In Clearwater, Florida, authorities responded to a call Thursday morning about a cardiac arrest. Hogan was pronounced dead at a hospital, police said in a statement on Facebook.

Hogan, whose real name was Terry Bollea, was perhaps the biggest star in WWE’s long history. He was the main draw for the first WrestleMania in 1985 and was a fixture for years, facing everyone from Andre The Giant and Randy Savage to The Rock and even company chairman Vince McMahon.

He won at least six WWE championships and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005.

Hogan was also a celebrity outside the wrestling world, appearing in numerous movies and television shows, including a reality show about his life on VH1, “Hogan Knows Best.”

In 2016, a Florida jury awarded Hogan $115 million in his sex tape lawsuit against Gawker Media. Hogan sued after Gawker in 2012 posted a video of him having sex with his former best friend’s wife. Hogan contended the post violated his privacy.

WWE posted a note on X saying it was saddened to learn the WWE Hall of Famer had passed away.

“One of pop culture’s most recognizable figures, Hogan helped WWE achieve global recognition in the 1980s. WWE extends its condolences to Hogan’s family, friends, and fans,” it said.

The mixed result came on the third day of deliberations. It could still send Combs, 55, to prison for as long as a decade, and is likely to end his career as a hitmaking music executive, fashion entrepreneur, brand ambassador and reality TV star.

The foreperson confirmed the verdict reached was unanimous.

After they read the verdict, Combs held his hands up in a prayer motion, looking at jury and hugged his defense lawyer Teny Geragos.

Combs was convicted of flying people around the country, including his girlfriends and paid male sex workers, to engage in sexual encounters, a felony violation of the federal Mann Act.

But the jury of eight men and four women acquitted Combs of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges, related to allegations that he used his money, power and frightening physical force to manipulate his girlfriends into hundreds of drug-fueled sex marathons with the men.

Combs and his defense team argued that the women were willing participants and that none of his violence justified the severity of the charges.

After the verdict was read, the judge gave the jury guidance on speaking about the case to the media, to the public, and more.

Combs continuing to pump his right fist subtly, seemingly satisfied that he was acquitted on the most serious charges.

 seemed buoyant arriving in the courtroom earlier Wednesday morning, a contrast to his mood a day earlier after he learned that the jury at his sex trafficking trial had reached a  on all but one of the five charges the hip-hop mogul faces.

Combs smiled and clasped his hands together in the air toward his family and supporters before hugging several of his lawyers and sitting down to await the outcome of the jury’s third day of deliberations.

A short while later, Combs, his head bowed, stood several feet from his family for less than a minute as they sat with their heads bowed in prayer. As they did on Monday, Combs and family members then applauded before he was led from the courtroom by U.S. marshals. The family later got in a van and left the courthouse.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian ordered the jury to continue its closed-door discussions for a third day after  said it was unable to reach consensus on the top count: racketeering conspiracy.

The judge agreed with prosecutors and Combs’ defense team that less than 13 hours of deliberations was too soon to give up on reaching a verdict on all counts.

The jury’s decision on the other charges — two counts of sex trafficking and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution — remains under wraps for now.

In a note to the court late Tuesday, the jury said “unpersuadable opinions on both sides” among some jurors had prevented the group from reaching a unanimous verdict on the racketeering conspiracy charge.

Racketeering conspiracy is the most complicated charge in the trial and carries a potential maximum sentence of life in prison.

The sex trafficking charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life. Transportation to engage in prostitution carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

The disclosure of the jury note about the partial verdict seemed to put defense attorneys and their client in a dour mood even before it was read in open court by the judge.

Eight defense lawyers formed a half-circle behind Combs as the smiles and lighthearted mood that accompanied the arrival of other jury notes over two days seemed absent as the attorneys contemplated the possibility that jurors had reached agreement on counts that carry the heaviest sentencing penalties.

Combs appeared morose as his lawyers spoke with him. At one point,  solemnly read a piece of paper that attorney Marc Agnifilo handed to him.

After the jury came in for instructions and then exited the room, a subdued Combs sat in his chair for a few minutes. As he stood to leave, he faced his relatives and supporters in the audience, blew a kiss and tapped his heart, as he frequently has done at the start and end of each day.

Then he paused before his mother and exchanged a few words, telling her, “Love you” and “I’ll be all right.”

Marshals then led him from the room.

Earlier in their deliberations the jury asked to review testimony from , the R&B singer who was Diddy’s former longtime girlfriend, as well as from Daniel Phillip, a male stripper Diddy is accused of paying to have sex with Cassie.

Prosecutors say Combs coerced two girlfriends into drug-fueled  with male sex workers.

Lawyers for the Bad Boy Records founder  prosecutors are trying to criminalize Combs’ swinger lifestyle. They say his conduct, if anything, amounted to domestic violence, not federal felonies.

Combs .

The judge indicated that he would instruct the jury to continue weighing the charge, echoing the sentiments of prosecutors and Combs’ defense team that just two days into deliberations was too soon to give up on reaching a verdict on all counts.

Judge Arun Subramanian said he received a note at 4:05 p.m. Tuesday indicated that the jury had reached a partial verdict. The note said the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on the racketeering conspiracy charge because there were jurors with “unpersuadable views” on both sides.

Subramanian didn’t appear keen on having jurors announce their partial verdict without first trying to decide the remaining count. He said that juries have a right to deliver a partial verdict, but indicated that’s more of a last resort and that given the short amount of time the panel has been deliberated, he’d rather give them more time and wait to have a full verdict.

Combs’ lawyers surrounded him at the defense table soon after the note was sent to the court. The hip-hop mogul appeared morose as they explained to him what was happening. At one point, lead defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo stepped away from the huddle, returned with a piece of paper and handed it to Combs, who read it solemnly.

Combs’ mother and several of his children returned to the courtroom after the judge announced that the jury had reached a partial verdict.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, were at their table glued to their phones and laptop computers.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey suggested the judge give the jury a modified version of what’s known as an Allen charge — instructions encouraging them to keep deliberating after reaching an impasse.

Defense attorney Agnifilo, however, said the jury doesn’t need help moving expeditiously and he doesn’t want them to get any form of the Allen charge.

“I’m not asking the court to say much because I don’t think this jury needs much,” Agnifilo said, arguing that this situation is different from ones where a jury has gone a while without reaching a verdict on any counts.

Racketeering conspiracy — count 1 on the jury’s verdict sheet — is the most complicated of the charges against Combs because it requires the jury to decide not only whether he ran a “racketeering enterprise,” but also whether he was involved in committing some or all of various types of offenses, such as kidnapping and arson.

The charge falls under RICO — the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act — which is best known for being used in organized crime and drug cartel cases.

The jury has been deliberating since Monday. Earlier Tuesday they asked to review critical testimony from one of the prosecution’s most important witnesses: the hip-hop mogul’s former longtime girlfriend Cassie.

Jurors requested the testimony about 75 minutes into their second day of weighing charges that Combs used his fame, wealth and violence to force two girlfriends into drug-fueled  with male sex workers known as “freak-offs” or “hotel nights.”

The panel of eight men and four women asked for Cassie’s account of Combs beating, kicking and dragging her at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016 — an assault captured on now-infamous security camera footage.

They also asked to see Cassie’s testimony about an incident in which she said Combs accused her of taking drugs from him and kicked her off of their yacht at the Cannes Film Festival in France in 2013. On their way back to the U.S., she said, he threatened to release explicit videos of her having sex.

In addition, the jury asked for Cassie and stripper Daniel Phillip’s testimony about her jumping into his lap at a New York City hotel after, as Phillip testified, he suspected Combs had been slapping and slamming her around an adjacent room.

