by security staff who averted a potential mass shooting, police said.

Churchgoers attending a morning service at CrossPointe Community Church in Wayne spotted the gunman driving recklessly and then saw him exit his car wearing a tactical vest and carrying a rifle and a handgun, police Chief Ryan Strong said at an evening news conference.

The man began firing as he approached the church, striking one person in the leg.

“A parishioner struck the gunman with his vehicle as the gunman shot the vehicle repeatedly,” Strong told reporters. “At least two staff members shot the gunman, causing the fatal wounds.”

Police described the suspect as a 31-year-old white male with no known connection to the church. His motive remains unclear, but it appears he was suffering from a mental health crisis, Strong said.

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Eastern half of US sweltering again, with dangerous heat wave expected to last until midweek

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Tens of millions of people across the Midwest and East endured dangerously hot temperatures again on Sunday as a sprawling June heat wave that gripped much of the U.S. was expected to last well into this week.

Most of the northeastern quadrant of the country from Minnesota to Maine was under some type of heat advisory. So were parts of Arkansas, Tennessee, Louisiana and Mississippi, the National Weather Service said.

Weather service offices throughout the region warned of sweltering and sometimes life-threatening conditions through Wednesday.

“Please plan ahead to take frequent breaks if you must be outside, stay hydrated and provide plenty of water and shade for any outdoor animals,” the service office in Wakefield, Virginia, said on X.

Meteorologists say a phenomenon known as a heat dome, a large area of high pressure in the upper atmosphere that traps heat and humidity, is responsible for the extreme temperatures.

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Suicide bomber kills at least 22 in Greek Orthodox church in Syria during Divine Liturgy

DWEIL’A, Syria (AP) — A suicide bomber in Syria opened fire then detonated an explosive vest inside a Greek Orthodox church filled with people praying on Sunday, killing at least 22 and wounding 63 others, state media reported.

The attack took place in Dweil’a on the outskirts of Damascus inside the Mar Elias Church, according to state media SANA, citing the Health Ministry for the toll of dead and wounded. Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said there were at least 19 peopled killed and dozens wounded, but did not give exact numbers. Some local media reported that children were among the casualties.

The attack on the church was the first of its kind in Syria in years, and comes as Damascus under its de facto Islamist rule is trying to win the support of minorities. As President Ahmad al-Sharaa struggles to exert authority across the country, there have been concerns about the presence of sleeper cells of extremist groups in the war-torn country.

No group immediately claimed responsibility Sunday. Syrian Interior Ministry spokesman Noureddine Al-Baba said in a news conference that their preliminary investigation points to the extremist Islamic State group. The ministry said one gunmen entered the church, fired at the people there before detonating himself with an explosives vest, echoing some witness testimonies.

“The security of places of worship is a red line,” he said, adding that IS and remaining members of the ousted Assad government are trying to destabilize Syria.

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Game 7: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scores 29 points and Thunder beat Pacers 103-91 for NBA title

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander walked off the court for the final time this season, collapsed into the arms of coach Mark Daigneault and finally smiled.

It was over.

The climb is complete. The rebuild is done. The Oklahoma City Thunder are champions.

The best team all season was the best team at the end, bringing the NBA title to Oklahoma City for the first time. Gilgeous-Alexander finished off his MVP season with 29 points and 12 assists, and the Thunder beat the Indiana Pacers — who lost Tyrese Haliburton to a serious leg injury in the opening minutes — 103-91 in Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night.

“It doesn’t feel real,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “So many hours. So many moments. So many emotions. So many nights of disbelief. So many nights of belief. It’s crazy to know that we’re all here, but this group worked for it. This group put in the hours and we deserve this.”

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Judge will order Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s release before trial, but ICE plans to detain him

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A federal judge in Tennessee plans to order the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose mistaken deportation to El Salvador has become a flashpoint in President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, while he awaits a federal trial on human smuggling charges.

But Abrego Garcia is not expected to go free because U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will likely take him into custody and possibly try to deport him.

In a ruling on Sunday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes denied the U.S. government’s motion to keep Abrego Garcia in detention before his trial. She scheduled a hearing for Wednesday to discuss the conditions of his release.

The U.S. government has already filed a motion to appeal the judge’s decision and is asking the judge to stay her impending release order.

Abrego Garcia pleaded not guilty on June 13 to smuggling charges that his attorneys have characterized as an attempt to justify his mistaken deportation in March to a notorious prison in El Salvador after the fact. That hearing was the first chance the Maryland construction worker had in a U.S. courtroom to answer the Trump administration’s allegations.

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Takeaways from AP report on Wagner allegedly committing war crimes by promoting atrocities

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Editor’s Note: This story contains graphic images and descriptions of atrocities.

The International Criminal Court has been asked to review a confidential legal brief arguing that the Russia-linked Wagner Group has committed war crimes by spreading images of apparent atrocities in West Africa on social media, including ones alluding to cannibalism. The brief was seen exclusively by The Associated Press.

Violence in the Sahel, an arid belt of land south of the Sahara Desert, has reached record levels as military governments battle extremist groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. Last year, it became the deadliest place on earth for extremism, with half of the world’s nearly 8,000 victims killed across the territory, according to yearly data compiled by the Institute for Economics and Peace.

While the United States and other Western powers withdraw from the region, Russia has taken advantage, expanding military cooperation with several African nations via Wagner, the private security company closely linked to Russia’s intelligence and military.

Observers say the new approach has led to the kind of atrocities and dehumanization not seen in the region for decades. Social media offers a window into the alleged horrors that often occur in remote areas with little or no oversight from governments or outside observers.