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The Latest: Trump says he called off dispatching envoys to Iran talks

“should first remove operational obstacles, including the blockade,” to allow a new round of negotiations, according to the ISNA and Tasnim news agencies in Iran.Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi left Pakistan on Saturday evening, two Pakistani officials told The Associated Press. Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency said Araghchi is expected back in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad on Sunday.Trump said Thursday that Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah by

Here’s what we know about security measures at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner

Access to the hotel was restricted to hotel guests, people with tickets to the dinner itself, an invitation to one of the receptions that are held at the hotel before or after the dinner, or documents from the White House Correspondents’ Association indicating affiliation with the dinner.The 2,300 guests at the event in the hotel’s cavernous subterranean ballroom had to pass through several additional checks to enter the room, including showing tickets to association volunteers and h

4 vying to be the next UN chief try to set themselves apart as race heats up

<block>UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Four candidates vying to lead the United Nations have spent hours being grilled about their views on issues from restoring global peace to ending escalating poverty — in what the U.N. General Assembly president called one of the toughest job interviews in the world.There was no clear victor after Chile’s Michelle Bachelet, Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan and Senegal’s Macky Sall fielded questions from U.N. ambassadors this past week.Plus, other candidates could wait until after the initial auditions to jump into the race to succeed U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres on Jan. 1.“This role matters,” said General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock, who presided over the question-and-answer sessions. “The secretary-general is not only the head of the U.N. and the world’s top diplomat — she or he also represents all 8 billion of us, defending the U.N. Charter and leading on peace, development, human rights.”<hl2>How the candidates view the UN’s work</hl2>All four said they would focus on those three pillars of the U.N., especially its founding role following World War II of ensuring international peace and security and preventing conflicts — which it has not been able to do in Iran, Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan and other global hot spots because of wide divisions. They also pledged to spur reforms to the more than 80-year-old institution.Bachelet, 74, a two-time president of Chile and former U.N. human rights chief, told the ambassadors that the U.N. must try to avoid crises and that she has the right leadership skills. “I stand before you to reclaim the urgent need for dialogue,” she said, stressing that the U.N. must anticipate, prevent and unite. The next secretary-general also needs to be “physically present in the field” to help tackle problems, she said.Grossi, 65, a former Argentine diplomat who has been director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency since 2019, said that with the world so polarized, “there are enormous, huge doubts about our institution” in solving global problems. Unless the U.N. has effective leadership and support from all countries, it won’t regain a key place at the table, he said, “so we have to concentrate on that.” He also said the next U.N. chief must visit global hot spots.Grynspan, 65, a former Costa Rican vice president who has been secretary-general of the U.N. trade and development agency since 2021, said she knows how to stand up for principles while under pressure. As secretary-general, she said she would “continue to be the moral voice and the impartial voice that the secretary-general has to be.” The U.N. has become “a risk-conservative organization,” she warned. “We need to take more risks — and I am ready to fail and try again.”Sall, 64, who was president of Senegal for 12 years, said the U.N. needs to “regain its place at the global table.” If chosen, he said he would be “a bridge-builder” and that his first priority would be “to contribute to restoring trust, to calm tensions, reduce fragmentation and breathe renewed hope into our collective action.”<hl2>Some candidates are facing pushback</hl2>Bachelet, a medical doctor, responded to a letter from 28 Republican U.S. lawmakers calling her a “pro-abortion zealot” and asking Secretary of State Marco Rubio to veto her, saying the issue is controversial and that she respects every country’s right to decide. She called herself a strong believer in women’s rights to decide on their own lives and how many children to have. As secretary-general, she said she would do whatever is necessary to advance agreements by U.N. member nations, including on promoting gender equality.By tradition, the job of secretary-general rotates by region, and this year it is Latin America’s turn. Sall, the only candidate from outside the region, said the U.N. Charter doesn’t bar any candidates. He noted that after a leader from the global north — Guterres is Portuguese — the next U.N. chief should be from the global south. Sall was also the only candidate to spark demonstrations outside U.N. headquarters — both for and against his quest to be secretary-general. Sall has been accused of corruption, which he denies.<hl2>What comes next in the race to lead the UN</hl2>The four candidates “tried to walk a political tightrope,” said Daniel Forti, the International Crisis Group’s head of U.N. affairs.“It is not immediately obvious whether any candidate did enough to propel themselves ahead of the others, or to ward off potential challengers who might emerge later,” he said.The selection will be left to the 15-nation U.N. Security Council, especially its five veto-wielding members — the United States, Russia, China, United Kingdom and France — that remain tight-lipped. The 193-member General Assembly must give final approval.Minh-Thu Pham, an adviser to former U.N. chief Kofi Annan and CEO of the Starling Institute think tank, said there is a widespread desire for a secretary-general who is willing to take risks and be more active in promoting peace. The U.N. isn’t part of the conversation on major crises “because it hasn’t had the courage to take risks.”Susana Malcorra, a former Argentine foreign minister and senior U.N. official who was a candidate for secretary-general in 2016, said the United Nations “more than ever” needs new leadership and energy.The global advocacy group she leads, GWL Voices, has been campaigning for the next U.N. chief to be a woman.</block>