“Her whole entire body was shaking, like she was terrified,” said Phillip, who was at the hotel for a sexual encounter with Cassie sometime between 2012 and 2014.

Phillip testified that he asked Cassie, the R&B singer whose real name is Casandra Ventura, why she was with Combs if he was hitting her and beating her. He said he told her she was in real danger. Cassie, he said, “basically tried to convince me that it was OK, it’s OK. I’m fine, I’ll be OK.”

Phillip and Cassie were among the first witnesses who testified when the trial began last month.

The jury’s testimony request came soon after Combs’ lawyers and prosecutors began the day haggling with Judge Arun Subramanian over a jury question left over from the end of the first day of deliberations on Monday.

Jurors wanted clarification about what qualifies as drug distribution, an aspect of the racketeering conspiracy charge that will help determine whether Combs can be convicted or exonerated on the count.

Subramanian said he would remind jurors of the instructions he gave them on that part of the case before they started deliberating on Monday. Combs’ lawyers had pushed for a more expansive response, but prosecutors argued — and Subramanian agreed — that doing so could end up confusing jurors more.

On Monday, the panel deliberated over five hours without reaching a verdict.

Defense lawyers contend prosecutors are trying to criminalize Combs’ swinger lifestyle and that, if anything, his conduct amounted to domestic violence, not federal felonies.

Combs, 55, could face 15 years in prison to life behind bars if he is convicted of all charges. Combs, as he has through the trial, conferred intently with his lawyers as they discussed responding to the jury’s request. Later, he leaned forward to scrutinize something on the computer screen that sits in front of him.

After pleading not guilty, Combs chose not to testify as his lawyers built their arguments for acquittal mostly through lengthy cross examinations of dozens of witnesses called by prosecutors, including some of Combs’ former employees who took the witness stand reluctantly only after being granted immunity.

When jurors first left the room to begin deliberating on Monday, Combs sat for a while slumped in his chair at the defense table before standing and turning toward three rows of spectators packed with his family and friends.

Those supporters held hands and lowered their heads in prayer, as did Combs, who was several feet from them in the well of the courtroom. After they finished, they together applauded, and so did Combs, still clapping as he turned back toward the front of the room.

Combs also showed off two books he’s reading: “The Power of Positive Thinking” by Norman Vincent Peale and “The Happiness Advantage” by Shawn Achor.

Barely an hour into deliberations, the jury foreperson sent a note to the judge, complaining that there was one juror “who we are concerned cannot follow your Honor’s instructions. May I please speak with your Honor or may you please interview him?”

The judge decided instead to send jurors a note reminding them of their duties to deliberate and obligation to follow his instructions on the law.

By day’s end, the jury seemed back on track, sending the note about drug distribution.

Vice President JD Vance broke a 50-50 tie to push it over the top. The three Republicans opposing the bill were Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Susan Collins of Maine and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky.

What to know about the Big Beautiful Bill Act

The bill is a sprawling collection of GOP priorities: Tax breaks, spending cuts and new money for national defense and deportations are among . Democrats worry the bill’s reductions to Medicaid will leave millions without care.

The bill still needs to go back to the House: The bill has to pass the House again before Trump can sign it into law, and the difficulty for Republicans is not expected to let up. warned senators not to deviate too far from what his chamber had already approved. But the Senate did make changes, particularly to Medicaid, risking more problems as they race to finish by Trump’s Fourth of July deadline.

Congressional Budget Office review: The nonpartisan CBO said Sunday the bill would  load from 2025 to 2034, a nearly $1 trillion increase over the House-passed version of the bill. The analysis also found that 11.8 million Americans would become uninsured by 2034 if the bill passed.

‘We do not have a perfect bill by any stretch of the imagination’

With three Republicans voting no on Trump’s big bill, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski provided a critical yes vote that got Republicans to their required 50 votes. Murkowski called the decision-making process “agonizing.”

“I had to look on balance, because the people in my state are the ones that I put first,” Murkowski said. “We do not have a perfect bill by any stretch of the imagination.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune called her an “independent thinker.”

“I think that she obviously came to her conclusion,” Thune told reporters after. “I’m just grateful that, at the end of the day, she concluded what the rest of us did.”

Rand Paul reacts

“The big not-so-beautiful bill has passed,” he told reporters.

Collins secured $50B in rural hospital funds and still voted no

The Maine senator said she’s happy the bolstered funding was, “but my difficulties with the bill go far beyond that.”

Collins was among several GOP senators who have worried that the bill’s Medicaid provider cuts would hurt hospitals, particularly in rural regions.
While her amendment to beef up the fund was rejected, the provision was inserted into the final bill.

Thune worked around the clock to secure the votes

“In the end we got the job done, and we’re delighted to be able to be partners with President trump and his agenda,” Thune said after the vote.

Dems make displeasure known in roll call vote

Tensions were high on the Democratic side of the aisle during Tuesday’s final vote on the big tax and spending cut bill.

Several yelled their “No” as the roll call ensued. Others filtered out almost immediately and before a final tally could be announced.

Sen. Angus King, an independent from Maine, walked over to the Republican side of the chamber upon exiting and could be heard from the gallery admonishing GOP colleagues: “Shame on you guys,” he said in a loud voice.

These GOP senators opposed Trump’s bill

• Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina
• Sen. Susan Collins of Maine
• Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky

Senate Republicans haul Trump’s big bill to passage after a turbulent all-night session

 was a victory for the Republican president, who has complained about individual judges throwing up obstacles to his agenda.

But a conservative majority left open the possibility that the birthright citizenship changes could remain blocked nationwide. Trump’s order would deny citizenship to U.S.-born children of people who are in the country illegally.

The cases now return to lower courts, where judges will have to decide how to tailor their orders to comply with the high court ruling, Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote in the majority opinion.

The justices agreed with the Trump administration, as well as President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration before it, that judges are overreaching by issuing orders that apply to everyone instead of just the parties before the court.

In dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote, “The court’s decision is nothing less than an open invitation for the government to bypass the Constitution.” This is so, Sotomayor said, because the administration may be able to enforce a policy even when it has been challenged and found to be unconstitutional by a lower court.

Birthright citizenship automatically makes  an American citizen, including children born to mothers in the country illegally. The right was enshrined soon after the Civil War in .

In a notable Supreme Court decision from 1898, United States v. Wong Kim Ark, the court held that the only children who did not automatically receive U.S. citizenship upon being born on U.S. soil were the children of diplomats, who have allegiance to another government; enemies present in the U.S. during hostile occupation; those born on foreign ships; and those born to members of sovereign Native American tribes.

The U.S. is among about 30 countries where birthright citizenship — the principle of jus soli or “right of the soil” — is applied. Most are in the Americas, and Canada and Mexico are among them.

Trump and his supporters have argued that there should be tougher standards for becoming an American citizen, which he called “a priceless and profound gift” in the executive order he signed on his first day in office.

The Trump administration has asserted that children of noncitizens are not  of the United States, a phrase used in the amendment, and therefore are not entitled to citizenship.

But states, immigrants and rights groups that have sued to block the executive order have accused the administration of trying to unsettle the broader understanding of birthright citizenship that has been accepted since the amendment’s adoption.

Judges have uniformly ruled against the administration.

The Justice Department had argued that individual judges lack the power to give nationwide effect to their rulings.

The Trump administration instead wanted the justices to allow Trump’s plan to go into effect for everyone except the handful of people and groups that sued. Failing that, the administration argued that the plan could remain blocked for now in the 22 states that sued. New Hampshire is covered by a separate order that is not at issue in this case.

As a further fallback, the administration asked “at a minimum” to be allowed to make public announcements about how it plans to carry out the policy if it eventually is allowed to take effect.

