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FILE – President Donald Trump, center, walks from Marine One to board Air Force One, Aug. 21, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md., en route to South Carolina.<\/p>\n
Jacquelyn Martin\/AP Photo\/Jacquelyn Martin<\/p>\n
FILE – Protesters march in the streets of downtown Austin, Texas, to show opposition to the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran, during a demonstration organized by the Austin for Palestine Coalition, April 8, 2026. (Mikala Compton\/Austin American-Statesman via AP, File)<\/p>\n
Mikala Compton\/Mikala Compton\/Austin American-S<\/p>\n
FILE – A man walks away after watching a black plume of smoke rise from a warehouse in the industrial area of Sharjah City, United Arab Emirates, March 1, 2026, following reports of Iranian strikes in Dubai.<\/p>\n
Altaf Qadri\/AP Photo\/Altaf Qadri<\/p>\n
FILE – Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s choice to be Secretary of Health and Human Services, appears before the Senate Finance Committee for his confirmation hearing, at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 29, 2025.<\/p>\n
Ben Curtis\/AP Photo\/Ben Curtis<\/p>\n
Cans and kegs of craft beer are stored at Pryes Brewing Company in Minneapolis, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026.<\/p>\n
Ellen Schmidt\/AP Photo\/Ellen Schmidt<\/p>\n
Pakistan and Qatar are continuing diplomatic efforts to end the war between the United States and Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. But President Donald Trump told Al Jazeera he’s got \u201cno time schedule\u201d to resolve the conflict reaching the six-month mark on Friday. Trump said he thinks the U.S. is \u201cwinning very big.\u201d<\/p>\n
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U.S. voters will soon get their say. The Iran war has undermined Trump\u2019s campaign pledge to steer clear of foreign conflicts and challenges Republicans clinging to narrow majorities in Congress. About two-thirds of U.S. adults say the war with Iran has not been worth fighting, according to a July poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.<\/p>\n
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Canada is bolstering its defense industry as US relations fray<\/p>\n
The Canadian government is investing an additional $60 billion over the next five years to reduce its dependence on American suppliers, a shift due to Trump\u2019s pressure to contribute more to NATO as well as strained trade relations with Washington.<\/p>\n
Canada aims to boost domestic defense capabilities and create jobs while developing innovative technologies for military and civilian use, like drones and robotics. Clothing maker Wuxly, known for luxury parkas, is joining in, making high-tech military gear.<\/p>\n
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Prime Minister Mark Carney\u2019s vow to strengthen Canadian economic self-sufficiency is a boon for Canadian startups and established companies, as well as firms in Europe.<\/p>\n
UEFA has also gone to court in Florida against FIFA<\/p>\n
UEFA also filed a request in a southern Florida district for authorization of discovery \u201cin a foreign proceeding\u201d against FIFA itself, which has offices in the Miami suburb of Coral Gables.<\/p>\n
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Thrive and Kushner were to be the anchor investors intending to pay FIFA $4.2 billion for a 20% stake in a subsidiary that would run the soccer body\u2019s commercial events, including the World Cup.<\/p>\n
A 56-page UEFA document seen by The Associated Press suggests the $4.2 billion could have been a \u201cfraudulently off-market price promoted by Infantino for his own benefit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Infantino dropped the sell-off plan on Aug. 1 after a furious backlash by global soccer leaders, including UEFA.<\/p>\n
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Europe\u2019s soccer body seeks evidence from Kushner fund for criminal complaint against FIFA\u2019s Infantino<\/p>\n
UEFA is preparing a criminal complaint against FIFA President Gianni Infantino in Swiss courts for possible financial mismanagement over his failed plan to sell future World Cup profits to private investors.<\/p>\n
UEFA said Thursday it filed documents in a Manhattan court requesting discovery of potential evidence from the New York investment fund, Thrive Capital Management, founded by Joshua Kushner, the younger brother of Trump\u2019s son-in-law Jared Kushner.<\/p>\n
Iran thanks China as it dismisses Trump\u2019s D-Day sanctions threat<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s top negotiator and parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf is thanking China for rejecting the U.S. \u201ceconomic D-Day\u201d policies against Iran.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe welcome China\u2019s principled statement rejecting illegal sanctions against Iran,\u201d Qalibaf posted on social media Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Earlier this week, Tehran had warned that it would respond harshly to expanded U.S. sanctions, including measures against countries it sees as cooperating with Washington. Iran has repeatedly targeted Bahrain and other Gulf countries with missiles and drones since the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28.<\/p>\n
