AP News in Brief at 12:04 a.m. EST

Senate Republicans vote down legislation to halt Iran war in Congress’ first vote on the conflict

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans voted down an effort Wednesday to halt President Donald Trump’s war against Iran, demonstrating early support for a conflict that has rapidly spread across the Middle East with no clear U.S. exit strategy.

The legislation, known as a war powers resolution, failed on a 47-53 vote tally. The vote fell mostly along party lines, though Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky voted in favor and Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania voted against.

The war powers resolution gave lawmakers an opportunity to demand congressional approval before any further attacks are carried out. The vote forced them to take a stand on a war shaping the fate of U.S. military members, countless other lives and the future of the region.

Underscoring the gravity of the moment, Democratic senators filled the Senate chamber and sat at their desks as the voting got underway. Typically, senators step into the chamber to cast their vote, then leave.

“Today every senator — every single one — will pick a side,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said before the vote. “Do you stand with the American people who are exhausted with forever wars in the Middle East or stand with Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth as they bumble us headfirst into another war?”

___

Last 2 names of 6 US soldiers who died in Kuwait attack identified by the Pentagon

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The last two names of the six U.S. soldiers killed in a drone strike at a command center in Kuwait were released Wednesday by the Pentagon, and they are from California and Iowa.

The soldiers identified Wednesday were Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, and Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien, 45, of Indianola, Iowa.

The six members of the Army Reserve, who worked in logistics and kept troops supplied with food and equipment, died Sunday when a drone hit a command center in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, one day after the U.S. and Israel launched its military campaign against Iran. Iran responded by launching missiles and drones against Israel and several Gulf Arab states that host U.S. armed forces.

The Pentagon said Marzan was at the scene when a drone strike hit the command center and is “believed to be the individual who perished at the scene,” according to the statement. A medical examiner will confirm identification, the Pentagon said.

Public records appeared to show Marzan living in Virginia but with family in the Sacramento area. Family members couldn’t immediately be reached or declined to comment.

___

Iran launches missiles at Israel and US bases as Israeli military begins new strikes in Lebanon

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran launched new strikes against Israel and U.S. military bases in the Middle East as aerial attacks resumed early Thursday after an American submarine sank an Iranian warship and Iran threatened the destruction of military and economic infrastructure across the region.

Israel announced multiple incoming missile attacks, and air sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Iranian state television said additional strikes also targeted U.S. bases. The Israeli military said it had begun new strikes in Lebanon targeting the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Beirut’s southern suburbs.

The fighting continued after the U.S. and Israel intensified their bombardment of Iran on Wednesday.

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 at the start of the conflict, would be postponed. Millions attended the funeral of his predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in 1989.

The U.S. and Israel launched the war Saturday, targeting Iran’s leadership, missile arsenal and nuclear program while suggesting that toppling the government is a goal. But the exact aims and timelines have repeatedly shifted, signaling an open-ended conflict.

___

Hegseth says US ‘can’t stop everything’ that Iran fires even as he asserts air dominance

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth acknowledged Wednesday that some Iranian air attacks may still hit their targets even as he asserted that U.S. military superiority is quickly giving it control of the Islamic Republic’s airspace.

The United States has spared “no expense or capability” to enhance air defense systems to protect American forces and allies in the Middle East, Hegseth told reporters at the Pentagon, days after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in a war that has widened throughout the region.

“This does not mean we can stop everything, but we ensured that the maximum possible defense and maximum possible force protection was set up before we went on offense,” he said.

The acknowledgment that additional drone or missile strikes could cause damage and harm to troops comes as President Donald Trump and top defense leaders have warned that more American casualties were expected in a conflict that began Saturday and could last months. The U.S. and Israeli bombardment intensified and Iran hit back Wednesday, when the Trump administration revealed that a U.S. submarine fired a torpedo that sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean.

U.S. service members “remain in harm’s way, and we must be clear-eyed that the risk is still high,” Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at the news conference with Hegseth.

___

Trump says he’ll make endorsement soon in the Texas Senate runoff between Paxton and Cornyn

DALLAS (AP) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday he soon will endorse a Republican candidate in the Texas Senate race, warning that the divisive contest “cannot, for the good of the Party, and our Country, itself, be allowed to go on any longer.”

But Trump, a former reality television host, continued to stoke suspense over his decision by not immediately naming his choice, even as Republicans on Capitol Hill pushed him to support four-term Sen. John Cornyn over conservative firebrand Ken Paxton, the state’s attorney general.

“IT MUST STOP NOW!” Trump wrote on social media after Cornyn and Paxton advanced on Tuesday to a May 26 runoff for the nomination. “I will be making my Endorsement soon, and will be asking the candidate that I don’t Endorse to immediately DROP OUT OF THE RACE! Is that fair? We must win in November!!!”

Paxton said he wouldn’t drop out no matter whom Trump backed.

“I’m staying in this race,” he told Real America’s Voice. “I owe it to the people of Texas.”