Trump uninjured after security incident at White House Correspondents’ dinner, in photos

<block>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump was uninjured and other top White House officials were evacuated from an annual dinner of the White House correspondents association after an unspecified threat.____This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.</block>

The Latest: Trump and Vance evacuated from White House Correspondents Dinner

A helicopter buzzed overhead.Washington Hilton hotel commonly stays open to public, while security is focused on ballroomGenerally, the Hilton hotel, where the dinner has taken place for years, remains open to regular guests during the White House Correspondents Dinner. It has typically been focused on the ballroom — rather than the hotel at large — with little screening for people not entering the dinner itself. In past years, that has created openings for disruptions in the lobby and other pub

Shots fired as gunman charges toward ballroom at White House correspondents’ dinner, Trump unharmed

Trump briefly stumbled on the way offstage, before being assisted by his security detail.He was held for some time in a secure presidential suite at the hotel as the president and organizers initially sought to resume the event — hotel staff refolded napkins and refilled water glasses, and aides adjusted the teleprompter for the president — before Trump was returned to the White House on the advice of the Secret Service.It was the third time since 2024 that the president had been und

Trump evacuated after security incident at White House correspondents dinner, no sign of injuries

AP’s earlier story follows below.Donald Trump’s attendance at Saturday’s annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington for his first time as president is putting his administration’s often-contentious relationship with the press on full public display.Trump arrived Saturday night to an event where the leaders of a nation at war mingled with celebrities, journalists and even a puppet — Triumph the Insult Comic Dog — in a dinner that typically generates debate about whether t

Drunk driver blamed for SUV rollover with kids inside

and Alderwood Mall Parkway that clearly shows the collision.In the video, the causing driver is seen first hitting a curb, then barreling through an intersection and slamming into a white SUV.The impact caused the driver of the SUV to lose control, sending the vehicle airborne, flipping upside down, then completely over, and back onto its wheels again.Police say no one was hurt in either vehicle.The children were strapped into their age-appropriate, child-car seats with seatbelts properly secure

Shooting at Chicago hospital leads to lockdown

<block>CHICAGO (AP) — A shooting at a hospital in Chicago has led to its campus being placed on lockdown.The Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital campus said Saturday that patients and staff at the health facility were safe and that by midafternoon there was no active threat.The shooting occurred at around 11 a.m. Local news reports said two police officers were injured. The Chicago Police Department did not respond to multiple requests for further information.</block>

Georgia wildfires that destroyed more than 120 homes continue to threaten residents

Meanwhile, a second fire about 70 miles (113 kilometers) to the southwest in Clinch and Echols counties, near the Florida state line, has burned more than 46.9 square miles and destroyed at least 35 homes. Started by sparks from a welding operation, that wildfire was also about 10% contained as of midday Saturday. Firefighters have been battling more than 150 other wildfires in Georgia and Florida that have sent smoky haze into places far from the flames, triggering air quality warnings for some

Tech Talk: Seattle student’s Google Doodle celebrates hair as her ‘superpower,’ earns national spotlight