Another tanker is reported struck in the Strait of Hormuz<\/p>\n
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Organization said Thursday that it had received a report of an oil tanker hit in the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n
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The monitoring agency, run by the British military, said that local authorities reported that the vessel was hit by an unknown projectile on Tuesday in the waters between Oman and Iran, causing it to catch fire.<\/p>\n
The crew was reported to be safe and there have been no reports of environmental damage, the UKMTO said.<\/p>\n
Canadian official says US has dropped objections to Canada\u2019s cultural programs<\/p>\n
The message from Canadian Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc suggests that by dropping objections to Canada \u2019s efforts to promote French language and Canadian culture, the U.S. side has created some room for compromise in the trade standoff.<\/p>\n
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LeBlanc wrote on X Thursday that the measures \u201cwill not be subject to future U.S. trade actions,\u201d and that he looks forward to \u201cconstructive U.S. clarifications\u2019\u2019 that could \u201ccreate the possibility of a mutually beneficial trade agreement.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Speaking to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Wednesday, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the U.S. has had some \u201cquestions\u2019\u2019 about whether the cultural programs put U.S. companies at a disadvantage, but said the U.S. \u201crecognizes the importance and sensitivity of the French language\u2019\u2019 to Canada. \u201cThere is no way we would let a good deal go by for something like this,\u201d Greer added.<\/p>\n
Qatari leader went to Tehran seeking an off-ramp from the war<\/p>\n
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani was in Tehran on Thursday trying diplomacy to resolve the Iran war.<\/p>\n
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Qatar\u2019s foreign ministry said in a post on X that Al Thani and Iran\u2019s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi discussed \u201cthe efforts being made to reduce escalation,\u201d as well as a proposed plan between Iran and Oman to allow ships safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz and clear the vital commercial waterway of dangerous mines.<\/p>\n
Al Thani\u2019s office said the prime minister emphasized the \u201cnecessity of respecting the sovereignty of neighboring countries and the freedom of navigation\u201d on the strait.<\/p>\n
Al Thani also met Thursday with Iran\u2019s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf to review efforts to reduce escalation and resume dialogue, the Qatari government said.<\/p>\n
New documents refuting RFK Jr testimony were obtained through an open records lawsuit<\/p>\n
The letters featured in the AP\u2019s Thursday story about Kennedy\u2019s 2019 trip to Samoa had been included in emails in State Department records.<\/p>\n
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The department released them to the AP and The Guardian as the result of an open records lawsuit brought with the aid of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. The letters, shared recently, were among hundreds of pages of documents released over a period of months.<\/p>\n
Based on other emails released as part of the lawsuit, the AP and the Guardian reported in February that officials with the State Department and UNICEF privately discussed that the trip was about vaccines.<\/p>\n
HHS responds to AP report on Kennedy\u2019s letter about measles vaccine<\/p>\n
The Department of Health and Human Services said in response to questions from the AP that the Samoa visit \u201cwas unrelated to vaccines.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cAny claim or insinuation based on these letters that Secretary Kennedy lied under oath or to Congress is not only false but outright defamatory,\u201d the department said in a written statement.<\/p>\n
Kennedy was not under oath during his confirmation hearing. Knowingly giving material false testimony to Congress is a crime<\/a> that carries a possible prison sentence regardless of whether a person is under oath, though it is rarely prosecuted.<\/p>\n HHS did not make Kennedy available for an interview. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. The Samoan prime minister\u2019s office and the former prime minister who corresponded with Kennedy did not respond to requests for comment. Neither did Children\u2019s Health Defense, the anti-vaccine nonprofit Kennedy led.<\/p>\n AP exclusive: RFK Jr. said a Samoa trip had nothing to do with vaccines. New documents refute that<\/p>\n Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. repeatedly told lawmakers who held the key to his confirmation last year that his 2019 visit to Samoa before a deadly measles outbreak had \u201c nothing to do with vaccines.