Trump again threatens widespread destruction in Iran if a deal is not reached 'shortly'

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday threatened widespread destruction of Iran’s energy resources and other vital infrastructure, potentially including desalination plants that supply drinking water, if a deal to end the war is not reached “shortly.”

Iran, meanwhile, struck a key water and electrical plant in Kuwait, and an oil refinery in Israel came under attack. Israel and the U.S. launched a new wave of strikes on Iran, as the war raged with no end in sight.

Trump’s new threat came in a social media post. Earlier comments to the Financial Times suggested American troops could seize Iran’s Kharg Island oil export hub. Trump has repeatedly claimed to be making diplomatic progress — though Tehran denies negotiating directly — while ramping up his threats and sending thousands more U.S. troops to the Middle East.

Trump told the New York Post that the U.S. is negotiating with Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf. The former Revolutionary Guard commander, who has taunted the U.S. on social media, dismissed the talks facilitated by Pakistan as a cover for the latest American troop deployments.

In a social media post, Trump said “great progress is being made” in talks with Iran to end military operations. But he said if a deal is not reached “shortly,” and if the Strait of Hormuz is not immediately reopened, the U.S. would broaden its offensive by “completely obliterating” power plants, oil wells, Kharg Island and possibly even desalination plants.

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Gulf allies privately make the case to Trump to keep fighting until Iran is decisively defeated

WASHINGTON (AP) — Gulf allies of the United States, led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, are urging President Donald Trump to continue prosecuting the war against Iran, arguing that Tehran hasn't been weakened enough by the monthlong U.S.-led bombing campaign, according to U.S., Gulf and Israeli officials.

After private grumbling at the start of the war that they were not given adequate advance notice of the U.S.-Israeli attack and complaining the U.S. had ignored their warnings that the war would have devastating consequences for the entire region, some of the regional allies are making the case to the White House that the moment offers a historic opportunity to cripple Tehran’s clerical rule once and for all.

Officials from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain have conveyed in private conversations that they do not want the military operation to end until there are significant changes in the Iranian leadership or there’s a dramatic shift in Iranian behavior, according to the officials, who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The push from the Gulf nations comes as Trump vacillates between claiming that Iran's decimated leadership is ready to settle the conflict and threatening to further escalate the war if a deal is not reached soon.

All the while, Trump is struggling to rally public support at home for a war that's left more than 3,000 dead across the Mideast and is s haking the global economy. Yet the U.S. leader is sounding increasingly confident that he has the full support of his most important Mideast allies — including some that were hesitant about a new military campaign in the lead-up to the war.

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Israel's parliament approves the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of murdering Israelis

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s parliament on Monday passed a law approving the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of murdering Israelis, a measure that has been harshly condemned by the international community and rights groups as discriminatory and inhumane.

The passage of the bill marked the culmination of a yearslong drive by the far-right to escalate punishment for Palestinians convicted of nationalistic offenses against Israelis. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to the Knesset to vote for the bill in person.

The law makes the death penalty — by hanging — the default punishment for West Bank Palestinians convicted of nationalistic killings. It also gives Israeli courts the option of imposing the death penalty on Israeli citizens convicted on similar charges — language that legal experts say effectively confines those who can be sentenced to death to Palestinian citizens of Israel and excludes Jewish citizens.

It will not apply retroactively to any prisoners Israel currently holds, including the Hamas-led militants who attacked the country on Oct. 7, 2023, triggering the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

After the final 62-48 vote in favor, lawmakers erupted into cheers and stood up in jubilation. Netanyahu, who remained in his seat, did not immediately react or speak.

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Man who crashed pickup into Michigan synagogue was inspired by Iran-backed Hezbollah, FBI says

DETROIT (AP) — An armed man who crashed his pickup truck into a major Detroit-area synagogue earlier in March was inspired by the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah and had sought to inflict as much damage as he could on Jewish people, the FBI said Monday.

Ayman Ghazali made a video just minutes before the attack at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township, saying he wanted to “kill as many of them as I possibly can” in the large Jewish congregation, said Jennifer Runyan, head of the FBI in Detroit, who announced the new information.

Ghazali, 41, sat in the parking lot for a few hours on March 12 before smashing his F150 through doors and into the hallway of an early childhood education area, striking a security guard. He then exchanged gunfire with another guard before fatally shooting himself. No one else among the 150 children and staff was injured.

It was a “Hezbollah-inspired act of terrorism purposely targeting the Jewish community and the largest Jewish temple in Michigan," Runyan said.

He sent two final videos to a sister overseas about 10 minutes before launching the assault, she said.

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Student shoots a teacher and then fatally shoots himself at a Texas high school, authorities say

BULVERDE, Texas (AP) — A 15-year-old student shot a teacher at a Texas high school and then fatally shot himself, authorities said Monday.

No other injuries were reported in the shooting at Hill Country College Preparatory High School in Bulverde. The Comal County Sheriff’s Office has not said what may have led to the shooting.

