US and Ukraine sign deal giving US access to country's valuable mineral wealth

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. and Ukraine on Wednesday signed an agreement granting American access to Ukraine’s vast mineral resources, finalizing a deal months in the making that could enable continued military aid to Kyiv amid concerns that President Donald Trump might scale back support in ongoing peace negotiations with Russia.

The two sides offered only barebone details about the structure of the deal, which they called the United States-Ukraine Reinvestment Fund. But it is expected to give the U.S. access to Ukraine’s valuable rare earth minerals while providing Kyiv a measure of assurance about continued American support in its grinding war with Russia.

“This agreement signals clearly to Russia that the Trump administration is committed to a peace process centered on a free, sovereign, and prosperous Ukraine over the long term,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. “President Trump envisioned this partnership between the American people and the Ukrainian people to show both sides’ commitment to lasting peace and prosperity in Ukraine.”

The announcement comes at a critical moment in the three-year war as Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with both sides. The signing comes two months after a different but similar agreement was nearly signed before being derailed in a tense Oval Office meeting involving President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Trump has long criticized Zelenskyy, saying he didn’t “have the cards” to win the war and blaming him for prolonging the killing by not giving up Crimea, but in recent days has rebuked Russian President Vladimir Putin as well, saying he was complicating negotiations with “very bad timing” in launching deadly strikes on Kyiv.

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From Tokyo to Los Angeles, workers observe May Day with marches and demonstrations

TOKYO (AP) — From Tokyo to Taipei to Manila, people across Asia marked May Day with marches and protests that spotlighted growing unease over U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies and fears of global economic instability.

The holiday, also known as International Workers’ Day or Labor Day, honors the struggles and achievements of workers and the labor movement. Rallies are expected across the United States as well, including in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Philadelphia.

Across multiple countries, Trump’s agenda was cited as a source of concern. In the United States, organizers said their message this year focused on fighting Trump’s approach targeting immigrants, federal workers and diversity initiatives.

In Taiwan, President Lai Ching-te referenced new U.S. tariffs under Trump as he promoted a proposed spending bill aimed at stabilizing the job market and supporting livelihoods. In the Philippines, protest leader Mong Palatino warned that “tariff wars and policies of Trump” threatened local industries.

In Japan, some said his policies hung over the day like a shadow, with one truck in the Tokyo march featuring a doll that resembled Trump. There, participants’ demands ranged from higher wages and gender equality to health care, disaster relief, a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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Trump says US kids may get '2 dolls instead of 30,' but China will suffer more in a trade war

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday acknowledged that his tariffs could result in fewer and costlier products in the United States, saying American kids might "have two dolls instead of 30 dolls," but he insisted China will suffer more from his trade war.

The Republican president has tried to reassure a nervous country that his tariffs will not provoke a recession, after a new government report showed the U.S. economy shrank during the first three months of the year.

Trump was quick to blame his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, for any setbacks while telling his Cabinet that his tariffs meant China was “having tremendous difficulty because their factories are not doing business,” adding that the U.S. did not really need imports from the world's dominant manufacturer.

“You know, somebody said, ‘Oh, the shelves are going to be open,’” Trump continued, offering a hypothetical. "Well, maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls. So maybe the two dolls will cost a couple bucks more than they would normally.”

His remarks followed a defensive morning after the Commerce Department reported that the U.S. economy shrank at an annual rate of 0.3% during the first quarter. Behind the decline was a surge in imports as companies tried to front-run the sweeping tariffs on autos, steel, aluminum and almost every country. And even positive signs of increased domestic consumption indicated that purchases might be occurring before the import taxes lead to price increases.

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Harris accuses Trump of 'wholesale abandonment' of American ideals in major post-election speech

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Former Vice President Kamala Harris used a high-profile speech Wednesday to sharply criticize President Donald Trump amid speculation about whether she will mount another presidential campaign or opt to run for California governor.

In her most extensive public remarks since leaving office in January following her defeat to Trump, Harris said she’s inspired by Americans fighting Trump’s agenda despite threats to their freedom or livelihood.

“Instead of an administration working to advance America’s highest ideals, we are witnessing the wholesale abandonment of those ideals,” Harris said a day after Trump reached 100 days in office.

Before Wednesday, Harris had barely mentioned Trump by name since she conceded defeat to him in November.

In a 15-minute speech, she spoke to the anxiety and confusion that have gripped many of her supporters since Trump took office but discouraged despair.

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Sex assault reports in the US military fell last year, fueled by a big drop in the Army, AP learns

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of sexual assaults reported across the U.S. military dipped by nearly 4% last year, fueled by a significant drop in the Army, The Associated Press has learned. It was the second year in a row with a decrease, reversing a troubling trend that has plagued the Defense Department for more than a decade.

Senior U.S. defense officials said that while the decline is a good sign, the number of reported assaults is still too high and the military needs to do more to get victims to report the often undisclosed crime.