Like all throughout history and today, black people are being pinned down for how they wear their hair and express themselves.”Johnson’s Mom couldn’t be prouder.“I really admire and respect the young lady that Kameirah is,” Simone explained. “The heart that she had for other people, the wisdom beyond her years, those are the things that really caused me to marvel about Kameirah.”Johnson’s art took more than 40 hours to complete. It’s an inter

‘It sounds dystopian’: Jake, Spike debate whether companies should offer tiny homes to employees

As median housing prices in Washington remain high, keeping the younger generation from owning their first home, a home builder has begun manufacturing affordable tiny homes to be built into a community near Huntsville.Jake Skorheim and Spike O’Neill, co-hosts of “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio, jumped at the idea of inexpensive places for the younger generation to purchase a tiny home and build equity before moving on to buying a full-fledged home.“Seattle is

‘It’s a tax directed at everybody in WA’: Former justice unpacks millionaires’ income tax’s true intent

Rather, we’re just talking about more revenue in this particular piece of legislation that was enacted by the legislature.”Talmadge said the real danger is that if the court sides with the legislature, the door would be wide open for an income tax on every Washington resident.“If the court decides to change the definition of income as property, what that means is there’s no limitation on the ability of the legislature to impose an income tax on every single individual in

A bank robber’s cellphone gave him away. Now the Supreme Court is hearing his case

In a separate case, the federal appeals court in New Orleans ruled that geofence warrants “are general warrants categorically prohibited by the Fourth Amendment.”In the Supreme Court’s last case on digital-age searches, in 2018, the court divided 5-4 in favor of a defendant whose movements were tracked by authorities for nearly four months, without a warrant, through the review of cellphone tower data.An issue in that case that also appears in Chatrie’s is whether the defendant

Close watch on how Trump and journalists will get along at White House correspondents’ dinner

The New York Times, for example, stopped attending the dinner more than a decade ago for that reason.“What was once (a fairly long time ago) a well-intended night of fundraising and camaraderie among professional adversaries is now simply a bad look,” wrote Kelly McBride, ethics expert at the Poynter Institute, a journalism think tank.A contentious relationshipBetween berating individual reporters, fighting organizations like the Times, restricting press access to the Pentagon, the administratio

Trees are magic. In Newport, volunteers are working to expand their healthy reach

The conservancy’s donors made up the difference after the cancellation, and volunteers help the nonprofit to achieve its mission.“It was stressful, but I didn’t want to let it derail us,” Harrison said.The conservancy has been partnering with the city to plant trees throughout Newport for almost 40 years and improve the tree canopy.At Miantonomi Park, Joe Verstandig, the conservancy’s living collections manager, led the group into the forest. He pointed out the invasive species

Tick season seems to be off to a fast start, and some expert worry about future illnesses

State officials also said an unusually high percentage of the submitted ticks — 40% — tested positive for the bacteria that cause Lyme disease.Several factors have been helping tick populations expand, including unusually high numbers of mice in the last two years, said Scott Williams, a tick researcher at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station.All we have so far is an early snapshot, said Megan Linske, a wildlife biologist with the same agency. She expects the problem to continue to wo

A sudden shift: ICE arrests drop nearly 12% after Minneapolis killings and immigration shake-up

At the peak of the crackdown, carloads of masked immigration officers were a common sight in the streets of Minneapolis, while thousands of people were being arrested every week in Texas, Florida and California.“Turn and burn,” top Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino called the strategy, with relentless displays of force and teams of agents descending on restaurant kitchens, bus stops and Home Depot parking lots.In December, arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents peaked at near

Roommate charged with two counts of murder in death, disappearance of two USF students