The teacher was taken to a San Antonio hospital, but the sheriff’s office did not have an update on her condition.

The male student died on the scene, the sheriff's office said. A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office told The Associated Press that the student died from a self-inflicted gunshot.

The school said on social media that it was placed on lockdown at 8:34 a.m., and the bell schedule listed online shows that classes start at 8:55 a.m.

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NASA begins the countdown for humanity's first launch to the moon in 53 years

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA began the countdown Monday for humanity’s first launch to the moon in 53 years.

The 32-story Space Launch System rocket is poised to blast off Wednesday evening with four astronauts. After a day in orbit around Earth, their Orion capsule will propel them to the moon and back. There are no stops — just a quick U-turn around the moon. The nearly 10-day flight will end with a splashdown in the Pacific.

“Our team has worked extremely hard to get us to this moment,” said launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson. "Certainly all indications are right now we are in excellent, excellent shape.”

Managers said the rocket is doing well following the latest round of repairs. Forecasters said the weather should cooperate.

NASA’s Artemis II mission should have soared in February, but was grounded by hydrogen fuel leaks. The leaks were fixed, but then a helium pressurization line became clogged, forcing a return to the hangar late last month. The rocket returned to the pad 1 1/2 weeks ago, and its U.S.-Canadian crew arrived at the launch site on Friday.

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Airport bottlenecks ease as TSA workers get paid, but shutdown continues

Frustrating security lines dwindled at U.S. airports Monday, clearing the worst bottlenecks as Transportation Safety Administration officers began receiving backpay for working during the government shutdown.

What was a four-hour checkpoint line at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport turned into a wait of 10 minutes or less. In previous trouble spots such as Atlanta and Baltimore-Washington International Airport, travelers were moving smoothly to their flights.

After weeks of airport chaos, there was finally optimism for the beleaguered aviation system.

Weary travelers hope the overdue paychecks will end the seemingly endless security lines and missed flights many experienced. It remains unknown how long federal immigration officers will maintain a visible presence in airport terminals as the busy spring break travel season continues.

TSA workers told union leadership Monday that they received some — but not all — of their back pay, according to Johnny Jones, secretary-treasurer of the TSA chapter of the American Federation of Government Employees. He said the rest is expected by next week. Some employees also reported incorrect backpay amounts, including missing overtime, the union said.

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US stocks swing through another shaky day as oil prices keep climbing

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks swung Monday as oil prices kept climbing because of uncertainty about when the war with Iran could end.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.4% and deepened its loss since the war began to pull 9.1% below its record set early this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 49 points, or 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.7%.

Caution was prevalent throughout financial markets. After jumping to an initial gain of 0.9%, the S&P 500 quickly erased nearly all of it before seesawing lower. Stock indexes rose in Europe but fell sharply in some Asian markets, while the price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude rose 3.3% to settle at $102.88

The mixed movements followed a whirlwind of action in the war over the weekend, including an entry into the fighting by Houthi rebels in Yemen. None of it gave any clarity for the main questions weighing on financial markets: When will oil and natural gas resume their full flows from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide, and will it be soon enough to prevent a brutal blast of inflation?

Shortly before the U.S. stock market opened for trading Monday, President Donald Trump said on his social media network that “great progress has been made” with “A NEW, AND MORE REASONABLE, REGIME to end our Military Operations in Iran.”

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Air Canada CEO will retire this year after his English-only crash message was criticized

TORONTO (AP) — Air Canada announced Monday that its CEO will retire later this year, after Michael Rousseau was criticized for his English-only message of condolence following this month’s deadly crash in New York.

Canada’s largest airline, based in French-speaking Quebec, said that Rousseau, 68, told the board he will leave by the end of the third quarter.

Canada is an officially bilingual nation, and Prime Minister Mark Carney said that Rousseau's decision to retire is “appropriate."

“It is essential that the next CEO of Air Canada is bilingual,” Carney said.

Carney had said the English-only message showed a lack of compassion and judgment. Quebec’s premier and others called on the airline executive to resign.

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NFL set to begin hiring and training replacement officials, AP sources say

PHOENIX (AP) — The NFL is moving forward with plans to begin hiring and training replacement officials in the next several weeks because negotiations with the referees’ union have been unsuccessful, two people with knowledge of the discussions told The Associated Press.

Both people spoke on condition of anonymity Sunday because the conversations are private.

The league and the NFL Referees Association have been negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement since the summer of 2024. The current CBA expires on May 31.

The NFL has increased its offer to a 6.45% annual growth rate in compensation over a six-year labor deal, but the NFLRA wants 10% plus $2.5 million for marketing fees, the people said.

NFLRA executive director Scott Green told The Associated Press on Monday: "those numbers are not accurate.” He said negotiations with the league are similar to 2012 when a stalemate resulted in a 110-day lockout and replacement referees were used.

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