Iran claims strike on US ship in Strait of Hormuz as fighting escalates

CAIRO (AP) — Iran said Sunday it struck an unmanned U.S. vessel trying to enter the Strait of Hormuz, the latest salvo in a new flare-up of fighting between the two countries.

The U.S. did not immediately confirm the purported attack, which came a day after the U.S. military said forces struck three Iranian oil tankers in response to a missile attack on Navy warships.

The war began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran on Feb. 28. But since a ceasefire agreement was announced in June, on-and-off fighting has persisted with both sides trying to inflict military and economic pain as negotiations have collapsed.

The U.S. and Iran resumed attacks last week, following a month of relative calm, with the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian communities along it again being targeted. At least five people were killed earlier in the week during a U.S. bombardment of southern Iran.

The Trump administration appears to have adopted a dual-prong approach to the conflict, responding militarily to attacks on the strait while going after foreign financial institutions that handle Iran’s money.

Putin meets with US envoys at the Kremlin for renewed talks on ending the war in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner at the Kremlin on Saturday for renewed talks on ending Russia's war in Ukraine.

The meeting that lasted more than three hours behind closed doors ended without announcements of any breakthroughs. Putin’s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov described them as constructive, frank and useful to journalists afterward, but didn't talk about specific outcomes. Witkoff and Kushner are expected in Kyiv on Sunday.

The talks come as both sides continue to escalate aerial attacks. Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy both agreed to pause strikes on each other’s capitals while the talks took place.

Washington’s push to end the fighting has lost momentum as U.S. attention has been focused for the past six months on the Iran war. The last known visit to Moscow by Witkoff and Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, was in January, when they also held talks with Putin at the Kremlin.

Both U.S. envoys will also visit Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, for the first time in the peace process on Sunday, Ukrainian officials said.

Kennedy Center renews call for Trump-backed shutdown after part of a ceiling collapses

WASHINGTON (AP) — A chunk of ceiling fell inside a main hallway of the Kennedy Center, according to a spokesperson who said the damage underscores the need to shut down the historic arts venue for renovations sought by President Donald Trump.

No one was injured when a piece of the ceiling inside the Kennedy Center's grand foyer collapsed Friday evening, said Roma Daravi, the center's vice president for public relations.

Photos provided by the center showed a large hole in the high ceiling and debris littering the red carpet in part of the hallway that connects the Kennedy Center's three main performance auditoriums. The damage occurred during stormy weather in Washington.

The Kennedy Center's Trump-aligned board is fighting in court to move forward with plans to add Trump's name to the building's facade and to close the center for two years as it undergoes $250 million in renovations.

Daravi called the partial ceiling collapse Friday “another example of the urgent need to close for renovation and revitalization, as our Chairman President Trump has championed."

Trump keeps heralding an economic boom, but even a solid jobs report is causing problems for him

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has spent 20 months promising that America was on the cusp of an economic boom. But Friday's surprisingly positive jobs report ultimately provoked frustration from Trump.

The August job numbers might have been a welcome break from after months of sluggish hiring and concerns about inflation that have been weighing on Trump and his party two months from Election Day. But speaking from the Oval Office, Trump instead launched into a grievance session about inflation and interest rates. His anger was aimed at the financial markets, the Federal Reserve and U.S. trade partners. He objected to the commonly accepted notion in economics that the surprise gain of 162,000 jobs in August could contribute to inflationary pressures.

“Success does not cause inflation. Stupidity causes inflation,” Trump vented in the Oval Office, as he declared it “crazy” that the stock markets fell Friday on inflation concerns.

The combination over his second term of a drop-off in hiring and higher prices has dogged Trump and his pledge to instantly unleash historic levels of growth. “When I win the election, we will immediately begin a brand new Trump economic boom,” Trump said at an August 2024 rally in North Carolina. But so far, the economy has grown at roughly 2% annually, slower than the gains during the Biden administration.

Trump blamed his inability to deliver stronger growth on higher interest rates for U.S. government debt, saying on social media that America could retaliate by stopping trade with foreign countries. Rates have been climbing in response to persistently high inflation fueled by Trump’s tariffs and oil shortages from the Iran war. The national debt has now crossed the daunting threshold of $40 trillion and rates on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note on Friday rose to 4.79%.

A golf course for ‘the people’ faces a presidential makeover

WASHINGTON (AP) — A pack of cyclists whisked by along the circuit at East Potomac Park while the golf course parking lot filled with luxury SUVs parked next to older, inexpensive economy cars, all with the Washington Monument in the background.

The scene highlighted what residents say are the park's best features: its accessibility and affordability right in the nation's capital.

The historic park, especially the golf course, has caught the eye of President Donald Trump, who wants to turn it into a world-class golf venue. It's part of his grand vision for Washington, D.C., where he has torn down storied structures, remade or renamed others and deployed the National Guard for more than a year.

But some residents fear the planned changes to the golf course — where Trump has visited with a cabinet member, a well-known golf course architect and blueprints — risk altering the character of a place that has served Washingtonians of many stripes for more than a century. Turning the park into an upscale golf course will mean costlier fees and a loss of public space, residents worry.

