ICE agent shoots and wounds man in Austin, Texas, officials say

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and wounded a man Sunday afternoon in Texas' capital of Austin, local authorities said.

The unnamed man was in serious but stable condition at a hospital after being shot once in the torso on the city's north side, Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said at a news conference with the city's mayor and other officials present.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, did not participate in the news conference and didn’t immediately respond to requests for details.

Austin police officers were not involved in the operation or the shooting, which occurred after a traffic stop, Davis told reporters.

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, a Democrat, said he wants the city's police department to be involved in the investigation so it can provide “clear, third-party eyes” in the process. Watson said he does not think it would be appropriate for ICE to conduct an investigation on its own.

Merz vows to press ahead with reforms after historic German state election defeat

BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz suffered a bruising electoral setback in two state elections on Sunday, including a historic defeat for his party, but vowed to press ahead with potentially painful reforms to Europe’s biggest economy.

Projections by public broadcaster ARD on Sunday night indicated that Merz's center-right Christian Democratic Union, or CDU, came in with just 4.9% in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania — the lowest result since World War II for the party in any state. The anti-migration, Russia-friendly Alternative for Germany, or AfD, party made significant gains Sunday. The projections were based on exit polls and partial counting for ARD television.

Should the CDU stay below 5% in the final vote count, it would mean that the party would fail for the first time to win seats in a state legislature anywhere in Germany.

Merz acknowledged his party's result as a “disaster,” but struck a defiant note, rejecting any retreat from his government’s reform agenda. He argued that Germany’s economic and political problems made difficult and potentially unpopular reforms more urgent, not less so, and pledged to press ahead.

“What needs to be done now requires backbone, steadfastness, and patience,” Merz said in a statement shortly after the exit polls were announced on public television. “I will demonstrate these qualities as chairman of the CDU and, above all, as chancellor of our country.”

Trump says his planned arch would become a 'military complex' able to host drones and snipers

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Sunday that the massive arch he wants to build between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery would become a “top grade military complex” able to host drones and snipers while storing ammunition.

It is one more example of how Trump is insisting that his initiatives to beautify the White House and the city are also serving a defensive purpose. Trump has been calling the new White House ballroom a “military complex” and arguing it is necessary for national security purposes.

The Pentagon said it had no information beyond the president's statement.

Trump's announcement also comes as the arch, like his other projects, faces legal challenges. Though the arch has received early approval from the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, whose members were all tapped by Trump, a group of three veterans and an architectural historian sued, saying the project needs to be approved by Congress.

“The President’s belated efforts to manufacture a national security justification for this project do nothing to cure its fundamental illegality,” Nicolas Sansone, one of the attorneys representing the litigants, said Sunday. “Congress has not authorized the arch and unless and until Congress does so, the project should not be permitted to move forward.”

Rising gas prices frustrate voters. Trump says it's an 'inexpensive price to pay' for the Iran war

EDINBURG, Texas (AP) — Quinten Martinez, pumping gas under a hot South Texas sun, remembers a time when fueling up didn't require difficult decisions.

“Is it going to be groceries this week?" asked the 28-year-old Amazon delivery driver as he watched the numbers tick higher. "Is it gonna be getting gas in our tank to go to work?”

He shook his head when asked about President Donald Trump's assertion last week that higher gas prices are a small price to pay for the war with Iran.

“I don’t feel like it’s a good trade-off,” Martinez said. “I don’t feel like this is good for anyone.”

Voters across the country, and across the political spectrum, tend to agree.

Federal Reserve rate hike reflects new world of sticky inflation and faster growth

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has renewed his attacks on the Federal Reserve after it hiked its benchmark interest rate Wednesday, but the Fed matters less than broader economic trends when it comes to longer-term borrowing costs, economists say.

The economy is growing steadily despite being hit with repeated shocks — and may even be accelerating — while inflation remains stubbornly high. And big tech firms are borrowing huge amounts of cash to plow into data center construction while the federal government is still running large yearly budget deficits. All these trends point to higher interest rates regardless of what the Fed does, analysts say.

As a result, the low interest-rate, low-inflation world that lasted for nearly 15 years after the Great Recession is over and a higher-priced, higher-rate world is taking its place. Mortgage rates fell into the 3% range in the 2010s and even lower during COVID-19, but such deals are long gone. The average 30-year mortgage rate reached 6.95% last week, the highest in more than a year and a half.

Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM, a tax consulting firm, said that a big reason for the change is a shift from the pre-pandemic economy in which consumer and business demand was weak, to the current economy in which healthy consumer and business spending is colliding with supply shocks and bottlenecks. In addition to higher oil and gas prices because of the Iran war, the AI buildout has struggled with an insufficient supply of computer chips, electronic equipment, and workers to put it all together.

“We’ve undergone a structural transformation of the economy,” Brusuelas said. “The regime change in inflation and interest rates is the outcome.”

Trump and Mamdani plan to meet in New York during the president's upcoming UN visit

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will meet with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani when Trump travels to the city for the upcoming U.N. General Assembly.