<block>A former University of South Florida student has been charged with killing his roommate and the roommate’s girlfriend — two doctoral students from Bangladesh who disappeared earlier this month, authorities said Saturday. Hisham Abugharbieh, 26, is facing two counts of premeditated murder in the first degree with a weapon in the deaths of Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy, students at USF, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. He made an initial court appearance Saturday in Tampa, where he was ordered held without bond. A hearing is set for April 28. Limon’s remains were found on the Howard Frankland bridge Friday morning, but Bristy is still missing, Hillsborough County Chief Deputy Joseph Maurer said on Friday. Abugharbieh, a native-born U.S. citizen, was initially taken into custody on Friday at his family’s home on preliminary charges that include unlawfully moving a dead body, failure to report a death, tampering with evidence, false imprisonment and battery. Online court records do not list an attorney for him. Messages were sent via email and phone to the public defender’s office in Hillsborough County. Officers encountered Abugharbieh as they responded to a report of domestic violence at his family’s home, just north of the campus, and were able to move his relatives to safety. But then he barricaded himself inside and refused to come out. A SWAT team responded — along with a drone, a robot and crisis negotiators — before Abugharbieh came out with his hands up, apparently wearing nothing but a blue towel.Limon and Bristy, both 27, were considering getting married, a relative said. They disappeared from campus on April 16. Limon was last seen at his home in an off-campus apartment complex where he lived with Abugharbieh. Bristy, who lived on campus, was last seen an hour later at a campus science building. An autopsy is being done on the remains to determine the manner and cause of Limon’s death, and those results are expected Saturday morning, Maurer said Friday.Abugharbieh had been a USF student but was not currently enrolled. University records showed he had attended the school from Spring 2021 through Spring 2023, and had pursued a BS in Management, a university spokesperson said.Limon was studying geography, environmental science and policy, and Bristy was studying chemical engineering. She was a graduate of Noakhali Science and Technology University. The school, which spelled her last name as Brishti, said in a statement Saturday that she was a Ph.D. candidate and described her as a talented and promising student.“Her sudden passing has deeply saddened all of us,” Vice Chancellor Mohammad Ismail said. “The university family pays deep respect to her memory. At the same time, we demand punishment for those involved in her death and compensation for the victim’s family.”The search for Bristy continues. Anyone with information regarding her disappearance is asked to contact the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.Abugharbieh had several previous arrests, the sheriff’s office said. He was charged with battery and burglary of an unoccupied dwelling in September 2023, and with battery that May — both classified in court records as misdemeanors. Court records show Abugharbieh entered into a diversion program for first-time offenders charged with misdemeanors. He completed the program in 2024 and the charges were discontinued. A phone call to his lawyer in that case was not immediately returned.Hillsborough County Court records also showed two domestic violence petitions filed by a family member in 2023. A judge granted an injunction in one case and denied the other petition. He also was accused of traffic violations.___Ramer reported from Concord, New Hampshire.</block>

US says it’s hunting for explosive mines in latest push to open the Strait of Hormuz