Trump posted on Truth Social that the 24-hour phased-in ceasefire will begin at approximately midnight Tuesday eastern time, giving the two countries six hours to have “wound down and completed their in progress, final missions.” He said it would bring an “Official END” to the war.

The Israeli military declined to comment on Trump’s statement and the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. There was also no immediate comment from Iran.

Iran’s attack Monday indicated it was prepared to step back from escalating tensions in the volatile region. The U.S. was warned by Iran in advance, and there were no casualties, said President Donald Trump, who dismissed the attack as a “very weak response.”

Qatar condemned the attack on  as “a flagrant violation” of its sovereignty, airspace and international law. Qatar said it intercepted all but one missile, though it was not clear if that missile caused any damage.

Iran said the volley matched the number of bombs dropped by the United States on Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend. Iran also said it targeted the base because it was outside of populated areas.

Those comments, made immediately after the attack, suggested Iran wanted to de-escalate with the United States, something Trump himself said after the strikes early Sunday on Iran.

Qatar Maj. Gen. Shayeq Al Hajri said 19 missiles were fired at the base that is home to the Combined Air Operations Center, which provides command and control of air power across the region, as well as the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, the largest such wing in the world. Trump said 14 missiles were fired, 13 were knocked down and one was “set free” because it posed no threat.

Trump said Iran might be able to “proceed to Peace and Harmony” and said he would encourage Israel to do the same.

However, Israel’s , with the Israeli military expanding its campaign Monday to target sites symbolic for the country’s theocracy.

Iran announced the attack on state television as martial music played. A caption on screen called it “a mighty and successful response” to “America’s aggression.”

Just before the explosions, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on the social platform X: “We neither initiated the war nor seeking it. But we will not leave invasion to the great Iran without answer.”

Earlier reports that a missile was launched at a base housing American forces in Iraq were a false alarm, a senior U.S. military official said. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly, said debris from a malfunctioning Iranian missile targeting Israel had triggered an alert of an impending attack on the Ain al-Assad base.

Israel expands war to include symbolic targets

On the 11th day of the conflict, Israel and Iran traded airstrikes that have become a reality for civilians in both countries since Israel started the war to target Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program.

Iran struck Israel with a barrage of missiles and drones while Israel said it attacked “regime targets and government repression bodies in the heart of Tehran.”

But Israeli officials insisted they did not seek the overthrow of Iran’s government, their archenemy since the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The latest strikes unfolded only hours after Trump himself  a day after inserting America into the war with its stealth-bomber strike on three Iranian nuclear sites.

“If the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change???” he asked on his Truth Social website.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later described Trump as “simply raising a question.”

The U.S. strikes over the weekend prompted fears of a wider regional conflict. Iran said the U.S. had crossed “a very big red line” with its  to strike with missiles and 30,000-pound .

Israel aims to wind down the war in the coming days, but that will depend on the Iranians, an Israeli official said on condition of anonymity to discuss high-level internal deliberations.

Israel’s preferred outcome is for Iran to agree to a ceasefire and reenter negotiations with the U.S. over its nuclear program, the official said. But Israel is prepared for the possibility of an extended low-intensity war of attrition or period of “quiet for quiet,” in which it would closely monitor Iran’s activities and strike if it identifies new threats.

Tehran strikes open new chapter of war

The Israeli military warned Iranians it would continue to attack military sites around Tehran as its focus shifted to include symbolic targets. The military issued the warning on the social platform X, though Iranians are struggling to access the outside world due to an internet shutdown.

In Tehran, Israel hit the headquarters of the military force that suppressed recent protests and blew open a gate at Evin prison, which is notorious for holding political activists. Iranian state television shared black-and-white surveillance footage of the strike at the facility known for holding dual nationals and Westerners often used by Iran as bargaining chips in negotiations with the West.

Evin also has specialized units for political prisoners run by the paramilitary, all-volunteer Revolutionary Guard, which answers only to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The facility is the target of both U.S. and European Union sanctions.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in Iran or significant damage.

Iranian state television aired footage it said was shot inside Evin, with prisoners under control. However, the Washington-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran said many families of detainees “have expressed deep concern about the safety and condition of their loved ones” in the prison.

According to an Israeli official familiar with the government’s strategy, Israel is targeting these sites to put pressure on the Iranian administration but is not actively seeking to topple it. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal government deliberations.

The Israeli military also confirmed it struck roads around Iran’s Fordo enrichment facility to obstruct access to the site. The underground site was one of those hit in Sunday’s attack by the United States. The Israeli military did not elaborate.

In Vienna, the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog said he expected there to be heavy damage at the Fordo facility following Sunday’s U.S. airstrike there with sophisticated bunker-buster bombs.

Several Iranian officials, including Atomic Energy Organization of Iran spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi, have claimed Iran removed nuclear material from targeted sites ahead of time.

Iran presses on attacking Israel

Iran said its Monday attacks targeted the Israeli cities of Haifa and Tel Aviv, according to Iranian state television.

Explosions were also heard in Jerusalem, possibly from air defense systems in action, and Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency rescue service said there had been no reports of injuries.

In Israel, at least 24 people have been killed and more than 1,000 wounded in the war. Israeli strikes on Iran have killed at least 950 people and wounded 3,450 others, according to the Washington-based group Human Rights Activists.

The group, which has provided detailed casualty figures from Iranian unrest such as the protests surrounding the death of Masha Amini in 2022, said of those killed, it identified 380 civilians and 253 security force personnel.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who leads one of Iran’s closest allies, said Monday after meeting in Moscow with the Iranian foreign minister that they had explored “how we can get out of today’s situation.”

Putin called the Israeli and American attacks on Iran an “absolutely unprovoked aggression.”

The announcement was made on state television as martial music played. A caption on screen called it “a mighty and successful response by the armed forces of Iran to America’s aggression.”

The attack came shortly after Qatar closed its airspace as a precaution amid threats from Iran.

What to know

Israel expands its targets: Earlier Monday, Israel  to include targets associated with the country’s struggling theocracy, striking the gate of a Tehran prison notorious for holding political activists and hitting the headquarters of the military force that suppressed recent protests.

Iran presses on attacking Israel: ���������� as a new wave of its “Operation True Promise 3,” saying it was targeting the Israeli cities of Haifa and Tel Aviv, according to Iranian state television.

How we got here: Israel launched , which Israeli officials said was necessary to head off what they claimed was an imminent threat that Iran would build nuclear bombs. Iran has retaliated with a series of missile and drone strikes in Israel, while Israel has continued to strike sites in Iran.

Qatar said there’s no casualties after Iran’s attack on the Al Udeid Air Base

The quick statement from Qatar Foreign Minister spokesman Majed al-Ansari said that the energy-rich nation “condemns the attack that targeted Al Udeid Air Base by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.”

“We reassure that Qatar’s air defenses successfully thwarted the attack and intercepted the Iranian missiles,” it added.

Qatar said it would push for diplomatic efforts for “a serious return to the negotiating table and dialogue.”

Al Udeid is also home to the Combined Air Operations Center, which provides command and control of airpower across the region as well as the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, the largest expeditionary wing in the world.

Trump visited the base and addressed US and Qatari troops there in May during a trip to the region

Speaking to U.S. troops at the base in May, the president said “my priority is to end conflicts, not start them.”

“But I will never hesitate to wield American power, if it’s necessary, to defend the United States of America or our partners. And this is one of our great partners right here,” referring to Qatar.

“When we’re threatened, America’s military will answer our enemies without even thinking about it. We have overwhelming strength and devastating force.”

Iran launched a missile attack on US forces at Qatar’s Al Udeid Air Base, retaliating for the American bombing of its nuclear sites

Iran said Monday night it attacked American forces stationed at Qatar’s Al Udeid Air Base.

