House passes bill to fund federal agencies through September, though prospects unclear in Senate

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House passed legislation Tuesday to avert a partial government shutdown and fund federal agencies through September, providing critical momentum as the measure now moves to the Senate, where bipartisan support will be needed to get it over the finish line.

Republicans needed overwhelming support from their members to pass the funding measure, and they got it in the 217-213 House vote. Just one Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, voted against the measure. And just one Democratic lawmaker, Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, voted for it.

In the Senate, they'll need support from at least eight Democrats to get the bill to President Donald Trump’s desk. It's one of the biggest legislative tests so far of the Republican president's second term, prompting Vice President JD Vance to visit Capitol Hill on Tuesday morning to rally support.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., moved ahead on the bill, essentially daring Democrats to oppose it and risk a shutdown that would begin Saturday if lawmakers failed to act on the continuing resolution, often referred to by lawmakers as a CR.

“We did our job today," Johnson said moments after the vote.

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US resumes military aid and intelligence sharing as Ukraine says it is open to a 30-day ceasefire

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — The Trump administration lifted its suspension of military aid and intelligence sharing for Ukraine, and Kyiv signaled that it was open to a 30-day ceasefire in the war with Russia, pending Moscow’s agreement, American and Ukrainian officials said Tuesday following talks in Saudi Arabia.

The administration's decision marked a sharp shift from only a week ago, when it imposed the measures in an apparent effort to push Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to enter talks to end the war with invading Russian forces. The suspension of U.S. assistance came days after Zelenskyy and President Donald Trump argued about the conflict in a tense White House meeting.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who led the U.S. delegation to the talks in Jeddah, said Washington would present the ceasefire offer to the Kremlin, which has so far opposed anything short of a permanent end to the conflict without accepting any concessions.

“We’re going to tell them this is what’s on the table. Ukraine is ready to stop shooting and start talking. And now it’ll be up to them to say yes or no," Rubio told reporters after the talks. “If they say no, then we’ll unfortunately know what the impediment is to peace here.”

Trump's national security adviser, Mike Waltz, added: "The Ukrainian delegation today made something very clear, that they share President Trump’s vision for peace.”

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Trump halts doubling of tariffs on Canadian metals after Ontario suspends electricity price hikes

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump 's threat Tuesday to double his planned tariffs on steel and aluminum from 25% to 50% for Canada led the provincial government of Ontario to suspend its planned surcharges on electricity sold to the United States.

As a result, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said the U.S. president pulled back on his doubling of steel and aluminum tariffs, even as the federal government still plans to place a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports starting Wednesday.

The drama delivered a win for Trump but also amplified concerns about tariffs that have roiled the stock market and stirred recession risks. Tuesday's escalation and cooling in the ongoing trade war between the United States and Canada only compounded the rising sense of uncertainty of how Trump's tariff hikes will affect the economies of both countries.

Trump shocked markets Tuesday morning, saying the increase of the tariffs set to take effect Wednesday was a response to the 25% price hike that Ontario put on electricity sold to the United States.

“I have instructed my Secretary of Commerce to add an ADDITIONAL 25% Tariff, to 50%, on all STEEL and ALUMINUM COMING INTO THE UNITED STATES FROM CANADA, ONE OF THE HIGHEST TARIFFING NATIONS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

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Wall Street falls in a manic day after briefly dropping more than 10% below its record

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market fell further Tuesday following President Donald Trump’s latest escalation in his trade war, briefly pulling Wall Street 10% below its record set last month. And like it's been for most of the past few weeks, the market’s slide on Tuesday was erratic and dizzying.

The S&P 500 fell 0.8%, but only after careening between a modest gain and a tumble of 1.5%. The main measure of Wall Street's health finished 9.3% below its all-time high after flirting with the 10% threshold that professional investors call a “correction."

Other indexes likewise swung sharply through the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 478 points, or 1.1%, and the Nasdaq composite ended up slipping 0.2%.

Such head-spinning moves are becoming routine in what’s been a scary ride for investors as Trump tries to remake the country and world through tariffs and other policies. Stocks have been heaving mostly lower on uncertainty about how much pain Trump is willing for the economy to endure in order to get what he wants.

And moves by Trump and comments by his White House on Tuesday didn’t clarify much.

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Polls close in Greenland's capital for parliamentary election as Trump seeks control

NUUK, Greenland (AP) — The polling station in Greenland’s capital closed Tuesday in a parliamentary election that will determine the leaders who will confront U.S. President Donald Trump’s effort to take control of the strategically placed Arctic country.

Huge crowds streamed into the polling station in the capital, Nuuk, throughout the day, warmed by sunny skies. Exhausted voting officials closed the polls well after the planned 8 p.m. local time (2200 GMT) to make sure everyone in line got a chance to cast their ballot.

Unofficial election results should be available in the coming hours, but they won’t be certified for weeks as paper ballots make their way to the capital from remote settlements by boat, plane and helicopter.