According to the officials, there were 8,195 reported sexual assaults in 2024 involving members of the military, compared with 8,515 in 2023. In 2022, there were 8,942 reported sexual assaults, a spike that triggered widespread alarm and led to new programs and an infusion of funding to try to combat the problem.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the report has not been publicly released.

According to data obtained by the AP, the overall decrease was due to a 13% drop in reported sexual assaults across the Army, which is the largest military service.

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A Palestinian student at Columbia is freed after his arrest at a citizenship interview

BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — A judge on Wednesday released a Palestinian student at Columbia University who led protests against Israel's war in Gaza and was arrested by immigration officials during an interview about finalizing his U.S. citizenship.

Immigration authorities have arrested and detained college students from around the country since the first days of the Trump administration, many of whom participated in campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war, which has killed more than 52,000 Palestinians.

Mohsen Mahdawi is among the first of those students to win his freedom after challenging an arrest. He walked out of a Vermont courthouse Wednesday and led hundreds of supporters in chants including “No fear” and “Free Palestine.” He said people must come together to defend both democracy and humanity.

“Never give up on the idea that justice will prevail,” he said. “We want to stand up for humanity, because the rest of the world — not only Palestine — is watching us. And what is going to happen in America is going to affect the rest of the world.”

Mahdawi, 34, has been a legal permanent resident for 10 years. He was in a Vermont state prison since April 14. In his release order, U.S. District Judge Geoffrey Crawford said Mahdawi has raised a “substantial claim that the government arrested him to stifle speech with which it disagrees.”

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Rubio calls India and Pakistan in effort to defuse crisis over Kashmir attack

NEW DELHI (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called senior officials in India and Pakistan in an effort to defuse the crisis that followed last week's deadly attack in Kashmir, the State Department said.

Rubio urged Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar to de-escalate tensions on Wednesday.

India has vowed to punish Pakistan after accusing it of backing the attack, which Islamabad denies. The nuclear-armed rivals have since expelled each other's diplomats and citizens, ordered the border shut and closed their airspace to each other. New Delhi has suspended a crucial water-sharing treaty with Islamabad.

Soldiers on each side have also exchanged fire along their de facto border, driving tensions between India and Pakistan to their highest point in recent years.

The region of Kashmir is split between India and Pakistan and claimed by both in its entirety. The two countries have fought two wars and one limited conflict over the Himalayan territory.

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North Korea and Russia begin building their first road link

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea and Russia have begun building their first road link, the two countries announced, hailing the construction of a bridge over a border river as a major development that will further expand their booming ties.

Russia's Tass news agency reported that the bridge would be 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) long and its construction is expected to take 1 1/2 years. North Korea's Korean Central News Agency said Thursday the bridge would expand cross-border travel of people, tourism and circulation of commodities.

Relations and exchange programs between the two countries have been flourishing in recent years, with North Korea supplying ammunitions and troops to support Russia’s war against Ukraine.

North Korea has been receiving Russian tourists since February 2024 amid slowly easing pandemic curbs, but Chinese group tours, which made up more than 90% of visitors before the pandemic, remain stalled.

In 2023, about 97% of North Korea’s external trade was with China, while 1.2% was with Russia. There are currently at least 17 active road and rail links across the long, porous border between North Korea and China, according to South Korea’s Unification Ministry.

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These papal tailors aren't expecting a traditional order for new cassocks to outfit the next pope

ROME (AP) — Two papal tailors and no conclave orders.

The conclave that begins next Wednesday to elect a successor for Pope Francis is the first in 46 1/2 years for which the Vatican hasn't ordered a set of cassocks for the new head of the Catholic Church — at least from the two best-known papal tailors.

That isn’t stopping Ranieri Mancinelli, who opened his ecclesiastical tailoring shop near the Vatican in the 1960s, from making three simple white cassocks just in case: the traditional small, medium and large sizes to cover all possible heights and girths.

"I'm doing this on my own to be able to present these cassocks for the next pope, without knowing who he will be,” Mancinelli said.

Gammarelli, another family-run ecclesiastical tailor near the Pantheon in the historic center, has a paper trail showing it has received cassock orders for every conclave since the beginning of the 20th century — and probably far earlier. Gammarelli has been making garments for priests, bishops and cardinals since 1798.

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India will include caste details in its next population census

NEW DELHI (AP) — India will include caste details in its next population census, in a move likely to have sweeping socio-economic and political ramifications for the world's most populous country.

The once-in-a-decade population survey was originally due in 2021 but has been delayed mainly by the COVID-19 pandemic and logistical hurdles.

Information Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw didn't say when the census would begin when he announced it would include caste information Wednesday. He said the decision demonstrated New Delhi’s commitment to the “values and interests of the society and country.”

The caste system is still critical in Indian life and politics, though some people say it should not have a place in a nation that aspires to be a developed economy.

India has limited data on the number of people belonging to a particular caste and their socio-economic status.

The Associated Press

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