It made the announcement on state television as martial music played. A caption on screen called it “a mighty and successful response by the armed forces of Iran to America’s aggression.”

The attack came shortly after Qatar closed its airspace as a precaution amid threats from Iran.

Iran did not immediately acknowledge the attack

However, its President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on the social platform X just before the attack: “We neither initiated the war nor seeking it. But we will not leave invasion to the great Iran without answer. With all our being, we will stand by security of the beloved nation and will answer any wound on body of Iran resorting to faith, wisdom and determination. People! God takes care of us.”

This is a developing story, check back for updates

The decision to directly involve the U.S. comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel on Iran that have moved to systematically eradicate the country’s air defenses and offensive missile capabilities, while damaging its nuclear enrichment facilities. But U.S. and Israeli officials have said that American stealth bombers and a 30,000-lb. bunker buster bomb they alone can carry offered the best chance of destroying heavily-fortified sites connected to the Iranian nuclear program buried deep underground.

“We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,” Trump said in a post on social media. “All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home.”

Trump said B-2 stealth bombers were used but did not specify which types of bombs were dropped. The White House and Pentagon did not immediately elaborate on the operation.

The strikes are a perilous decision for the U.S. as Iran has pledged to retaliate if it joined the Israeli assault, and for Trump personally, having won the White House on the promise of keeping America out of costly foreign conflicts and scoffed at the value of American interventionism.

Trump told reporters on Friday that he was not interested in sending ground forces into Iran. He had previously indicated that he would make a final choice over the course of two weeks, a timeline that seemed drawn out as the situation was evolving quickly.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned on Wednesday the United States that strikes targeting the Islamic Republic will “result in irreparable damage for them.” And Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei declared “any American intervention would be a recipe for an all-out war in the region.”

Trump has vowed that he would not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon and he had initially hoped that the threat of force would bring the country’s leaders to give up its nuclear program peacefully.

 ’s military said Saturday it was preparing for the possibility of a lengthy war, while Iran’s foreign minister warned before the U.S. attack that American military involvement “would be very, very dangerous for everyone.”

The prospect of a wider war threatened, too.  in Yemen said they would resume attacks on U.S. vessels in the Red Sea if the Trump administration joins Israel’s military campaign. The Houthis paused such attacks in May under a 

The U.S. ambassador to Israel announced the U.S. had begun  the first from Israel since the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the war in .

But Trump appears to have made the calculation — at the prodding of Israeli officials and many Republican lawmakers — that Israel’s operation had softened the ground and presented a perhaps unparalleled opportunity to set back Iran’s nuclear program, perhaps permanently.

The Israelis say their offensive has already crippled Iran’s air defenses, allowing them to already significantly degrade multiple Iranian nuclear sites.

But to destroy the , Israel has appealed to Trump for U.S.  the 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, which uses its weight and sheer kinetic force to reach deeply buried targets and then explode. The penetrator is currently only delivered by the B-2 stealth bomber, which is only found in the American arsenal.

The bomb carries a conventional warhead, and is believed to be able to penetrate about 200 feet (61 meters) below the surface before exploding, and the bombs can be dropped one after another, effectively drilling deeper and deeper with each successive blast.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has confirmed that Iran is producing highly enriched uranium at Fordo, raising the possibility that nuclear material could be released into the area if the GBU-57 A/B were used to hit the facility.

Previous Israeli strikes at another Iranian nuclear site, Natanz, on a centrifuge site have caused contamination only at the site itself, not the surrounding area, the IAEA has said.

Trump’s decision for direct U.S. military intervention comes after his administration made an unsuccessful two-month push — including with high-level, direct negotiations with the Iranians — aimed at persuading Tehran to curb its nuclear program.

For months, Trump said he was dedicated to a diplomatic push to persuade Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions. And he twice —  and again in late May — persuaded Israeli Prime Minister  to hold off on military action against Iran and give diplomacy more time.

The U.S. in recent days has been  into and around the Middle East to protect Israel and U.S. bases from Iranian attacks.

All the while, Trump has gone from publicly expressing hope that the moment could be a “second chance” for Iran to make a deal to delivering explicit threats on Khamenei and making calls for Tehran’s 

“We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding,” Trump said in a social media posting. “He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now.”

The military showdown with Iran comes seven years after Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Obama-administration brokered agreement in 2018, calling it the “worst deal ever.”

The 2015 deal, signed by Iran, U.S. and other world powers, created a long-term, comprehensive nuclear agreement that limited Tehran’s enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.

Trump decried the Obama-era deal for  in return for too little, because the agreement did not cover Iran’s non-nuclear malign behavior.

Trump has bristled at criticism from some of his MAGA faithful, including conservative pundit Tucker Carlson, who have suggested that further U.S. involvement would be a betrayal to supporters who were drawn to his promise to end U.S. involvement in expensive and endless wars.

Rising reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers Mehmet Guzel in Istanbul; Josef Federman in Jerusalem; Samy Magdy in Cairo; Matthew Lee and Josh Boak in Washington, D.C.; and Farnoush Amiri and Jon Gambrell in Dubai contributed to this report.

The justices’ 6-3 decision in a case from Tennessee effectively protects from legal challenges many efforts by President Donald Trump’s Republican administration and state governments to roll back protections for transgender people. Another 26 states have laws similar to the one in Tennessee.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for a conservative majority that the law does not violate the Constitution’s equal protection clause, which requires the government to treat similarly situated people the same.

“This case carries with it the weight of fierce scientific and policy debates about the safety, efficacy, and propriety of medical treatments in an evolving field. The voices in these debates raise sincere concerns; the implications for all are profound,” Roberts wrote. “The Equal Protection Clause does not resolve these disagreements. Nor does it afford us license to decide them as we see best.”

In a dissent joined by her liberal colleagues, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that the majority “abandons transgender children and their families to political whims.”

The decision comes amid a range of other federal and state efforts to , including which  they can join and which . In April, President Donald Trump’s administration  for not complying with the government’s push to ban  in girls sports.

The Republican president also has sought to block federal spending on gender-affirming medical care for those under age 19 — instead  only to treat young transgender people. In addition, the Supreme Court has allowed him to kick  out of the military, even as court battles continue. The president also signed another order to  as only male and female.

Trump’s administration has also called for , not broader health measures, to treat transgender youths.

The justices acted a month after the United Kingdom’s top court delivered , ruling unanimously that the U.K. Equality Act means trans women can be excluded from some groups and single-sex spaces, such as changing rooms, homeless shelters, swimming areas and medical or counseling services provided only to women.

Five years ago,  that transgender people, as well as gay and lesbian people, are protected by a landmark federal civil rights law that prohibits sex discrimination in the workplace. That decision is not affected by Wednesday’s ruling.

But the justices on Wednesday declined to apply the same sort of analysis the court used in 2020 when it found that “sex plays an unmistakable role” in employers’ decisions to punish transgender people for traits and behavior they otherwise tolerate. Roberts joined that opinion written by Justice Neil Gorsuch, who also was part of Wednesday’s majority.

Tennessee Attorney General  on social media called the ruling a “Landmark VICTORY for Tennessee at SCOTUS in defense of America’s children!”

There are about 300,000 people between the ages of 13 and 17 and 1.3 million adults who identify as transgender in the United States, according to the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law. The Williams Institute is a think tank that researches sexual orientation and gender identity demographics to inform laws and public policy decisions.

When the case was argued in December, then-President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration and families of transgender adolescents had called on the high court to strike down the Tennessee ban as unlawful sex discrimination and protect the constitutional rights of vulnerable Americans.

They argued that the law violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.