Prime Minister Mute Bourup Egede in February called elections a bit early, saying the country needed to be united during a “serious time” that is unlike anything Greenland has ever experienced.

Greenland, a self-governing region of Denmark, straddles strategic air and sea routes in the North Atlantic and has rich deposits of the rare earth minerals needed to make everything from mobile phones to renewable energy technology.

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Education Department cuts half its staff as Trump vows to wind the agency down

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Education Department plans to lay off more than 1,300 of its employees as part of an effort to halve the organization’s staff -- a prelude to President Donald Trump’s plan to dismantle the agency.

Department officials announced the cuts Tuesday, raising questions about the agency’s ability to continue usual operations.

The Trump administration had already been whittling the agency’s staff, though buyout offers and the termination of probationary employees. After Tuesday’s layoffs, the Education Department’s staff will sit at roughly half of its previous 4,100, the agency said.

The layoffs are part of a dramatic downsizing directed by Trump as he moves to reduce the footprint of the federal government. Thousands of jobs are expected to be cut across the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Social Security Administration and other agencies.

The department is also terminating leases on buildings in cities including New York, Boston, Chicago and Cleveland, officials said.

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Yemen's Houthi rebels say 'any Israeli vessel' in nearby Mideast waterways again a target

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Yemen's Houthi rebels warned shippers early Wednesday that “any Israeli vessel” traveling through nearby Mideast waters is now a target as Israel continues to block aid to the Gaza Strip.

The warning from the Houthis again throws into chaos a crucial maritime waterway between Asia and Europe, threatens revenue from Egypt's Suez Canal and possibly will halt aid shipments to war zones. The rebels in the past have also had a loose definition of what constitutes an Israeli ship, meaning other vessels could be targeted as well.

The statement from the Houthis' Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center follows a four-day deadline set by the rebels for Israel to resume aid shipments.

“We hope it is understood that the actions taken by the (Houthi military) ... stem from a deep sense of religious, humanitarian and moral responsibility toward the oppressed Palestinian people and aim to pressure the Israeli usurper entity to reopen the crossings to the Gaza Strip and allow the entry of aid, including food and medical supplies,” the statement said.

It described the warning as taking hold in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Arabian Sea.

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NTSB urges ban on some helicopter flights at Washington airport where 67 people died in midair crash

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal investigators looking into the cause of the January collision between a passenger jet and an Army helicopter near Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people recommended a ban on some helicopter flights Tuesday, saying the current setup “poses an intolerable risk.”

National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy laid out frightening statistics about near misses to underscore the danger that has existed for years near Ronald Reagan National Airport and expressed anger that it took a midair collision for it to come to light.

In just over three years, she said, there were 85 close calls when a few feet (meters) in the wrong direction could have resulted in the same kind of accident that happened Jan. 29 when the military helicopter collided with an American Airlines jet over the Potomac River as the plane was approaching the airport.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he'll adopt the NTSB's recommendations for the route where the midair collision occurred. He noted there will be some modifications in the guidelines to be released Wednesday, including allowing presidential flights and lifesaving missions.

Helicopters no longer will be “threading the needle” flying under landing planes, he said.

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White House pressures Columbia University as it seeks to deport pro-Palestinian activists

NEW YORK (AP) — The White House complained Tuesday that Columbia University is refusing to help federal agents find people being sought as part of the government’s effort to deport participants in pro-Palestinian demonstrations, as the administration continued to punish the school by yanking federal research dollars.

Immigration enforcement agents on Saturday arrested and detained Mahmoud Khalil, a legal U.S. resident and Palestinian activist who played a prominent part in protests at Columbia last year. He is now facing possible deportation.

President Donald Trump has vowed additional arrests. In a briefing with reporters in Washington, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said federal authorities have been “using intelligence” to identify other people involved in campus demonstrations critical of Israel that the administration considered to be antisemitic and “pro-Hamas.”

She said Columbia had been given names and was refusing to help the Department of Homeland Security “to identify those individuals on campus.”

"As the president said very strongly in his statement yesterday, he is not going to tolerate that,” Leavitt said.

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Bills agree to sign edge rusher Joey Bosa to 1-year, $12.6 million contract, AP source says

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — The Buffalo Bills turned to Joey Bosa to fill their pass-rush needs, agreeing with him on a one-year, $12.6 million contract, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Tuesday night.

The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the agreement won’t be official until the NFL’s new business year begins on Wednesday. ESPN.com first reported the deal.

Bosa joins the Bills after the team cut Von Miller on Sunday to free up salary-cap space.

Bosa was the NFL’s defensive rookie of the year after being selected by the Chargers with the No. 3 pick in the 2016 draft out of Ohio State. He played nine seasons with the franchise before being cut last week, also for salary-cap reasons.

At 29, Bosa is six years younger than Miller, though his production has dwindled because of injuries. Bosa’s 72 sacks are tied for 10th most since 2016, but he’s combined for only 14 over the past three seasons.

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