Iran and US envoys hold 1st negotiation over Tehran's nuclear program, and talk face-to-face

MUSCAT, Oman (AP) — Iran and the United States will hold more negotiations next week over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program, Iranian state television reported Saturday at the end of the first round of talks between the two countries since President Donald Trump returned to the White House.

Iran's state-run broadcaster revealed that U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi “briefly spoke" together — the first time the two nations have done that since the Obama administration.

Tehran’s declaration that the two sides spoke face-to-face — even if briefly — suggests the negotiations went well even to Iranian state TV, which long has been controlled by hard-liners.

In a statement released Saturday afternoon, the White House described the discussions as “very positive and constructive,” while conceding the issues that need to be resolved “are very complicated.”

“Special Envoy Witkoff’s direct communication today was a step forward in achieving a mutually beneficial outcome,” the White House said.

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Israel cuts off Gaza's southern city of Rafah and vows to 'vigorously' expand in the territory

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel announced Saturday it had completed construction of a new security corridor cutting off the southern city of Rafah from the rest of Gaza, and the military said it would soon expand “vigorously” in most of the small coastal territory.

Palestinians were further squeezed into shrinking areas.

“Activity will expand rapidly to additional locations throughout most of Gaza and you will have to evacuate the fighting zones,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement, without saying where Palestinians were meant to go.

The statement urged Palestinians to remove Hamas and release the remaining hostages, saying: “This is the only way to stop the war."

Israeli troops were deployed last week to the new security corridor referred to as Morag, the name of a Jewish settlement that once stood between Rafah and Khan Younis, after the army ordered sweeping evacuations covering most of Rafah — an indication it could soon launch another major ground operation.

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Trump administration says it will exclude some electronics from reciprocal tariffs

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Trump administration late Friday said it would exclude electronics like smartphones and laptops from reciprocal tariffs, a move that could help keep the prices down for popular consumer electronics that aren’t usually made in the U.S.

It would also benefit big tech companies like Apple and Samsung and chip makers like Nvidia, setting the stage for a likely tech stock rally on Monday.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said items like smartphones, laptops, hard drives, flat-panel monitors and some chips would qualify for the exemption. Machines used to make semiconductors are excluded too. That means they won’t be subject to the current 145% tariffs levied on China or the 10% baseline tariffs elsewhere.

It's the latest tariff change by the Trump administration, which has made several U-turns in their massive plan to put tariffs in place on goods from most countries.

The exemption seemed to reflect the president’s realization that his China tariffs are unlikely to shift more manufacturing of smartphones, computers and other gadgets to the U.S. any time soon, if ever, despite the administration’s predictions that the trade war prod Apple to make iPhones in the U.S. for the first time.

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Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of failing to pause strikes after US envoy leaves Moscow

Russia and Ukraine’s top diplomats on Saturday used a high-level conference in Turkey to once again trade accusations of violating a tentative U.S.-brokered deal to pause strikes on energy infrastructure, underscoring the challenges of negotiating an end to the 3-year-old war.

The two foreign ministers spoke at separate events at the annual Antalya Diplomacy Forum, a day after U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff met with with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss peace prospects. Ukraine's European allies on Friday promised billions of dollars to help Kyiv keep fighting Russia’s invasion.

While Moscow and Kyiv both agreed in principle last month to implement a limited, 30-day ceasefire, they issued conflicting statements soon after their separate talks with U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia. They differed on the start time of halting strikes, and alleged near-immediate breaches by the other side.

“The Ukrainians have been attacking us from the very beginning, every passing day, maybe with two or three exceptions,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, adding that Moscow would provide the U.S., Turkey and international bodies with a list of Kyiv's attacks during the past three weeks.

A representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry separately told state media Saturday that Moscow has been sharing intelligence with the U.S. regarding more than 60 supposed breaches of the deal by Kyiv.

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Democrats dislike the 'chaos' of Trump's trade war but are OK with some tariffs

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are quick to say that President Donald Trump’s tariffs are horrible, awful, terrible. But Democrats are also stressing that they are not inherently anti-tariff.

What Trump's political opponents say they really dislike is the “chaos” he has unleashed.

“Tariffs are an important tool in our economic toolbox,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. “Trump is creating chaos, and that chaos undercuts our economy and our families, both in the short term and the long term. ... He’s just created a worldwide hurricane, and that’s not good for anyone.”

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said Democrats have a consensus around “a unified concept, which is targeted tariffs can work, across the board tariffs are bad.”

“The right targeting is in the eye of the beholder, but nobody on our side thinks zero tariffs ever,” Kaine said.

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US won't say whether it's facilitating return of mistakenly deported man, despite judge's order

The Trump administration confirmed to a federal judge Saturday that a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported last month remains confined in a notorious prison in El Salvador.