___

What to know about the investigation into Catholic priests in Rhode Island and sexual abuse charges

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A new investigation into the Catholic Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island, shows that an estimated 75 priests abused more than 300 children since 1950, with the state’s top law enforcement chief warning Wednesday that the scope of the abuse is likely much bigger.

The report was released by Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha, whose office has been investigating the diocese since 2019.

According to Neronha, the church could be doing more to address child sexual abuse. Yet diocese leaders have pushed back at the conclusions from the report, maintaining there are no “credibly accused clergy in active ministry.”

Here’s what to know about the investigation.

The report described church records as “damning,” declaring that the diocese often failed to take the proper steps to protect children from sexual abuse. While clergy abuse has been widely exposed, up until Wednesday’s report, the scope of what took place in Rhode Island had largely been unknown.

___

US issues first commercial construction permit for a nuclear reactor in years to a Wyoming project

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Wednesday approved its first construction permit for a commercial nuclear reactor in eight years, one that will allow a Bill Gates-backed company to build a sodium-cooled reactor in western Wyoming.

TerraPower filed for the permit in 2024 and construction is now set to begin within weeks. Completion of the up to $4 billion plant is targeted for 2030, according to TerraPower. Microsoft co-founder Gates, who is eyeing nuclear generation as a power source for the electricity-hungry data centers behind artificial intelligence, is a founder of TerraPower and its primary investor.

“We have spent thousands of manpower hours working to achieve this momentous accomplishment,” TerraPower President and CEO Chris Levesque said in a statement.

The TerraPower plant is set to be built near a coal-fired power plant that is being converted to burn natural gas outside Kemmerer, a town of about 2,500 people some 130 miles (210 kilometers) northeast of Salt Lake City.

Gates and his energy company are seeking to develop a next-generation nuclear plant that would “revolutionize” how power is generated. The 345-megawatt reactor is expected to produce up to 500 megawatts at its peak, enough energy for up to 400,000 homes.

___

Polls open in Nepal’s first election after last year’s youth-led protests toppled the government

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Polls opened Thursday in Nepal’s first nationwide election since last year’s violent, youth-led uprising forced the government from power.

Security forces patrolled streets and guarded polling stations across the Himalayan nation of about 30 million people as voters lined up to cast their ballots. Counting of votes will begin later Thursday, with results expected over the weekend.

Officials said both election campaigning and voting have been peaceful and there were no reports of any trouble.

“There is huge excitement about this election among the people, and we anticipate the voter turnout to be at least 65 percent,” said Nepal’s acting chief election commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari.

Authorities banned vehicles from the streets and prohibited political rallies and public gatherings. All forms of campaigning are barred on election day.

___

Judge rules companies are entitled to refunds for Trump tariffs overturned by the Supreme Court

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a defeat for the Trump administration, a federal judge in New York ruled Wednesday that companies that paid tariffs struck down last month by Supreme Court are due refunds.

Judge Richard Eaton of the U.S. Court of International Trade wrote that “all importers of record’’ were “entitled to benefit’’ from the Supreme Court ruling that struck down sweeping double-digit import taxes President Donald Trump imposed last year under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

The Supreme Court found those tariffs to be unconstitutional under the emergency powers law, including the sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs he levied on nearly every other country. The majority ruled that the president could not unilaterally set and change tariffs because taxation power clearly belongs to Congress.

In his ruling, Eaton wrote that he alone “will hear cases pertaining to the refund of IEEPA duties.’’ The ruling offers some clarity about the tariff refund process, something the Supreme Court did not even mention in its Feb. 20 decision. Trade lawyer Ryan Majerus, a partner at King & Spalding and a former U.S. trade official, said he expects the government to appeal or “seek a stay to buy more time for U.S. Customs to comply.″

The federal government collected more than $130 billion in the now-defunct tariffs through mid-December and could ultimately be on the hook for refunds worth $175 billion, according to calculations by the Penn Wharton Budget Model.

___

China sets a lower economic growth target of 4.5% to 5% for 2026 as challenges loom

BEIJING (AP) — China signaled continuity rather than change in its economic policy Thursday, announcing a slightly lower target for GDP growth this year in the face of a prolonged property slump and other headwinds at home and growing uncertainty abroad.

Premier Li Qiang announced a target of 4.5% to 5% annual growth in his annual report presented to the opening session of this year’s meeting of the National People’s Congress. That compares to actual growth of 5% last year and a target of about 5% in each of the preceding three years.

“While recognizing our achievements, we are also clear-eyed about the difficulties and challenges we face,” Li said, reading much of the 35-page report in a more than hourlong address.

China’s leaders are trying to balance the pursuit of two goals: reviving a flagging economy by boosting domestic spending while also furthering Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s ambitions to build China into a global leader in AI, robotics and other cutting-edge technologies. In line with the government’s approach in recent years, the annual report Thursday indicated it would continue to support domestic demand but not unleash any major new stimulus to boost economic growth in the short term.

In a draft budget for 2026, the government also trimmed China’s annual increase in its defense spending to 7%, down from 7.2% last year. The Congress, a largely ceremonial body that endorses policies set by the Communist Party leadership, is due to approve the annual report and budget at its closing session next week.