Iraq races to contain fallout after local Iran-backed militias accused of attacking Saudi pipeline

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s government was racing Saturday to contain the fallout after local Iran-backed militias were accused of attacking and shuttering a key Saudi pipeline. Iraq's government confirmed the attacks had originated from its territory, pledged to investigate and dismissed a military commander.

The country is under mounting pressure to prevent local militias from aiding other Iran proxy groups across the region. It's especially acute as the Iran-backed Houthi rebels make an advance across Yemen’s west coast in a major setback to the Saudi-backed coalition that risks escalating the war in the region.

The Iraqi government has set a Sept. 30 deadline for nonstate groups to disarm, but several of the most powerful militias have said they will not comply.

The Houthis on Friday seized an island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a key shipping lane through which around 12% of global trade passes.

Their virtual control of the strait could send global oil prices — already inflated by the six-month Iran-U.S. war — spiraling. The strait has become a vital commercial lane for Saudi oil ever since the Iran war disrupted shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Saudi Arabia has few options as it faces mounting threats from Iran and its allies

A lightning advance by Houthi rebels threatens a crucial Red Sea shipping route. Drone attacks blamed on Iraqi militias have forced the closure of a major pipeline, and Iran is still disrupting the Strait of Hormuz.

It's a nightmare scenario for Saudi Arabia, and it has sent jitters through global markets.

The Saudis' most essential ally, the United States, has been unpredictable and sometimes unreliable. U.S. President Donald Trump seems reluctant to widen an already unpopular and stalemated Mideast war ahead of congressional elections. For Iran, the rebels' advance and closure of the pipeline ramp up global economic pressure as its grip over the Strait of Hormuz has been loosened.

Michael Ratney, a former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, said the latest developments are “incredibly frustrating” for the kingdom.

“Despite their antipathy for the Iranians, this is a war they had never asked for, they had great trepidation about. And once it started, all of their … worst-case scenarios started coming true.”

US diesel prices soar past $6 a gallon, deepening strain for hauling everyday goods

CHICAGO (AP) — Diesel prices in the U.S. hit yet another record on Friday, soaring past $6 a gallon on average as Washington’s war with Iran disrupts the world’s flow of fuel.

The national average of nearly $6.06 is up from $5.85 last week and almost $3.71 this time last year, according to motor club AAA.

Higher diesel prices mean more expensive transportation for a long list of everyday goods. That’s because diesel is used for many freight and delivery networks. And some businesses have already passed along steeper costs to consumers in the form of added fees on online orders and packages in the mail.

Shoppers may feel more and more sticker shock, particularly in the grocery aisle. Perishable foods, like meat and produce, face one of the most immediate strains of expensive diesel because they need to be hauled in and restocked frequently — or may be harvested using farm equipment powered by the fuel.

It can take time for those costs to trickle down. But the surge in diesel prices doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon.

Mississippi police arrest a man in the death of Tasia Fortune

Mississippi police have arrested a man in the death of Tasia Fortune, a Black woman found hanging from a tree last month.

Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney said at a news conference Friday that police had secured search and arrest warrants for 51-year-old Jarques Ratliff and arrested him when they encountered him walking on the street. Brackney said the man had an “association” with Fortune but would not elaborate on their relationship.

The state medical examiner’s office determined Thursday evening that the death was a homicide, Brackney said, allowing police to execute the warrants they already had on hand.

“This case remains active, and additional arrests will be pending,” Brackney said.

Ratliff did not appear in Hinds County jail records, and court records were not accessible online. It couldn’t immediately be determined if he had a lawyer, and a message was left for the public defender's office.

Trump meets Ireland's leaders before heading to his golf club in Doonbeg

DUBLIN (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump held talks Saturday in Dublin with his Irish counterpart Catherine Connolly during a weekend visit that's more about a major golf tournament hosted on a course he owns on the country's Atlantic coast. He also met with Ireland's Prime Minister Micheál Martin.

Trump will address the U.S. and Irish business leaders at the U.S. ambassador's official residence in Dublin before traveling to his oceanfront golf club in Doonbeg, on the other side of the country, to watch the Irish Open.

Connolly is a left-wing politician who was among those who protested when Trump visited Ireland in 2019 during his first term in office. She is now Ireland's elected, largely ceremonial head of state. A supporter of the Palestinian cause, she in the past has criticized U.S. policy in the Middle East and called Trump a “bully.”

The Irish president met Trump at the end of a red carpet at her official residence. They shook hands and chatted before going inside. He emerged alone a few minutes later and saluted as an Irish Defence Forces band played the U.S. national anthem and inspected an Irish Army honor guard.

Connolly then joined Trump outdoors to introduce the U.S. and Irish delegations before the leaders went back inside for their closed-door talks.