\u201d New documents obtained by The Associated Press and The Guardian refute that testimony.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Kennedy, then a prominent anti-vaccine activist, preceded the visit with a letter to the Samoan prime minister requesting to study the Pacific island nation\u2019s measles, mumps and rubella vaccines after the deaths of two children who had received them. In the letter, he used the words vaccine or vaccination eight times.<\/p>\n The letter raises questions about how truthful Kennedy was in testimony before Congress. During an arduous confirmation process where he needed the support of some skeptical Republican lawmakers to advance, Kennedy also pledged to maintain vaccine policies that, once in office, he moved to change.<\/p>\n \u25b6 Read more, including the letters from Kennedy and Samoa\u2019s prime minister<\/p>\n Outgoing White House press secretary talks Texas and her replacement<\/p>\n Karoline Leavitt says there\u2019s \u201cno shortage of applications\u201d to replace her.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve given my advice to the president on what he should look for, and I\u2019ll continue to do that until he makes a decision,\u201d she told \u201cFox and Friends\u201d on Thursday that the pick needs to be someone Trump \u201ctrusts fully.\u201d<\/p>\n In what Fox hosts billed as her last official interview on the network, Leavitt teased a trip Trump is taking to Houston Thursday evening to attend a Republican National Committee fundraiser in support of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton\u2019s Senate campaign. Trump will visit NASA\u2019s Johnson Space Center on Friday.<\/p>\n White House says some Americans have been rescued from flooding in Nepal<\/p>\n The U.S. has rescued a handful of Americans in the wake of devastating flooding in Nepal, outgoing White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in an interview on \u201cFox and Friends\u201d on Thursday morning.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Leavitt said the U.S. has offered its help to local authorities and will prioritize Americans in its response. \u201cWe\u2019re focused on rescuing every American that we possibly can,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Rescue teams searched Thursday for hundreds of missing people along the Nepal-China border, where the collapse of a glacier sent a catastrophic and deadly torrent of water and mud several stories high sweeping through communities.<\/p>\n Videos of the disaster showed people running before the floodwaters swallowed them up. At least 353 people were killed, police said, and more than 1,300 are missing. Melting glaciers have become more common because of human-caused climate change.<\/p>\n The number of Americans applying for jobless aid slips to 203,000 as layoffs remain low<\/p>\n The Labor Department numbers released Thursday show layoffs are rare and most Americans enjoy job security, but that doesn\u2019t point to a great job market for workers.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Scarred by the worker shortages that followed the COVID-19 pandemic, companies are reluctant to let go of staff. But they aren\u2019t hiring much either. So times are tough for Americans seeking to break into the job market as well as people who lost their jobs and are looking for new work. Economists describe a \u201cno hire, no fire\u2033 job market.<\/p>\n So far this year, employers \u2014 companies, nonprofits and government agencies \u2014 have added an average 61,000 jobs a month. It\u2019s better than the 9,700 they averaged last year as high interest rates and Trump\u2019s erratic trade policies discouraged companies from hiring. But it\u2019s well below historic hiring patterns.<\/p>\n ICE officer charged in Minneapolis shooting is released from Texas jail<\/p>\n An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer charged with shooting a man and lying about it during the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis was released from a Texas jail Thursday, after a judge refused to order his return to Minnesota.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Christian Castro was released from a detention center in Brownsville, Cameron County Sheriff Manuel Trevino said in an email.<\/p>\n A day earlier, U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. wrote in an order that said he couldn\u2019t prevent a county sheriff from releasing Castro or order Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to sign his extradition warrant.<\/p>\n Castro is charged in Minnesota with assault and falsely reporting a crime in the Jan. 14 shooting of 24-year-old Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis.<\/p>\n Minnesota officials believe Castro could flee to Mexico.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n New Fed chair Kevin Warsh under pressure to clarify views on inflation, interest rates<\/p>\n New Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh has brought sharp change in how the central bank communicates by saying much less<\/a> than his predecessors about the economy and inflation.<\/p>\n But so far, many economists and Wall Street investors haven\u2019t been thrilled with that approach.<\/p>\n