“It takes away the history of the links here as well as deprives people of having a reasonably inexpensive place to play that is readily accessible to everyone,” said Joe Foley, who said he was in his 70s and had just finished nine holes of golf for $36, including a cart.

Rescuers in Nepal pull 2 people alive from the debris 10 days after devastating floods

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Rescuers in Nepal pulled out a Chinese man and a woman in separate operations Saturday, 10 days after devastating floods hit the country, as teams continued searching for thousands of missing people.

The man was rescued from a hydropower tunnel, according to a social media post by the country’s prime minister’s office, bringing the total to three workers pulled alive from the Trishuli hydropower project. Two Nepalese workers were rescued on Friday.

Nepal's army said a joint rescue team of Nepalese military personnel and South Korean disaster experts rescued the man from a 225-meter (about 740-foot) tunnel and that he was undergoing a health assessment. Images showed him being evacuated by helicopter, with an army medic checking on him during the flight.

A photo released by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV showed two rescuers carrying the man, called Lu Haitao, out of the tunnel.

CCTV shared audio of Lu talking to an officer, saying how he repeatedly shouted whenever he saw the rescue crews’ lights, but they could not hear him.

German region votes in election that could bring first far-right state governor to power

MAGDEBURG, Germany (AP) — An eastern German region voted Sunday in an election that could bring to power the first far-right state government in the nation’s post-World War II history.

The vote for the state legislature in Saxony-Anhalt, a region of 2.1 million people west of Berlin, has gained outsized prominence because it represents the best chance yet of a governor’s post for the far-right, anti-migration Alternative for Germany, or AfD.

That would be the biggest prize in the party’s 13-year history, at a time when there’s widespread discontent with an unpopular national government that has yet to persuade voters it can get the country’s sluggish economy moving. It would be at least a symbolic blow to Chancellor Friedrich Merz, whose center-right party has led Saxony-Anhalt for 24 years.

AfD is the biggest opposition party in Germany’s national parliament and is strongest in the formerly communist and less prosperous east, where Saxony-Anhalt is located. Its candidate for governor, Ulrich Siegmund, declares that “we will write history here.”

Despite consistently strong support, though, its chances of taking power are uncertain even if it finishes well ahead of its opponents.

Early Emmys ceremony could bring many trophies for 'The Pitt,' 'Hacks' and 'Pluribus'

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Top nominees “The Pitt,” “Hacks,” “Pluribus” and “Widow’s Bay” will have chances to stock up on Emmys Sunday at an early ceremony eight days before the main awards show and telecast.

The Television Academy hands out well over 100 primetime Emmys, and most of them will be presented this weekend in a pair of ceremonies at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. They were previously known as the Creative Arts Emmys but have now been rebranded as simply the first two nights of the 78th Emmy Awards.

The two nights will be edited together to air Sept. 12 on FXX and stream on Hulu the following day. The primetime Sept. 14 ceremony, also at the Peacock Theater and hosted by Mariska Hargitay, will air live on NBC and stream live on Peacock.

Bad Bunny won his first career Emmy Award Saturday for his Super Bowl halftime show, which was awarded home seven trophies.

“The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny” won the Emmy for outstanding variety special, beating out the telecasts for the Oscars, the Grammys and the Tonys. Bad Bunny, nominated under his birth name Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, gets an Emmy as a producer-performer. It was his first nomination.

Masked men block roads into Dover port in England in apparent anti-immigrant protest

LONDON (AP) — Hundreds of masked anti-immigration protesters blocked roads leading to Britain’s busiest ferry port on Saturday, clogging traffic and disrupting travelers and cargo vehicles heading for France.

The U.K. government condemned the action, saying it went well beyond peaceful protest.

The Port of Dover said Saturday morning that all traffic in and out was "stopped due to an ongoing public order incident," and police said they were “engaging with the protesters.”

Video posted on social media showed several dozen men in black, their faces covered, standing across a major road near the port. One clip showed demonstrators linking arms across a main road and shouting “stop the boats.”

Far-right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who uses the name Tommy Robinson, wrote on X that "patriots have mobilised to close down the port.”

Turning Point is laying the groundwork to shape Republican presidential primary in 2028

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Alongside the familiar sounds of roosters crowing and thrill seekers screaming on rides at the Iowa State Fair, there was a chorus of boos from Turning Point Action activists who were heckling Democratic politicians making their way through the crowds.

Videos of the confrontations got hundreds of thousands of views on social media, a burst of attention for a conservative youth organization that is charting its next chapter after last year's assassination of its leader Charlie Kirk. But the true test of Turning Point Action's clout was unfolding inside the exhibition center, where staff members were registering voters, handing out buttons and signing people up for social events.

“Building the foundation for 2028,” said one of the flyers.

While Democrats have punted Iowa from the top of its presidential primary calendar, the state's caucuses will still kick off Republicans' next nominating process. Turning Point Action is positioning itself to shape that contest, a reminder that preparations for the next White House campaign are already in motion even though no candidates have announced and the midterm elections aren't over yet.

Turning Point Action wants at least one staffer in each of Iowa’s 99 counties to mobilize the conservative grassroots.