Asian shares deepen losses after another Wall St retreat as tariffs due to take effect

BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares sank again on Wednesday as the latest set of U.S. tariffs, including a massive 104% levy on Chinese imports, was due to take effect.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index initially lost nearly 4% and markets in South Korea, New Zealand and Australia also declined.

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 dropped 1.6% after wiping out an early gain of 4.1%. That took it nearly 19% below its record set in February. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.8%, while the Nasdaq composite lost 2.1%. Uncertainty is still high about what President Donald Trump will do with his trade war.

The sharply higher tariffs were scheduled to kick in after midnight Eastern time in the U.S., and investors have no idea what to make of President Donald Trump’s trade war.

The retreat overnight and into early Wednesday in Asia followed rallies for stocks globally earlier in the day, with indexes up 6% in Tokyo, 2.5% in Paris and 1.6% in Shanghai.

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White House keeps world guessing as clock ticks down to Trump's new tariffs

WASHINGTON (AP) — Less than one hour before the stock market closed on Monday, journalists gathered in the Oval Office for their only chance of the day to ask President Donald Trump about the turmoil caused by his tariff plans.

Are the new tariffs, scheduled to take effect on Wednesday, a bargaining chip to reach better trade deals? Or are they etched in stone in a mission to revamp the global economy?

Investors around the world were hanging on Trump’s every word, but he did little to clear up the situation.

“It can both be true,” he said. “There can be permanent tariffs, and there can also be negotiations.”

The markets skidded to a close. At a time when foreign leaders and business executives are desperate for clarity, the White House is sending mixed messages as it pursues conflicting goals.

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IRS acting commissioner is resigning over deal to send immigrants' tax data to ICE, AP sources say

WASHINGTON (AP) — The acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service is resigning over a deal to share immigrants' tax data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement for the purpose of identifying and deporting people illegally in the U.S., according to two people familiar with the decision.

Melanie Krause, who had served as acting head since February, will step down over the new data-sharing document signed Monday by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. The agreement will allow ICE to submit names and addresses of immigrants inside the U.S. illegally to the IRS for cross-verification against tax records.

Two people familiar with the situation confirmed Krause was resigning and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly.

The IRS has been in upheaval over Trump administration decisions to share taxpayer data. Acting Commissioner Douglas O’Donnell announced his retirement from the agency after roughly 40 years of service in February as furor spread over Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency gaining access to IRS taxpayer data. Krause replaced him.

Acting chief counsel William Paul was removed from his role at the agency last month and replaced by Andrew De Mello, an attorney in the chief counsel’s office who is deemed supportive of DOGE, according to two other people familiar with the plans who were also not authorized to speak publicly.

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Trump signs executive orders to boost coal, a reliable but polluting energy source

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed a series of executive orders aimed at boosting the struggling coal industry, a reliable but polluting energy source that’s long been in decline.

Under the four orders, Trump uses his emergency authority to allow some older coal-fired power plants set for retirement to keep producing electricity to meet rising U.S. power demand amid growth in data centers, artificial intelligence and electric cars.

Trump also directed federal agencies to identify coal resources on federal lands, lift barriers to coal mining and prioritize coal leasing on U.S. lands.

In a related action, Trump also signed a proclamation offering coal-fired power plants a two-year exemption from federal requirements to reduce emissions of toxic chemicals such as mercury, arsenic and benzene.

Trump’s administration had offered power plants and other industrial polluters a chance for exemptions from rules imposed by the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA, under Trump appointee Lee Zeldin, set up an electronic mailbox to allow regulated companies to request a presidential exemption under the Clean Air Act to a host of Biden-era rules.

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Netanyahu-Trump meeting reveals unexpected gaps on key issues

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to Washington for a hastily organized White House visit bringing a long list of concerns: Iran's nuclear program. President Donald Trump's tariffs. The surging influence of rival Turkey in Syria. And the 18-month war in Gaza.

Netanyahu appeared to leave Monday's meeting largely empty-handed — a stark contrast with his triumphant visit two months ago. During an hourlong Oval Office appearance, Trump appeared to slap down, contradict or complicate each of Netanyahu’s policy prerogatives.

On Tuesday, Netanyahu declared the meeting a success, calling it a “very good visit” and claiming successes on all fronts. But privately, the Israeli delegation felt it was a tough meeting, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Netanyahu “didn’t hear exactly what he wanted to hear, so he returns back home with very little,” said Nadav Eyal, a commentator with the Yediot Ahronot daily, who added that the visit was still friendly, despite the disagreements.

Netanyahu's second pilgrimage to Washington under Trump's second term was organized at short notice and billed as an attempt to address the new U.S. tariff regime. But it came at a pivotal time in Middle East geopolitics. Israel restarted the war in Gaza last month, ending a Trump-endorsed ceasefire, and tensions with Iran are rising over its nuclear program.

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AP wins reinstatement to White House events after judge rules government can’t bar its journalists

A federal judge ordered the White House on Tuesday to restore The Associated Press’ full access to cover presidential events, affirming on First Amendment grounds that the government cannot punish the news organization for the content of its speech.