BRICS leaders meet in India as wars and US tensions test the bloc

NEW DELHI (AP) — Leaders of the BRICS nations are meeting in New Delhi on Saturday for a summit focused on trade, investment and global conflicts, as the bloc seeks a bigger role in shaping the global agenda for emerging and developing countries.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is hosting Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and counterparts from the other eight BRICS members. The summit comes as wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, along with rising U.S.-China tensions, test the bloc’s ability to find common ground among countries with competing geopolitical interests.

Thousands of police and paramilitary personnel were deployed around the summit venue and other parts of New Delhi, with traffic restrictions and diversions in place.

BRICS was founded in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India and China, with South Africa joining in 2010. It has since expanded to 11 members, representing about half the world’s population and a significant share of global economic output. The group has increasingly called for greater representation for developing countries in global institutions.

The leaders are expected to discuss economic cooperation, energy, food security, technology, supply chains and reforms to global institutions. Reducing reliance on the U.S. dollar will also be a priority, with members promoting greater use of their own currencies in trade and payments, as well as pushing for alternatives to Western-dominated financial institutions.

US marks 25 years since the Sept. 11 attacks

NEW YORK (AP) — Americans commemorated the 25th anniversary of 9/11 on Friday, remembering the shock, the dead and the sweeping consequences of the al-Qaida attacks on symbols of U.S. might and prosperity.

The milestone anniversary brought memorial rituals — wreath-laying, flag-flying, moments of silence, vigils and readings of victims' names — and volunteer projects in tribute to a day that about half of U.S. adults remember as the most historic event of their lifetime, according to a new poll. On Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaida extremists hijacked four commercial jets and crashed them into New York’s World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing nearly 3,000 people.

Elsie Caldwell carried a photograph of her son Kenny Caldwell to the trade center to hear his name and all the others read aloud Friday morning. She last spoke to him that morning a quarter-century ago.

“Mom, I just want to let you know that I love you,” her son told her in a final phone call, she recalled. His remains, like those of many other victims, have never been recovered.

The attacks brought down the World Trade Center's twin towers — icons of U.S. economic power, and among the tallest buildings on Earth — and blew a hole in the Pentagon, the U.S. military's fortresslike headquarters near Washington. The fourth plane was headed for Washington, officials concluded, but the aircraft went down in Pennsylvania after passengers and crew members stormed the cockpit and fought the hijackers.

FACT FOCUS: A look at false and misleading claims during the Republican midterm convention

President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and other Republican officials came together for a two-day convention this week to rally voters in advance of midterm elections in November. But in celebrating their accomplishments, they made several false and misleading claims, many of which have been stated repeatedly during Trump's second term.

They covered topics including the economy, jobs, healthcare and the 2020 election. Trump spoke both nights and Vance gave the keynote on Thursday.

Here's a closer look at the facts.

VANCE: “We’ve created 1 million new jobs, and unlike the last administration, where most of the job growth went to illegal aliens, 100% of the job growth in the United States of America is going to American citizens.”

THE FACTS: Overall, the United States has added 807,000 jobs since Trump took office for his second term, close to Vance’s claim of 1 million. But by historical standards, it’s not a particularly large increase.

No relief from inflation as Middle East clashes lifts fuel prices to painful levels

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. inflation accelerated last month as gas prices spiked in the wake of renewed fighting in the Middle East, underscoring the affordability challenges that are top of mind for many voters with midterm elections now just seven weeks away.

The consumer price index rose 3.4% last month compared with a year ago, the Labor Department said Friday, just like July. But inflation quickened month to month as costs jumped 0.4% from July, quadrupling the 0.1% registered in the previous month.

Inflation remains stubbornly elevated more than five years after prices soared as the economy emerged from the pandemic. Friday's report increases pressure on the inflation-fighters at the Federal Reserve to boost their benchmark interest rate next week, which could lift mortgage and auto loan costs in the months ahead.

Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh and other Fed officials have signaled they would need to see continuing disinflation to leave rates where they are.

"Today’s August report did not deliver that,” said Kathy Bostjancic, chief economist at Nationwide.

US stocks jump after oil prices ease and an inflation update comes in near expectations

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rebounded Friday and regained much of their losses for the week after oil prices eased off their recent spurt. An update on inflation across the United States that came in close to economists’ expectations, even if prices are still rising too quickly for everyone’s liking, also helped calm the market.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.9% and snapped a four-day losing streak, its longest since June. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 509 points, or 1%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 1%.

They got help from a pullback in oil prices, which had jumped to their highest levels since May because of the ongoing war with Iran. The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, fell 2.8% to settle at $104.61 after getting near $110 overnight.

That took a bit of pressure off inflation, which remains stubbornly high. A report on Friday showed that U.S. consumers had to pay prices for gasoline, food and other costs of living that were 3.4% higher last month than a year earlier.

While still high, that was close to what economists expected and what Wall Street was prepared for. The data also strengthened expectations among traders that the Federal Reserve will feel compelled to hike its main interest rate at its meeting next week.