The meeting is scheduled for Monday and at Gracie Mansion, the official mayoral residence, according to Anna Bahr, Mamdani’s communications director.

Bahr said the two will discuss issues affecting the city and New Yorkers. The White House confirmed the meeting will take place but did not offer more details.

Mamdani, a democratic socialist who upset former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary before winning the general election in November, has been a favorite and frequent political foil for Republicans.

But Trump has often been warm to Mamdani and seemed charmed by the young mayor. Their first meeting after Mamdani’s election was quite cordial, with Trump saying at the White House that the then-mayor-elect would “surprise some conservative people.” The Republican president had called Mamdani a “100% Communist Lunatic” during the 2025 campaign.

Patrick Clancy to give first TV interview on '60 Minutes' after Lindsay Clancy mistrial

The ex-husband of Lindsay Clancy will give his first televised interview to “60 Minutes” on CBS News on Sunday after a jury deadlocked in her trial for killing their three young children.

Patrick Clancy is expected to talk about the grief of losing his children and address social media conspiracy theories surrounding the case, which have included unfounded claims he was connected to the death of his children. His new wife, Dr. Rachel Danis, will also join him in the interview.

Earlier this month, 11 of 12 jurors were ready to clear Clancy of criminal responsibility, with the majority feeling that the Massachusetts mom was in the grip of a rare condition called postpartum psychosis when she strangled her kids in 2023. But a lone juror sided with the prosecutors, who had argued that Clancy knew what she was doing. The deadlock forced a judge to declare a mistrial on Sept. 4.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.

Iran-backed Houthi rebels warn against joining Saudi Arabia in Yemen's growing civil war

CAIRO (AP) — A senior official with the Iran-backed Houthi rebels is warning countries against joining Saudi Arabia in Yemen’s revived civil war, telling The Associated Press on Sunday that his group has assured the Trump administration that it won’t attack U.S. vessels in the Red Sea.

Mohamed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthis’ political bureau, said Washington reached out to the rebels after their rapid advance down Yemen’s western coast to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait earlier this month.

“We confirmed that we are not targeting the United States, or any other nation, in the strait, with the sole exception of the Saudi enemy,” he told the AP in a Zoom interview from the rebel-held Yemeni capital, Sanaa. “That remains the case.”

U.S. President Donald Trump last weekend said his administration has “had discussions” with the Houthis, but did not say when. “The Houthis called us, and they don’t want to fight with us,” he said. “They would much prefer not having us involved, and they’re letting most ships go through.”

The AP later reported that Oman hosted a meeting between U.S. and Houthi representatives last weekend, citing a Houthi official and another individual familiar with the talks. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

Ed Sheeran says situation in Gaza is 'catastrophic and unjustifiable' as he opens concert

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Ed Sheeran opened a concert Saturday with comments about Gaza after controversy swirled around his tour and supporting acts withdrew in solidarity with opener Macklemore, who was dropped after making pro-Palestinian comments onstage.

Sheeran began the concert alone on stage with no opener, but was joined by other musicians later in the show.

Sheeran said he wants his music and shows to be about unity and humanity, not politics. But he said the attacks in Israel of Oct. 7, 2023, were horrific and what is happening in Gaza “catastrophic and unjustifiable.”

“I don’t want to disappoint fans, and I’ve never wanted to be an activist musician, but this has put me in the middle of an important and passionate argument about freedom of speech and the most complex political issue on the planet,” Sheeran said during his performance at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

The comments before a nearly full stadium came after a tumultuous week that began with rapper Macklemore, Sheeran's original U.S. opener, being dropped in response to exclaiming “Free Palestine” during a Sept. 5 show in New Jersey.

Ole Miss up to No. 4 in AP Top 25 with win over LSU, Tigers slip to No. 10, SEC has 10 teams ranked

Mississippi moved into the top five with its win over LSU, the Tigers stayed in the top 10, and Florida and Mississippi State cracked the rankings to give the Southeastern Conference 10 teams in The Associated Press Top 25 college football poll released Sunday.

The Rebels, who held off Lane Kiffin and LSU 32-24 on Saturday night, jumped over the Tigers and three other teams to land at No. 4 for their first top-five ranking since they were No. 3 in the final poll last season. LSU slipped three spots to No. 10.

Texas was No. 1 for the second straight week and followed by Georgia, Notre Dame, Ole Miss and Indiana. Miami, Ohio State, Alabama, BYU and LSU completed the top 10.

The Longhorns followed up their win over Ohio State with a solid 30-6 victory over UTSA and topped the ballots of 58 of the 69 media members on the Top 25 voting panel. Indiana got four first-place votes, Georgia and Ole Miss three apiece and Miami one.

Louisville was the biggest gainer, rising seven spots to No. 16 after its 41-31 victory over SMU, which dropped six rungs to No. 22. Texas A&M took the biggest fall, going from No. 9 to No. 23 after its 31-21 home loss to unranked Kentucky.