Trump defends Iran war, slams Democrats and promises cash at Republicans' midterm convention

DALLAS (AP) — President Donald Trump capped Wednesday’s opening night of the unusual Republican midterm convention by slamming Democrats as extremists and staunchly defending the war in Iran while making the extraordinary pledge to pay every adult American $5,000 if his party retains its control of both chambers of Congress after November.

The proposal, which could cost at least $1 trillion, was financially and politically implausible. But it reflected Trump’s apparent calculation that he needs bold moves to revive Republicans’ chances as Democrats try to take advantage of his low approval ratings in close races across the country.

Trump reveled in making the upcoming elections all about himself, even though it's unclear whether that will help or hurt his party. Many Republicans are skipping the two-day affair in Dallas, while others hoped their appearance would put them in the national spotlight as they work to turn out Trump's supporters in a year without him on the ballot.

“If we hand America's future to the radical-left Democrats, our nation will spend the next decade just getting back on its feet,” Trump said. “Vote Republican and we will leave the world in our dust for generations to come.”

The president urged the crowd to pretend he's running in November and said there were about 35 key races in the Senate and House as his party hopes to maintain congressional control. He pledged “to go to every one of those states,” suggesting he might visit some repeatedly.

Trump, hoping to salvage midterms, makes dubious pledge to give every US adult $5,000 if GOP wins

President Donald Trump pledged Wednesday to send every American adult $5,000 if Republicans retain control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections, an extraordinary gambit to reverse his party's sagging fortunes in November.

The dubious promise would likely cost more than $1 trillion and require congressional approval, and would further exacerbate the country’s nearly $1.8 trillion annual budget deficit and concerns about inflation.

“If the Republicans win, you win with us and you get $5,000," Trump said during the GOP's midterm convention in Dallas. "It will be called the Trump Dividend.”

He likened the payments to a corporation's distributions to shareholders, citing “our tremendous strength and success economically."

Within an hour, Vice President JD Vance appeared to try to walk back Trump’s proposal — at least in part — by suggesting the dividend payments would not go to the wealthy. Vance suggested it could be paid for by U.S. tariff revenues, though the suggested payment dwarfs what the U.S. has taken in through the protectionist measures.

Zelenskyy visits Canada to seek further military support for Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in Canada on Thursday for talks with Prime Minister Mark Carney, his latest international trip aimed at locking in future support for Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion.

Ukraine is under pressure from Russia’s air war, which is using ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones to pierce defenses. Moscow’s attacks have targeted Ukraine’s power grid ahead of the upcoming winter as part of its campaign to demoralize civilians, Ukrainian officials say.

Recent U.S. efforts to stop the more than four years of fighting have delivered no significant breakthrough, although Washington-brokered talks between delegations from Moscow and Kyiv are expected to continue.

“The main focus will be on supporting Ukraine in protecting our skies and preparing for the winter,” Zelenskyy said of his Canada trip in a social media post. “We will discuss how to strengthen our resilience, support our people, and ensure that Ukraine has the capabilities it needs to defend itself.”

Zelenskyy’s arrival on Wednesday night in Calgary, Alberta, came the day after his flight from Moldova to Norway was delayed when authorities closed Moldova’s airspace because of a drone incursion.

A pilot of the Amazon cargo plane that careened off Miami runway warned it was coming in too fast

For nearly two minutes, one of the pilots of the Amazon cargo plane that careened off a Miami runway and killed five people repeatedly warned his counterpart they were going too fast as they approached for landing and after touchdown, according to flight information released Wednesday.

A summary of cockpit voice recordings compiled by the National Transportation Safety Board said the fellow pilot never gave “a consistent verbal response” to the warnings. The plane touched down awkwardly, briefly attempted to take off and then smashed into a van carrying the five victims.

The Amazon plane came in fast on Sunday afternoon and then barreled roughly 1,300 feet (396 meters) past the end of the runway and smashed into a van carrying workers at a plane cleaning company before hitting a compact SUV as it slid across a public road before catching fire.

All five people who died were in the van. Five others were hurt, including two who remained in critical condition on Tuesday. The two pilots survived and were interviewed Wednesday by investigators.

At the point when the pilot first called out the plane was speeding, former FAA official Mike O’Donnell said the crew could have done a number of things to slow it down, including extending the spoilers, cutting the throttles and lowering the landing gear. Or the pilots could have just aborted the landing at that point and circled to try again.

Associated Press journalists who witnessed Sept. 11 remember what they saw, 25 years later

NEW YORK (AP) — Karen Matthews was getting her 3-year-old daughter ready for preschool in her Manhattan apartment on Sept. 11, 2001, when she heard a loud boom, unlike anything she’d ever heard before.

Holding her child, she went outside. Around her, people stared up at a gash in the north tower of the World Trade Center, smoke billowing from the building just blocks from her home.

“What did you see? What did you see?” people were asking one another. Matthews, an Associated Press reporter, began asking the same question, fumbling to get out her notebook and record what people had witnessed, all with her daughter still in her arms.