U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden, an appointee of President Donald Trump, ruled that the government can't retaliate against the AP’s decision not to follow the president’s executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico. The decision, while a preliminary injunction, handed the AP a major victory at a time the White House has been challenging the press on several levels.

“Under the First Amendment, if the Government opens its doors to some journalists—be it to the Oval Office, the East Room, or elsewhere—it cannot then shut those doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints,” McFadden wrote. “The Constitution requires no less.”

It was unclear whether the White House would move immediately to put McFadden’s ruling into effect. McFadden held off on implementing his order for a week, giving the government time to respond or appeal. Shortly after the ruling, an AP reporter and photographer were turned away from joining a motorcade with the White House press pool to cover Trump’s appearance before the National Republican Congressional Committee.

The AP has been blocked since Feb. 11 from being among the small group of journalists to cover Trump in the Oval Office or aboard Air Force One, with sporadic ability to cover him at events in the East Room.

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The roof collapses at a Dominican Republic nightclub, killing at least 79 people

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — The roof of an iconic nightclub in the Dominican capital collapsed early Tuesday during a merengue concert attended by politicians, athletes and others, leaving at least 79 people dead and 160 injured, authorities said.

Crews were searching for potential survivors in the rubble at the one-story Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo, said Juan Manuel Méndez, director of the Center of Emergency Operations.

“We continue clearing debris and searching for people,” he said on Tuesday night. “We're going to search tirelessly for people.”

Nearly 12 hours after the top of the nightclub collapsed onto patrons, rescue crews were still pulling out survivors from under the debris, shushing those around them so they could listen for faint cries for help. Firefighters removed blocks of broken concrete and used sawed pieces of wood as planks to lift heavy debris as the noise of drills breaking through concrete filled the air.

Méndez said rescue crews were prioritizing three areas in the club: “We're hearing some sounds.”

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Kentucky watches for surging rivers to recede so widespread cleanup can begin

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — After days of deluges overfilled rivers to near-record levels across Kentucky, residents were anxious Tuesday to return to their flooded homes and assess what's salvageable, even as stubbornly high waters kept some of them waiting even longer.

Susan Williams returned to her rural Franklin County home with her four dogs and three cats. She left Sunday while the waters kept rising. Now, her house and a neighbor’s looked like they were on an island in brown waters.

Williams and some friends loaded her animals onto a small boat and paddled back and forth, dropping them off at the house built by her parents.

“It’s my world. It’s my little paradise,” Williams said about her home.

Water was slowly receding in flooded Frankfort, and officials hoped that by the end of Wednesday, most could get back into their homes, Gov. Andy Beshear said at a news conference.

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Texas measles outbreak tops 500 cases, including multiple at a day care in Lubbock

A day care facility in a Texas county that's part of the measles outbreak has multiple cases, including children too young to be fully vaccinated, public health officials say.

West Texas is in the middle of a still-growing measles outbreak with 505 cases reported on Tuesday. The state expanded the number of counties in the outbreak area this week to 10. The highly contagious virus began to spread in late January and health officials say it has spread to New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas and Mexico.

Three people who were unvaccinated have died from measles-related illnesses this year, including two elementary school-aged children in Texas. The second child died Thursday at a Lubbock hospital, and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. attended the funeral in Seminole, the epicenter of the outbreak.

As of Friday, there were seven cases at a day care where one young child who was infectious gave it to two other children before it spread to other classrooms, Lubbock Public Health director Katherine Wells said.

“Measles is so contagious I won’t be surprised if it enters other facilities,” Wells said.

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Octavio Dotel, who once held record of pitching for 13 major league teams, dies in DR roof collapse

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Octavio Dotel, who pitched for 13 major league teams in a 15-year career and won a World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals, was among the dead after a roof collapsed at a nightclub in his native Dominican Republic where he was attending a merengue concert. He was 51.

Officials initially said Dotel was rescued from the debris and transported to a hospital, but spokesman Satosky Terrero from the Professional Baseball League of the Dominican Republic confirmed to The Associated Press that Dotel died later Tuesday.

At least 79 people died and 160 were injured after the collapse at the Jet Set nightclub, officials said. Tony Blanco, who played one MLB season and eight years professionally in Japan, also died following the collapse, Terrero said. Also killed was Nelsy Cruz, governor of the Monte Cristi province and the sister of Nelson Cruz, a former MLB player and current MLB special adviser to baseball operations.

“Major League Baseball is deeply saddened by the passings of Octavio Dotel, Tony Blanco, Nelsy Cruz, and all the victims of last night’s tragedy in Santo Domingo,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. "We send our heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of all those who have been affected and to our colleague Nelson and his entire family. The connection between baseball and the Dominican Republic runs deep, and we are thinking of all the Dominican players and fans across the game today.”

MLB Players Association executive director Tony Clark said the union stands united with the Dominican community “amid the incomprehensible sadness.”

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