The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Friday to clear the way for Elon Musk s Department of Government Efficiency to access Social Security systems containing personal data on millions of Americans.

The emergency appeal comes after a judge in Maryland restricted the teams access under federal privacy laws.

Social Security holds personal records on nearly everyone in the country, including school records, bank details, salary information and medical and mental health records for disability recipients, according to court documents.

The government says the DOGE team needs access to target waste in the federal government, and asked the justices to put the lower court order on hold as the lawsuit over the issue plays out.

Solicitor General John Sauer argued that the judges restrictions disrupt DOGEs urgent work and inappropriately interfere with executive-branch functions. Left undisturbed, this preliminary injunction will only invite further judicial incursions into internal agency decision-making, he wrote.

Musk has been focused on Social Security as an alleged hotbed of fraud, describing it as a Ponzi scheme and insisting that reducing waste in the program is an important way to cut government spending.

RELATED STORY | Lawmakers want to know why DOGE is building a database of sensitive Social Security info

An appeals court refused to immediately to lift the block on DOGE access, though it split along ideological lines. Conservative judges in the minority said theres no evidence that the team has done any targeted snooping or exposed personal information.

The lawsuit was originally filed by a group of labor unions and retirees represented by the group Democracy Forward.

The ruling from U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander in Maryland that blocked DOGE from Social Security systems did allow staffers to access data that has been redacted or stripped of anything personally identifiable.

The appeal is the latest in a string of emergency applications to the nation's highest court as the Trump administration faces about 200 lawsuits challenging various aspects of President Donald Trump's sweeping conservative agenda.

Prince Harry says he wants to reconcile with his family, but admitted he doesnt know how much time his father, King Charles III, has left.

The Duke of Sussex made the comments in a BBC interview after losing a legal battle to restore the police protection he had before stepping back from royal duties and moving to the United States in 2020.

I would love reconciliation with my family. Theres no point in continuing to fight anymore, Harry said.

In February 2024, King Charles announced he had been diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer. Earlier this year, the 76-year-old monarch was hospitalized due to complications from treatment.

"I don't know how much longer my father has," Harry said. "He won't speak to me because of this security stuff."

RELATED STORY | King Charles III experiences side effects after receiving medical treatment and is in hospital

Its been about five years since Harry and his wife, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, stepped down from their official royal roles a decision that deepened tensions within the family. The rift widened with the publication of Harrys memoir, Spare, which offered a candid look into his life as a royal.

Harry has returned to the U.K. only a few times since relocating to the U.S., including for Queen Elizabeth IIs funeral and King Charles coronation. Meghan and their children did not attend the coronation, and Harry said Friday that he no longer feels comfortable bringing them to the U.K.

"I can't see a world in which I would bring my wife and children back to the U.K. at this point," he said.

The driver of a car that barreled through a building used for a popular after-school camp in central Illinois, killing three children and a teenager, was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol and may have had a medical emergency, police said Thursday.

No decisions have been made on whether to file charges against the 44-year-old driver, Illinois State Police Director Brendan F. Kelly said at a news conference. The driver is not in custody, Kelly said.

Evidence that she may have had a medical emergency was "not conclusive" and the investigation is ongoing, Kelly said.

The car went off the road Monday, crossing a field and smashing into the side of the building in Chatham used by Youth Needing Other Things Outdoors, also known as YNOT. It traveled through the building, striking people before exiting the other side.

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Six other children were hospitalized. Four of them remained hospitalized, including one in critical condition, a state police spokesperson said after Thursday's news conference.

Those killed were Rylee Britton, 18, of Springfield, Ainsley Johnson, 8, Kathryn Corley, 7, and Alma Buhnerkempe, 7. All of the children were from Chatham, a community of about 15,000 outside the Illinois capital of Springfield.

The driver was not injured but was taken to a hospital for evaluation after the crash, Kelly said. She voluntarily submitted blood and urine samples that tested negative for drugs and alcohol, he said.

"Some evidence has been developed indicating the possibility of a medical emergency leading up to the crash," Kell said. "However, the investigation of this information and other evidence has not yet concluded and will continue until all leads and research have been exhausted."

He would not elaborate on the possible health issue or say what evidence investigators have indicating a medical emergency may have occurred. He also would not say whether the driver was conscious and alert when emergency responders reached her.

Security camera footage showed the vehicle was "a substantial distance" away when it left the roadway, said Jamie Loftus, founder of YNOT Outdoors. It crossed the field, a road, the sidewalk and YNOT's parking lot before crashing through the building "with no apparent attempt to alter its direction," Loftus said earlier this week. The vehicle then crossed a gravel road and crashed into a pole and fence.

Kelly said the vehicle traveled more than 1,300 feet (396 meters) but would not elaborate and also would not say how fast the vehicle was moving.

He said he could not provide a timeline for completing the investigation and said charges, if appropriate, would be up to the Sangamon County state's attorney.

___

Associated Press writers Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, and Sophia Tareen in Chicago contributed.

An Illinois landlord who murdered a 6-year-old Muslim boy and severely injured the boys mother in a vicious hate-crime attack days after the war in Gaza began was sentenced Friday to 53 years in prison.

Joseph Czuba, 73, was found guilty in February of murder, attempted murder and hate-crime charges in the death of Wadee Alfayoumi and the wounding of his mother, Hanan Shaheen.

Czuba targeted them in October 2023 because of their Islamic faith and as a response to the war between Israel and Hamas.

Evidence at trial included harrowing testimony from Shaheen and her frantic 911 call, along with bloody crime scene photos and police video. Jurors deliberated less than 90 minutes before handing in a verdict.

The family had been renting rooms in Czubas home in Plainfield, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) from Chicago when the attack happened.