Matthews had planned to drop her daughter at school before working later to cover New York’s primary election. Instead, she and other AP journalists found themselves documenting the Sept. 11 attacks as they lived through them.

Twenty-five years later, they remember what they saw.

Hong Kong court convicts Wall Street Journal publisher of deterring reporter from taking union role

HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong court on Thursday convicted the publisher of The Wall Street Journal of deterring its reporter from taking up a trade union role, in a case that raised concerns about media freedom in the city. The court acquitted Dow Jones Publishing Co. (Asia) Inc. of the charge of dismissal over the union role.

Former WSJ reporter Selina Cheng, also chairperson of the trade union Hong Kong Journalists Association, launched a private prosecution against Dow Jones Publishing Co. (Asia) Inc. after losing her job in July 2024.

Hong Kong, once considered a bastion of press freedom in Asia, has seen its media landscape change drastically in recent years, including the forced closure of news outlets and the prosecution of newsroom leaders.

Cheng earlier said that her supervisor told her that her participation in the union election was problematic and that the supervisor needed to discuss the issue with WSJ's management in New York and Dow Jones’ in-house lawyers. Cheng said that she was told that her union role would be incompatible with her employment.

In convicting the company, Principal Magistrate David Cheung pointed to the firm's requirement for its approval before Cheng ran for election for the union's leadership role. Cheung said that the election didn't take place within the journalist’s working hours.

Foulkes defeats Rhode Island's Gov. McKee. He's the first governor in 8 years to lose a primary

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Helena Foulkes defeated Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee in the state’s Democratic primary Wednesday, making him the first governor in any U.S. state to lose a party primary since 2018.

McKee’s defeat ends his bid for a second full term and marks the first time in more than 30 years that a sitting Rhode Island governor has been beaten in a primary.

Foulkes, a former senior executive at CVS and the retailer Hudson’s Bay, wasn’t the only challenger to oust an incumbent Wednesday. The mayor of Providence lost to David Morales, a young democratic socialist endorsed by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders.

For Foulkes, the win was a redemptive rebound from 2022, when she narrowly lost to McKee in a more crowded primary field — on a night when the governor notably refused to take her concession call.

In their rematch, McKee was dogged by questions about his administration’s work to replace a critical bridge in the state capital that was abruptly closed due to safety problems in 2023.

Cleaning crew killed in Miami cargo jet crash was wrapping up shift at hard, demanding job

Five members of a crew killed when an Amazon cargo jet smashed into their van were wrapping up their eight-hour shift cleaning planes at the Miami airport when they were struck, lawyers for one of the victims said on Wednesday.

The deadly crash has drawn attention to a workforce that largely operates out of sight of most travelers, tidying airplane cabins for often low pay while sometimes working in hot and dangerous conditions. But the job is also critical to keeping the airline industry moving 24 hours a day.

“This is certainly very tragic. You would not think riding in a van to clean an airplane, that this would happen,” National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said.

Two other workers in the van were in the hospital days after their Econoline van was crushed by the speeding jet that investigators said appeared to be reconsidering a landing Sunday before running out of runway.

Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo, 53, came to the U.S. from Cuba in 2011 and worked multiple jobs for his family over the past 14 years, said attorney Jorge Garcia, who is a friend of Naranjo’s family and filed a wrongful-death lawsuit on their behalf against Amazon, 21 Air, which operated the plane, and the pilots.

Trump says oil prices that spiked because of Iran war likely won't come down until after midterms

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that oil prices that have surged because of the Iran war likely won’t come down until after U.S. midterm elections.

Oil prices on Wednesday jumped more than 3%, pushing international Brent crude past the $100 threshold for the first time since July as salvos between the U.S. and Iran escalated.

“Right after the election, oil prices are going to be tumbling downward,” Trump said. “I think it’s going to take a little bit longer than the midterm.”

The comments were a striking acknowledgment from Trump about the conflict as his Republican administration faces mounting pressure to address high gas prices as the war in Iran grinds on with no conclusion in sight.

Trump, in an exchange with reporters before traveling to Dallas for the midterm Republican convention, added that he believes Iran will finally relent after the pivotal elections are held in the U.S.

Missouri's congressional map is back before the U.S. Supreme Court, sowing still more confusion

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A battle over Missouri’s congressional districts vaulted back to the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, two months before a pivotal November election that will determine control of Congress and affect the fate of President Donald Trump’s agenda.

A series of conflicting court rulings has left a scar on Missouri — and left voters befuddled and unsure which U.S. House districts they will be voting in and which candidates will appear on their ballots.

A federal appeals court panel on Wednesday sided with Republicans, declining to halt a federal judge’s order favoring a new map backed by Trump. But that decision immediately was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which just a day earlier had let stand a ruling by Missouri's top court against the Trump-backed districts.

Time is rapidly expiring to figure it out. Federal law sets a Sept. 19 deadline to mail absentee ballots to overseas citizens and military voters.

Here's a look at how Missouri arrived at this point and the difficulties it now faces.