Tennessee’s law bans puberty blockers and hormone treatments for transgender minors, but it allows the same drugs to be used for other purposes.

Soon after Trump took office, the Justice Department told the court that its position had changed.

A major issue in the case was the appropriate level of scrutiny courts should apply to such laws.

The lowest level is known as rational basis review, and almost every law looked at that way is ultimately upheld. Indeed, the federal appeals court in Cincinnati that allowed the Tennessee law to be enforced held that lawmakers acted rationally to regulate medical procedures, well within their authority.

The appeals court reversed a trial court that employed a higher level of review, heightened scrutiny, which applies in cases of sex discrimination. Under this more searching examination, the state must identify an important objective and show that the law helps accomplish it.

Trump in a social media posting called on  officials “to do all in their power to achieve the very important goal of delivering the single largest Mass Deportation Program in History.”

He added that to reach the goal officials ”must expand efforts to detain and deport Illegal Aliens in America’s largest Cities, such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, where Millions upon Millions of Illegal Aliens reside.”

Trump’s declaration comes after weeks of increased enforcement, and after Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff and main architect of Trump’s immigration policies, said ICE officers would target at least 3,000 arrests a day, up from about 650 a day during the first five months of Trump’s second term.

At the same time, the Trump administration has directed immigration officers to pause arrests at , after Trump expressed alarm about the impact aggressive enforcement is having on those industries, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter who spoke only on condition of anonymity.

Protests over federal  have been 

Opponents of Trump’s immigration policies took to the streets as part of the “no kings” demonstrations Saturday that came as Trump held a massive parade in Washington for the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army.

Saturday’s protests were mostly peaceful.

But police in Los Angeles used tear gas and crowd-control munitions to clear out protesters after the event ended.

Officers in Portland, Oregon, also fired tear gas and projectiles to disperse a crowd that protested in front of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building well into the evening.

Trump made the call for stepped up enforcement in Democratic-controlled cities on social media as he was making his way to the  in Alberta, Canada.

He suggested to reporters as he departed the White House for the G7 on Sunday evening that his decision to deploy National Guard troops to Los Angeles was the reason the protests in that city went peacefully.

“If we didn’t have the National Guard on call and ready, they would rip Los Angeles apart,” Trump said.

The shift also come as Trump is grappling with the impact his mass deportation effort is having on key industries that rely on workers in the country illegally.

Trump posted on his Truth Social site Thursday that he heard from hotel, agriculture and leisure industries that his “very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them” and promised that changes would be made .

That same day Tatum King, an official with ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations unit, wrote to regional leaders telling them to halt investigations of the agriculture industry, including meatpackers, as well as of restaurants and hotels, according to the U.S. official.

The strikes came amid simmering tensions over Iran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program and appeared certain to trigger a reprisal. Hours later, Israel’s military said it had begun intercepting Iranian drones launched in retaliation.

The U.S. is shifting military resources in the Middle East in response to Israel strikes and possible Iran retaliation, officials say.

What to know

Israel targeted Iran’s nuclear sites: Israeli Prime Minister  said that Israel targeted Iran’s main enrichment facility in Natanz and the country’s ballistic missile program.

General Hossein Salami was killed:  was confirmed dead, Iranian state television reported, as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said other top military officials and scientists were also killed.

Both sites have been the focus of Trump’s nuclear deal negotiations:  that he warned Netanyahu against launching an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities while diplomatic efforts were underway. On Friday, he again urged Iran to reach a nuclear deal with US, warning attacks ‘will only get worse!’

The attack pushes the region into a new and uncertain phase: The deaths of top Iranian officials also marks a significant blow to Tehran’s governing theocracy and an immediate .

Oil prices are leaping and stocks are falling after Israel’s attack on Iran

Markets are worried that Israel’s attack could escalate further and damage the flow of crude around the world, along with the global economy.

The S&P 500 was down 0.7% in early trading Friday and on track for its worst day in more than two weeks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 423 points, or 1%, and the Nasdaq composite was down 0.8%.

The price of a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude jumped 7.3%. Iran is one of the world’s major producers of oil.

Turkey suspends flights to Iran, Iraq, Syria and Jordan

Turkish Airlines and other local airline operators suspended flights to those countries until Monday due to security concerns, the country’s transportation minister, Abdulkadir Uraloglu, announced on X.

Iraq complains to UN about Israel using its airspace to attack Iran

Early Friday morning, many in Iraq reported hearing warplanes and sounds of explosions that were believed to be the firing of missiles from Iraqi airspace.

The government of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq — which has a close relationship with the United States — also issued a statement condemning Israel’s strikes on Iran.

Egyptian and German foreign ministers warn against regional escalation

Speaking to reporters in Cairo, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty condemned the “dangerous and unjustified” escalation in light of Israel’s attacks on Iran, warning it could plunge the region into chaos.

Meanwhile, his German counterpart Johann Wadephul expressed concern over Israel’s military strikes and Iran’s retaliatory launch of hundreds of drones toward Israel, calling the developments deeply worrying.

Abdelatty affirmed that nuclear non-proliferation is among top Egyptian policy priorities. Wadenphul, meanwhile, raised concerns about Iran’s nuclear program.

Netanyahu calls allied leaders in Germany, India and France

A statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said “The leaders expressed understanding for Israel’s defense needs against the threat of Iranian annihilation.”

He was expected to speak with Trump, Putin and Starmer later in the day. Israel’s Foreign Minister Gidon Saar was also reaching out to European leaders throughout the day.

Israeli intelligence had ‘absolutely exceptional’ knowledge of Iran’s nuclear program, expert says

The strikes showed Israel knew the private addresses of key military leaders and combined that with the ability to hit targets “with precision,” delivering “a tremendous amount of damage” to the nuclear program, said Fabian Hinz, a defense and nuclear expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London.

Hinz suggested there are two main ways Iran could respond — by using Hezbollah and air attacks — but indicated both options are limited.

Hezbollah, he said, “is no longer in a position” to fulfill its role as Iran’s forward deterrence after repeated attacks from Israel. There are also questions about the effectiveness of Iran’s missiles, which were largely intercepted during attacks on Israel last year, he said.

Iran calls for emergency Security Council meeting

Iran’s U.N. Mission said it has asked for an emergency meeting of the Security Council following the Israeli attacks.

The emergency session is likely to take place Friday afternoon, the mission said.

Turkey’s Erdogan calls Israeli strikes a blatant provocation

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called Israel’s strikes on Iran a “blatant provocation” that violates international law.

In a statement posted on X, Erdogan suggested that the attack was an attempt to divert attention away from Israel’s ongoing actions in Gaza.

“The attacks by (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu and his network of massacre that are igniting our entire region must be prevented,” Erdogan wrote.

Israel told Trump administration of attacks ahead of time

Israel told the Trump administration that large-scale attacks were coming and expected Iranian retaliation would be severe, U.S. officials said, leading the United States to order the evacuations of some nonessential embassy staffers and authorize the voluntary departure of military dependents in the region.

The officials were speaking on condition of anonymity to describe private diplomatic discussions.

Special envoy Steve Witkoff still plans to go to Oman this weekend for talks on Tehran’s nuclear program, but it’s not clear if the Iranians would participate, officials said.

Macron calls for all parties to be restrained

French President Emmanuel Macron has called on ” all parties to exercise the utmost restraint and de-escalate” in order “not to jeopardize the stability of the entire region” in a post on X.

Macron, who held an emergency security meeting on Friday morning following Israel’s strikes on Iran, said France is taking all necessary measures to protect its nationals, diplomatic sites and military bases in the region.

Macron said he spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump as well as leaders of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Germany and Britain about the latest developments.