<block>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says the U.S. Navy is clearing Iranian mines from the Strait of Hormuz, a vital sea route for oil shipments whose disruption is increasingly threatening the global economy. Sweeping for underwater explosives could take months despite a tenuous ceasefire between the United States and Iran in the weekslong war, experts say. Any future claims that the U.S. cleared the waterway where 20% of the world’s oil typically passes might fail to convince commercial freighters and their insurers that it is finally safe. “You don’t even have to have lain mines — you just have to make people believe that you’ve laid mines,” said Emma Salisbury, a scholar at the Foreign Policy Research Institute’s National Security Program. “And even if the U.S. sweeps the strait and says everything’s clear, all the Iranians have to do is say, ‘Well, actually, you haven’t found them all yet,’” said Salisbury, who is also a fellow at the Royal Navy Strategic Studies Centre. “There’s only so much the U.S. can do to give that confidence back to commercial shipping.”Seeking out mines is one of the latest tactics announced by the Trump administration to get traffic moving again through the strait as rising energy prices and wider economic effects pose a political risk. The U.S. also has blockaded Iran’s ports, seized ships tied to Tehran and planned to take part in a second round of ceasefire talks in Pakistan this weekend.<hl2>Hegseth doesn’t deny that mine-clearing could take 6 months</hl2>Pentagon officials told lawmakers it would likely take six months to clear the mines that Iran has set in the strait, according a person familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive information. The information was delivered during a classified briefing at the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday.When asked about the estimate, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters Friday that the military would not speculate on a timeline, but he did not deny it.“Allegedly that was something that was said,” Hegseth said at a Pentagon news conference. “But we feel confident in our ability, in the correct period of time, to clear any mines that we identify.” Trump said he has ordered the Navy to attack any boat laying mines in the strait.“Additionally, our mine ‘sweepers’ are clearing the Strait right now,” the president said on social media Thursday. “I am hereby ordering that activity to continue, but at a tripled up level!”Adm. Brad Cooper, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, recently told reporters that the military would be working to clear mines from the strait. He did not offer details.There is no indication that the U.S. military is using warships, its most visible mine-clearing assets, in the strait now.But the Navy also has divers and small teams of explosive ordnance disposal technicians in the region that are capable of clearing mines. They are a less obvious target than a large warship.Experts also say some mine-clearing equipment could be moved off ships and deployed from land.<hl2>It’s easier for Iran to lay mines than it is to find them, expert says</hl2>It is unclear whether a single mine has been deployed. Iran has mentioned only the “likelihood” of mines in the strait’s prewar routes. Estimates of Iran’s mine stockpiles are in the low thousands, said Salisbury, of the Foreign Policy Research Institute. Most of its underwater explosives are believed to be older Soviet models. Some of its newer ones may be from China or made domestically.“Minelaying is a lot easier than minesweeping, so you can literally push these things off the back of a speedboat,” Salisbury said, though she noted the U.S. could likely see that.Iran also has small submarines that can lay mines and are much harder to detect, Salisbury added. She said she has not seen indications that they have been destroyed in the war. If Iran has set mines in the strait, they are not the spiky balls floating on the surface seen in the movies, Salisbury said. The explosives are likely sitting on the seabed or moored to it by a cable and floating under the surface. They can be triggered by the water pressure changing when a ship passes or by the sound of its engine.<hl2>How the US can sweep for mines in the strait</hl2>The U.S. Navy now has two littoral combat ships in the Middle East that are capable of sweeping for mines, said a defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military movements. Two U.S. Avenger-class minesweepers based in Japan also have departed for the Middle East but were in the Pacific Ocean as of Friday, the official said. Steven Wills, a retired lieutenant commander who served on an Avenger-class ship, said the Navy is likely looking for sea explosives in order to create a safe channel through the strait. Minesweeping is a slower process that usually occurs after a conflict.“Minehunting is walking through your yard pulling individual weeds and dandelions so that you can walk safely from one side to the other. Minesweeping is more like mowing the grass,” said Wills, an expert at the Center for Maritime Strategy at the Navy League of the United States. Scott Savitz, a researcher with the RAND Corp. who focuses on naval operations and mine clearing, said the Navy does not necessarily have to remove every last mine.“There’s still areas that have not been cleared from World War II — and in some cases, World War I — just because it is so resource intensive and it takes a lot of time,” he said.Teams on the Navy’s littoral combat ships can deploy remotely operated, uncrewed vehicles that use sonar and other technology to find mines, Wills said. They also carry charges to destroy the explosives. U.S. Navy ships may also have explosive ordnance disposal teams, including divers, that can hunt for and destroy mines, Wills said. Helicopters can search for mines using lasers. <hl2>Shipping companies are weighing the risks</hl2>Eventually, shipping companies will be willing to take some risks to travel through the strait “particularly given how lucrative it is,” Savitz said.Under Iran’s approval procedure for vessels wanting to transit the strait, ships must take a different route than before the war — to the north, near Iran’s coastline.Insurers are adding a clause that requires ship owners to contact Iranian authorities to ensure safe passage, said Dylan Mortimer, U.K. marine war leader for insurance broker Marsh.That certification does not mention mines specifically and is intended to protect against the entire spectrum of threats, including missile and drone attacks or seizures, Mortimer said. But mines do, at the very least, play a psychological role, a phenomenon Mortimer called the “specter of threat.”“That plays in the Iranians’ favor, because whether there are mines there or not, people think there’s mines there and they will operate accordingly,” Mortimer said.Those fears could mean it takes longer to restore confidence that the strait is safe even after the war. ___McHugh reported from Frankfurt, Germany. AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report. </block>