But the government's filing did not address the judge's demands that the administration detail what steps it was taking to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the United States. The government said only that Abrego Garcia, 29, is under the authority of the El Salvador government.

Abrego Garcia's location was confirmed to the court by Michael G. Kozak, who identified himself in the filing as a “Senior Bureau Official” in the State Department's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs.

The filing comes one day after a U.S. government attorney struggled in a hearing to provide U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis with any information about Abrego Garcia’s whereabouts. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the Trump administration must bring him back.

Xinis issued an order Friday requiring the administration to disclose Abrego Garcia's “current physical location and custodial status” and “what steps, if any, Defendants have taken (and) will take, and when, to facilitate” his return.

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Brazil’s former president Bolsonaro transferred to Brasilia after hospitalization for abdominal pain

SAO PAULO (AP) — Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was transferred Saturday by medical aircraft from northeastern Brazil to the capital Brasilia after being hospitalized with abdominal pain a day earlier.

Bolsonaro was hospitalized Friday morning while traveling in northeastern Brazil. The pain was caused by a bowel obstruction and was related to long-term effects of being stabb ed in the abdomen in September 2018, his doctors said.

Bolsonaro has been in and out of hospitals since the attack at a campaign event before Brazil’s 2018 presidential election. The conservative leader underwent several surgeries during his presidency from 2019-2022.

“After so many similar episodes over the past few years, I had gotten used to the pain and discomfort. But this time, even the doctors were surprised,” he said in a social media post Saturday, adding that a longtime physician told him it was “the most serious case since the attack.”

Bolsonaro also said he would likely undergo another surgery. Earlier on Saturday, doctors at Rio Grande Hospital in the northeastern state of Rio Grande do Norte told journalists he was stable and not in need of emergency surgery, said further procedures would depend on his recovery.

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Dominican club collapse death toll rises to 226 after woman pulled from rubble dies in hospital

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — A woman hospitalized after being rescued from the rubble of a roof collapse at a popular nightclub in the Dominican Republic died on Saturday, raising the death toll to 226, health officials said.

The latest victim was a 41-year-old Costa Rican national, according to the National Health Service. Earlier in the day, health officials said four other people hospitalized after the disaster had died overnight.

Officials said 189 people were rescued alive from the rubble of the popular venue in the capital Santo Domingo. More than 200 were injured, with 14 still hospitalized, including four in critical condition.

The roof at the Jet Set nightclub collapsed during a merengue concert in the early hours of Tuesday. Politicians, athletes and a fashion designer were among those enjoying live music when disaster struck.

As of Saturday, friends and relatives remained at a forensics institute waiting for the return of their loved ones' bodies. Later in the day, health authorities said 225 bodies had been returned to their families.

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Intellectually disabled teen shot by Idaho police dies after being removed from life support

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An autistic, nonverbal teenage boy who was shot repeatedly by Idaho police from the other side of a chain-link fence while he was holding a knife died Saturday after being removed from life support, his family said.

Victor Perez, 17, who also had cerebral palsy, had been in a coma since the April 5 shooting, and tests Friday showed that he had no brain activity, his aunt, Ana Vazquez, told The Associated Press. He had undergone several surgeries, with doctors removing nine bullets and amputating his leg.

Police in the southeast Idaho city of Pocatello responded to a 911 call reporting that an apparently intoxicated man with a knife was chasing someone in a yard. It turned out to be Perez, who was not intoxicated but walked with a staggered gait due to his disabilities, Vazquez said. His family members had been trying to get the large kitchen knife away from him.

Video taken by a neighbor showed that Perez was lying in the yard after falling over when four officers arrived and rushed to the fence at the edge of the yard. They immediately ordered Perez to drop the knife, but instead he stood and began stumbling toward them.

Officers opened fire within about 12 seconds of getting out of their patrol cars and made no apparent effort to de-escalate the situation.

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Take a trip to Ohio to learn about William McKinley, Trump's much-admired Gilded Age president

CANTON, Ohio (AP) — If you've been intrigued by President Donald Trump's praise of his long-ago White House predecessor William McKinley and yearn to know more, it's time you head to Ohio.

America's 25th president was born and is buried in the Buckeye State, where museums and monuments to him abound. Websites promoting the state's McKinley attractions have seen a surge in page views since Trump began highlighting McKinley's Gilded Age presidency, which ran from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. Officials hope a bump in summer tourism will follow.

“I don’t think there has been as much interest in William McKinley in at least a century, in terms of kind of the public consciousness,” said Kevin Kern, an associate professor of history at the University of Akron. The last time was in 1928, when McKinley's face was printed on the $500 bill.

While Trump has attached himself to McKinley, Kern says the two Republicans' political positions are, in many respects, “really apples and oranges.”

In McKinley’s day, the United States was just becoming the world’s foremost manufacturing power. Tariffs were viewed as a way to protect that momentum. Today, the economy is global.

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