Hamas expresses solidarity with Iran

“We declare our solidarity with the Islamic Republic of Iran in the face of the brutal Zionist aggression, which primarily stems from Iran’s support for the Palestinian people and its significant backing of their honorable resistance fighters,” said Abu Ubaida, spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing.

He also mourned the deaths of senior Iranian leaders and others killed in the strike, condemning the attack as “cowardly.”

Trump: ‘Second chance’ for Iran

In a further post on the Truth Social platform, President Donald Trump added: “Two months ago I gave Iran a 60 day ultimatum to ‘make a deal.’”

“They should have done it! Today is day 61. I told them what to do, but they just couldn’t get there. Now they have, perhaps, a second chance!” he wrote Friday.

Trump calls Israeli strikes on Iran ‘excellent’ and says ‘more to come’

In an interview with ABC News, U.S. President Donald Trump called the Israeli strikes on Iran “excellent” and previewed more attacks.

“I think it’s been excellent. We gave them a chance and they didn’t take it,” Trump told ABC on Friday morning. “They got hit hard, very hard. They got hit about as hard as you’re going to get hit. And there’s more to come, a lot more.”

This is a developing story, check back for updates

Black smoke billowed from the site where the plane went down in a populated area near the airport in Ahmedabad, a city of more than 5 million and the capital of Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state.

Firefighters doused the smoking wreckage of the plane, which would have been fully loaded with fuel shortly after takeoff, and adjacent multistory buildings with water. Many charred bodies lay on the ground and one was carried away on a stretcher by first responders.

“The scenes emerging of a London-bound plane carrying many British nationals crashing in the Indian city of Ahmedabad are devastating,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement.

Some police patrolled the streets on horseback while others with riot gear lined up behind Guard troops deployed to protect federal facilities including a detention center where some immigrants were taken in recent days. Police declared an unlawful assembly, and by early evening many people had left.

But protesters who remained grabbed chairs from a nearby public park to form a makeshift barrier, throwing objects at police on the other side. Others standing above the closed southbound 101 Freeway threw chunks of concrete, rocks, electric scooters and fireworks at California Highway Patrol officers and their vehicles that were parked on the highway. Officers ran under an overpass to take cover.

It was the third day of demonstrations against Trump’s immigration crackdown in the region, as the arrival of around 300 federal troops spurred anger and fear among some residents. Sunday’s protests in Los Angeles, a city of 4 million people, were centered in several blocks of downtown.

Starting in the morning, National Guard troops stood shoulder to shoulder, carrying long guns and riot shields outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles. Protesters shouted “shame” and “go home.” After some closely approached the guard members, another set of uniformed officers advanced on the group, shooting smoke-filled canisters into the street.

Minutes later, the Los Angeles Police Department fired rounds of crowd-control munitions to disperse the protesters, who they said were assembled unlawfully. Much of the group then moved to block traffic on the 101 freeway until state patrol officers cleared them from the roadway by late afternoon, while southbound lanes remained shut down.

Nearby, at least four self-driving Waymo cars were set on fire, sending large plumes of black smoke into the sky and exploding intermittently as the electric vehicles burned. By evening, police had issued an unlawful assembly order shutting down several blocks of downtown Los Angeles.

Flash bangs echoed out every few seconds into the evening.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom requested Trump remove the guard members in a  Sunday afternoon, calling their deployment a “serious breach of state sovereignty.” He was in Los Angeles meeting with local law enforcement and officials. It wasn’t clear if he’d spoken to Trump since Friday.

Their deployment appeared to be the first time in decades that a state’s national guard was activated without a request from its governor, a significant escalation against those who have sought to hinder the ����ڴڴǰ��ٲ�.

Mayor Karen Bass echoed Newsom’s comments.

“What we’re seeing in Los Angeles is chaos that is provoked by the administration,” she said in an afternoon press conference. “This is about another agenda, this isn’t about public safety.”

Their admonishments did not deter the administration.

“It’s a bald-faced lie for Newsom to claim there was no problem in Los Angeles before President Trump got involved,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement in response.

Deployment follows days of protest

The arrival of the National Guard followed two days of protests that began Friday in downtown Los Angeles before spreading on Saturday to Paramount, a heavily Latino city south of the city, and .

Federal agents arrested immigrants in LA’s fashion district, in a Home Depot parking lot and at several other locations on Friday. The next day, they were staging at a Department of Homeland Security office near another Home Depot in Paramount, which drew out protesters who suspected another raid. Federal authorities later said there was no enforcement activity at that Home Depot.

Demonstrators attempted to block Border Patrol vehicles by hurling rocks and chunks of cement. In response, agents in riot gear unleashed tear gas, flash-bang explosives and pepper balls.

The weeklong tally of immigrant arrests in the LA area climbed above 100, federal authorities said. Many more were arrested while protesting, including a prominent union leader who was accused of impeding law enforcement.

The protests did not reach the size of past demonstrations that brought the National Guard to Los Angeles, including the �����Ի��� and the 2020 protests against police violence, in which Newsom requested the assistance of federal troops.

The last time the National Guard was activated without a governor’s permission was in 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to protect a civil rights march in Alabama, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.

Trump says there will be ‘very strong law and order’

In a  Saturday, Trump invoked a legal provision allowing him to deploy federal service members when there is ”a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.”

He said he had authorized the deployment of 2,000 members of the National Guard.

Trump told reporters as he prepared to board Air Force One in Morristown, New Jersey, Sunday that there were “violent people” in Los Angeles “and they’re not gonna get away with it.”

Asked if he , Trump replied: “We’re gonna have troops everywhere. We’re not going to let this happen to our country. We’re not going to let our country be torn apart like it was under Biden.” He didn’t elaborate.

About 500 Marines stationed at Twentynine Palms, about 125 miles (200 kilometers) east of Los Angeles were in a “prepared to deploy status” Sunday afternoon, according to the U.S. Northern Command.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris, who lives in Los Angeles, said the immigration arrests and Guard deployment were designed as part of a “cruel, calculated agenda to spread panic and division.”

She said she supports those “standing up to protect our most fundamental rights and freedoms.”

Offenhartz reported from New York. Associated Press writer Michelle Price contributed to this report from Bridgewater, New Jersey.

 prompted Israeli missions to beef up their security and lower their flags to half-staff. It came as Israel has launched another major offensive in the Gaza Strip in a war with Hamas that has  and as antisemitic acts are on the rise.

The two people killed were a young couple about to be engaged, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter said. He added that the man had purchased a ring this week with the intent to propose next week in Jerusalem.

They were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum when the suspect, who had been seen pacing outside the museum, approached a group of four people and opened fire, Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith said .

The man, identified as Elias Rodriguez, 31, of Chicago, then walked into the museum, was detained by event security and began chanting, “Free, free Palestine,” Smith said.

Israeli officials identified the victims as Yaron Lischinsky, an Israeli citizen, and Sarah Milgrim, an American. Lischinsky was a research assistant, and Milgrim organized visits and missions to Israel.

“These horrible D.C. killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, NOW!” President Donald Trump posted on social media early Thursday. “Hatred and Radicalism have no place in the USA.”

Israel’s reaction

Israeli Prime Minister  ’s office said Thursday he was shocked.

“We are witnessing the terrible price of antisemitism and wild incitement against Israel,” he said in a statement.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, led by former judge Jeanine Pirro, will prosecute the case.

It was not immediately clear whether Rodriguez had an attorney who could comment on his behalf. A telephone number listed in public records rang unanswered.

Dan Bongino, deputy director of the FBI, wrote in a post on social media that “early indicators are that this is an act of targeted violence.”

Israel’s campaign in Gaza

The influential pan-Arab satellite channel Al Jazeera aired on a loop what appeared to be mobile phone footage of the gunman, wearing a suit jacket and slacks, being pulled away after the shooting, his hands behind his back.

The war, ignited by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack that killed 1,200 people and resulted in the abduction of some 250 hostages, has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced most of its population.

Israel’s devastating campaign in Gaza has killed more than 53,000 people, mostly women and children, according to local health authorities, whose count doesn’t differentiate between combatants and civilians. An Israeli blockade has caused  and prompted fears of famine.

‘In cold blood’

 the American Jewish Committee’s annual Young Diplomats reception at the museum.

“This is a shocking act of violence and our community is holding each other tighter tonight,” Ted Deutch, American Jewish Committee’s chief executive, said in a statement early Thursday. “At this painful moment, we mourn with the victims’ families, loved ones, and all of Israel. May their memories be for a blessing.”

Yoni Kalin and Katie Kalisher were inside the museum when they heard gunshots and a man came inside looking distressed. Kalin said people came to his aid and brought him water, thinking he needed help, without realizing he was the suspect. When police arrived, he pulled out a red keffiyeh, the Palestinian headscarf, and repeatedly yelled, “Free Palestine,’” Kalin said.

“This event was about humanitarian aid,” Kalin said. “How can we actually help both the people in Gaza and the people in Israel? How can we bring together Muslims and Jews and Christians to work together to actually help innocent people? And then here he is just murdering two people in cold blood.”

Last week, the Capital Jewish Museum was one of the local nonprofits in Washington awarded funding from a $500,000 grant program to increase its security. The museum’s leaders  and due to its new LGBTQ exhibit, according to .

“We recognize that there are threats associated with this as well,” Executive Director Beatrice Gurwitz told the TV station. “And again, we want to ensure that our space is as welcoming and secure for everybody who comes here while we are exploring these stories.”

In response to the shooting, the museum said in a statement that they are “deeply saddened and horrified by the senseless violence outside the Museum this evening.”

Israeli diplomats have a history of being targeted by violence, both by state-backed assailants and Palestinian militants over the decades of the wider Israeli-Palestinian conflict that grew out of the founding of Israel in 1948. The Palestinians seek Gaza and the West Bank for a future state, with east Jerusalem as its capital — lands Israel captured in the 1967 war. However, the peace process between the sides has been stalled for years.

The story has been updated to correct the suspect’s age to 31 from 30, based on updated information from law enforcement.

Associated Press writers Alanna Durkin Richer, Hallie Golden, Jon Gambrell, Stefanie Dazio and Natalie Melzer contributed.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols also convicted Taylor Taranto of recording himself making a hoax threat to bomb a government building in Maryland. The judge decided the case without a jury after a bench trial that started last week in Washington, D.C.

Taranto was arrested in Obama’s neighborhood on the same day in June 2023 that Trump posted on social media what he claimed was the former president’s address. Investigators said they found two guns, roughly 500 rounds of ammunition, and a machete in Taranto’s van.

Taranto was livestreaming video on YouTube in which he said he was looking for “entrance points” to underground tunnels and wanted to get a “good angle on a shot,” . He reposted Trump’s message about Obama’s home address and wrote: “We got these losers surrounded! See you in hell, Podesta’s and Obama’s.” He was referring to , who chaired  2016 Democratic presidential campaign.

Taranto wasn’t charged with threatening Obama or Podesta. But the judge convicted him of making a hoax bomb threat directed at the Gaithersburg, Maryland-based National Institute of Standards and Technology, which is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Taranto’s lawyers said he didn’t have any bomb-making material and wasn’t near the institute when he made those statements on a livestreamed video. During the trial’s opening statements, defense attorney Pleasant Brodnax said the video shows Taranto was merely joking in an “avant-garde” manner.

“He believes he is a journalist and, to some extent, a comedian,” Broadnax said.

But the judge concluded that a reasonable, objective observer might have believed Taranto’s statements on the video. While some viewers may have thought his words were of a “madcap nature,” others could have interpreted them as coming from “an unbalanced narrator willing to follow through on outlandish claims,” Nichols said.

Nichols, who was nominated by Trump, didn’t immediately schedule a sentencing hearing for Taranto. He has been jailed for nearly two years since his arrest because a  that he poses a danger to the public.

After reading his verdict from the bench, the judge said he would entertain a request by defense attorney Carmen Hernandez to release Taranto from custody until his sentencing. Nichols said he intends to rule on that request later this week.

Taranto, a Navy veteran from Pasco, Washington, is one of only a few people charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol who remained jailed after �ʰ���������Գ��� ‘s sweeping act on clemency in January. Trump pardoned, commuted the prison sentences or ordered the dismissal of charges for all of the more than 1,500 people charged with crimes .

Before Trump’s pardons, Taranto also was charged with four misdemeanors related to the Jan. 6 attack. Prosecutors said he joined the crush of rioters who breached the building. He was captured on video at the entrance of the Speaker’s Lobby around the time that a rioter, , was shot and killed by an officer while she tried to climb through the broken window of a barricaded door.

Biden was seen by doctors last week after urinary symptoms and a prostate nodule were found. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer on Friday, with the cancer cells having spread to the bone.

“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management,” his office said. “The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”

Prostate cancers are given a score called a Gleason score that measures, on a scale of 1 to 10, how the cancerous cells look compared with normal cells. Biden’s office said his score was 9, suggesting his cancer is among the most aggressive.

When prostate cancer spreads to other parts of the body, it often spreads to the bones. Metastasized cancer is much harder to treat than localized cancer because it can be hard for drugs to reach all the tumors and completely root out the disease.

However, when prostate cancers need hormones to grow, as in Biden’s case, they can be susceptible to treatment that deprives the tumors of hormones.

The health of Biden, 82, was a dominant concern among voters during his time as president. After a calamitous debate performance in June while seeking reelection, Biden abandoned his bid for a second term. Then-Vice President Kamala Harris became the nominee and lost to Republican Donald Trump, who returned to the White House after a four-year hiatus.

But in recent days, Biden rejected concerns about his age despite reporting in the new book “Original Sin” by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson that aides had shielded the public from the extent of his decline while serving as president.

In February 2023, Biden had a skin lesion removed from his chest that was a basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer. And in November 2021, he had a polyp removed from his colon that was a benign, but potentially pre-cancerous lesion.

In 2022, Biden made a “cancer moonshot” one of his administration’s priorities with the goal of halving the cancer death rate over the next 25 years. The initiative was a continuation of his work as vice president to address a disease that had killed his older son, Beau, who died from brain cancer in 2015.

His father, when announcing the goal to halve the cancer death rate, said this could be an “American moment to prove to ourselves and, quite frankly, the world that we can do really big things.”

Details of the settlement over  were not disclosed in a court filing Monday.

Barnett, a longtime Boeing employee, shared his safety concerns with journalists after he retired in 2017. He said he once saw discarded metal shavings near wiring for the flight controls that could have cut the wiring and caused a catastrophe. He also noted problems with up to a quarter of the oxygen systems on Boeing’s 787 planes.

Family settles lawsuit over Boeing whistleblower’s suicide

Barnett shared his concerns with his supervisors and others before leaving Boeing, but according to the lawsuit they responded by ignoring him and then harassing him.

, 62, shot himself on March 9, 2024, in Charleston after answering questions from attorneys for several days. He lived in Louisiana.

The document announcing the settlement and closing the case in federal court in South Carolina was one page and the only detail was that either side can reopen the lawsuit if the settlement is not finalized in 60 days.

Boeing did not answer the lawsuit in court papers before the settlement.

“We are saddened by John Barnett’s death and extend our condolences to his family. Boeing took actions several years ago to review and address the issues that Mr. Barnett raised,” the company said in a statement Tuesday.

Waltz came under searing scrutiny in March after revelations that he  on the encrypted messaging app Signal, which was used to discuss planning for a sensitive March 15 military operation against Houthi militants in Yemen. A far-right ally of the president, Laura Loomer, has also targeted Waltz, telling Trump in a recent Oval Office conversation that he needs to purge aides who she believes are insufficiently loyal to the “Make America Great Again” agenda.

Waltz’s deputy, Alex Wong, is also expected to depart, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a personnel move not yet made public. The National Security Council did not respond do a request for comment.

Waltz, who served in the House representing Florida for three terms before his elevation to the White House, is the most prominent senior administration official to depart since Trump returned to the White House. In his second term, the Republican president had been looking to avoid the tumult of his first four years in office, during which he cycled through four national security advisers, four White House chiefs of staff and two secretaries of state.

 also showed that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth provided the exact timings of warplane launches and when bombs would drop. Waltz had previously taken “full responsibility” for building the message chain and administration officials described the episode as a “mistake” but one that caused Americans no harm. Waltz maintained that he was not sure how Goldberg ended up in the messaging chain, and insisted he did not know the journalist.

Trump and the White House — which insisted that no classified information was shared on the text chain — have stood by Waltz publicly throughout the episode. But the embattled national security adviser was also under siege from personalities such as Loomer, who had been complaining to administration officials that she had been excluded from the vetting process for National Security Council aides. In her view, Waltz relied too much on “neocons” — referring to hawkish neoconservatives within the Republican Party — as well as others who Loomer argued were “not-MAGA-enough” types.

Waltz was on television as late as Thursday morning, promoting the administration’s agreement with Kyiv that would allow the U.S. to access Ukraine’s critical minerals and other natural resources. As reports began to circulate that Waltz could be leaving the administration, Loomer appeared to take credit in a post on the social media site X, writing: “SCALP.”

“Hopefully, the rest of the people who were set to be fired but were given promotions at the NSC under Waltz also depart,” Loomer wrote in another post.

Loomer had taken  when several other NSC officials were dismissed last month one day after she met with Trump. Those firings included Brian Walsh, a director for intelligence; Thomas Boodry, a senior director for legislative affairs; and David Feith, a senior director for technology and national security, as well as other lower-ranking aides.

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell grilled a Justice Department lawyer over the government’s plans to suspend security clearances from lawyers at the firm of Perkins Coie and pressed him to explain why the Trump administration was forcing law firms to disavow the use of diversity, equity and inclusion considerations in its hiring practices.

“Why does the administration view those three words as dirty?” Howell asked.

Justice Department attorney Richard Lawson said the government remains concerned about what it considers the “unlawful” evaluation by law firms of applicants based on of “race, sex and ethnic based issues unrelated to them as individuals.”

At issue Wednesday were requests from two law firms — Perkins Coie and WilmerHale — to permanently halt executive orders imposed against them last month. Judges last month temporarily blocked enforcement of key provisions of both orders, but the firms are asking for the edicts to be struck down in their entirety and for judges to issue rulings in their favor. Another firm, Jenner & Block, is expected to make similar arguments next week.

The firms consider the orders to be unconstitutional assaults on the legal profession that threaten their relationships with clients and retaliate against them based either on their past legal representations or their association with particular attorneys who Trump perceives as his adversaries.

The executive actions have generally imposed the same sanctions against the targeted firms, including ordering the suspension of security clearances, the termination of federal contracts and restrictions in access to federal buildings for firm employees.

In court Wednesday, Howell said she was troubled that the administration was putting the “cart before the horse” by stripping security clearances en masse without first conducting an individualized review of attorneys. She appeared to grow exasperated as Lawson struggled to answer questions about the basic mechanics for implementing the security clearance suspension or the review process for the targeted attorneys.

“You can’t tell me which agencies are conducting this review?” she asked at one point.

“You don’t know whether the firm or the attorney whose security clearance has been suspended has been given notice about the timing of the review” or whether they will have an ability to object to the review, she said.

The executive order targeting Perkins Coie singled out the firm’s representation of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential race, and the one against WilmerHale cited the fact that special counsel Robert Mueller — who investigated Trump during his first term over potential ties between Russia and his 2016 campaign — was for years a partner at the firm.

Since then, more than a half-dozen other firms have reached agreements with the White House that require them, among other things, to dedicate free legal services to causes the Trump administration says it champions.

They include Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; Milbank; Willkie, Farr & Gallagher; Kirkland & Ellis; Latham & Watkins LLP; Allen Overy Shearman Sterling US LLP; Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP; and Cadwalader, Taft & Wickersham.

Police described the incident as a “terror attack” and blamed militants fighting against Indian rule. “This attack is much larger than anything we’ve seen directed at civilians in recent years,” , the region’s top elected official, wrote on social media.

Two senior police officers said at least four gunmen, whom they described as militants, fired at dozens of tourists from close range. The officers said at least three dozen others were injured, many in serious condition.

Most of the tourists killed were Indian, the officers said, speaking on condition of anonymity in keeping with departmental policy. Officials collected at least 24 bodies in Baisaran meadow, some five kilometers (3 miles) from the disputed region’s resort town of Pahalgam. Two others died while being taken for medical treatment.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Police and soldiers were searching for the attackers.

“We will come down heavily on the perpetrators with the harshest consequences,” India’s home minister, Amit Shah, wrote on social media. He arrived in Srinagar, the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir, and convened a meeting with top security officials.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was cutting short his two-day visit to Saudi Arabia and returning to New Delhi early Wednesday, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.

, a key resistance politician and Kashmir’s top religious cleric, condemned what he described as a “cowardly attack on tourists,” writing on social media that “such violence is unacceptable and against the ethos of Kashmir which welcomes visitors with love and warmth.”

The gunfire coincided with the visit to India of , who called it a “devastating terrorist attack.” He added on social media: “Over the past few days, we have been overcome with the beauty of this country and its people. Our thoughts and prayers are with them as they mourn this horrific attack.”

U.S. President Donald Trump on social media noted “deeply disturbing news out of Kashmir. The United States stands strong with India against terrorism.” Other global leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, condemned the attack.

Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir, but both claim the territory in its entirety.

Kashmir has seen a  of Hindus, including immigrant workers from Indian states, after in 2019 and drastically .

Tensions have been simmering as India has intensified its counterinsurgency operations. But despite tourists flocking to Kashmir in huge numbers for its Himalayan foothills and exquisitely decorated houseboats, they have not been targeted.

The region has drawn  who enjoy a strange peace kept by ubiquitous security checkpoints, armored vehicles and patrolling soldiers. New Delhi has vigorously pushed tourism and claimed it as a sign of normalcy returning.

The meadow in Pahalgam is a popular destination, surrounded by snow-capped mountains and dotted with pine forests. It is visited by hundreds of tourists every day.

Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, while condemning the attack, said the Modi government should take accountability instead of making “hollow claims on the situation being normal” in the region.

Militants in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi’s rule since 1989. Many Muslim Kashmiris support the rebels’ goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.

India insists the Kashmir militancy is Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Pakistan denies the charge, and many Kashmiris consider it a legitimate freedom struggle. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed in the conflict.

In March 2000, at least 35 civilians were shot and killed in a southern village while then-U.S. President Bill Clinton was visiting India. It was the region’s deadliest attack in recent years.

Violence has ebbed in recent times in the Kashmir Valley, the heart of anti-India rebellion. Fighting between government forces and rebels has largely shifted to remote areas of Jammu region including Rajouri, Poonch and Kathua, where Indian troops have faced deadly attacks.

Associated Press writers Sheikh Saaliq in New Delhi and Michelle Price in Washington contributed to this report