Central to prosecutors' case was harrowing testimony from the boys mother, who said Czuba attacked her before moving on to her son, insisting they had to leave because they were Muslim. Prosecutors also played the 911 call and showed police footage. Czuba's wife, Mary, whom he has since divorced, also testified for the prosecution, saying he had become agitated about the Israel-Hamas war, which had erupted days earlier.

Police said Czuba pulled a knife from a holder on a belt and stabbed the boy 26 times, leaving the knife in the child's body. Some of the bloody crime scene photos were so explicit that the judge agreed to turn television screens showing them away from the audience, which included Wadee's relatives.

RELATED STORY | Mom reveals final words of 6-year-old killed in anti-Muslim attack

He could not escape, Michael Fitzgerald, a Will County assistant states attorney, told jurors at trial. If it wasnt enough that this defendant killed that little boy, he left the knife in the little boys body.

The jury deliberated for 90 minutes before returning a verdict. Czuba is eligible for a minimum prison sentence of 20 to 60 years or life, according to the Will County state's attorney's office.

Prosecutors declined to comment ahead of Friday's hearing and have not said what sentence they will seek. Illinois does not have the death penalty.

The attack renewed fears of anti-Muslim discrimination and hit particularly hard in Plainfield and surrounding suburbs, which have a large and established Palestinian community. Wadee's funeral drew large crowds and Plainfield officials have dedicated a park playground in his honor.

Czuba did not speak during the trial. His defense attorneys argued that there were holes in the case. His public defender, George Lenard, has not addressed reporters and declined comment ahead of the sentencing.

Shaheen had more than a dozen stab wounds and it took her weeks to recover.

She said there were no prior issues in the two years she rented from the Czubas, even sharing a kitchen and a living room.

Then after the start of the war, Czuba told her that they had to move out because Muslims were not welcome. He later confronted Shaheen and attacked her, holding her down, stabbing her and trying to break her teeth.

He told me You, as a Muslim, must die, said Shaheen, who testified in English and Arabic though a translator.

Police testified that officers found Czuba outside the house, sitting on the ground with blood on his body and hands.

Separately, lawsuits have been filed over the boys death, including by his father, Odai Alfayoumi, who is divorced from Shaheen and was not living with them. The U.S. Department of Justice also launched a federal hate crimes investigation.

President Donald Trump's 2026 budget plan would slash non-defense domestic spending by $163 billion while increasing expenditures on national security, according to statements released by the White House on Friday.

The budget showed a desire to crack down on diversity programs and initiatives to address climate change. But the administration has yet to release detailed tables on what it wants income taxes, tariffs or the budget deficit to be a sign of the political and financial challenge confronting Trump when he's promising to cut taxes and repay the federal debt without doing major damage to economic growth.

Budgets do not become law, but serve as a touchstone for the upcoming fiscal year debates. Often considered a statement of values, this first budget since Trump's return to the White House carries the added weight of defining the Republican president's second-term pursuits, alongside his party in Congress.

It also arrives as Trump has unilaterally imposed what could hundreds of billions of dollars in tax increases in the form of tariffs, setting off a trade war that has consumers, CEOs and foreign leaders worried about a possible economic downturn.

The White House's Office of Management and Budget, headed by Russell Vought, a chief architect of Project 2025, provided contours of a so-called skinny version of topline numbers, with more details to come.

Details soon, Vought said during a Cabinet meeting this week at the White House.

The nation's estimated $7 trillion-plus federal budget has been growing steadily, with annual deficits fast approaching $2 trillion and the annual interest payments on the debt almost $1 trillion. That's thanks mostly to the spike in emergency COVID-19 pandemic spending, changes in the tax code and climbing costs of Medicare, Medicaid and other programs, largely to cover the nation's health needs as people age. The nation's debt load, at $36 trillion, is ballooning.

This year's presidential budget request is expected to reflect cuts already made by Trump's actions and adviser Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, including the slashing of the government workforce. It also could point to potential new revenue streams, possibly from Trump's tariffs program.

RELATED STORY | White House orders halt on federal funding for NPR and PBS

Democrats are prepared to assail Trump's budget as further evidence that the Republican administration is intent on gutting government programs that Americans depend on.

Congress is already deep into the slog of drafting of Trump's big bill of tax breaks, spending cuts and bolstered funds for the administration's mass deportation effort a package that, unlike the budget plan, would carry the force of law.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, who spoke with Trump multiple times this week, is racing to have the president's big, beautiful bill approved by the House by Memorial Day and sent on to the Senate.

We had a very productive and encouraging meeting at the White House this morning, and the remaining pieces of The One, Big Beautiful Bill! are coming together very well," Johnson, R-La., said in a statement after Thursday's meeting with Trump and various committee chairmen.

But deep differences remain among the Republicans, who are trying to pass that big bill over the objections of Democrats.

"We are awaiting some final calculations on a few of the tax components, and we expect to be able to complete that work on a very aggressive schedule, Johnson said.

Meantime, Cabinet officials are expected to start trekking to Capitol Hill to testify about their various requests in the president's budget.

It's Congress, under its constitutional powers, that decides the spending plans, approves the bills that authorize federal programs and funds them through the appropriations process. Often, that system breaks down, forcing lawmakers to pass stopgap spending bills to keep the government funded and avoid federal shutdowns.

Vought is also expected on Capitol Hill in the weeks ahead as the Trump administration presses its case to Congress for funds.

A man who fell from the 21-foot-high Clemente Wall in right field at PNC Park during Wednesday nights game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs remained in critical condition.

Pittsburgh Public Safety, which includes Pittsburgh Police and EMS, posted on X Thursday that the incident is being treated as accidental in nature.

The man who fell was identified Thursday as Kavan Markwood, according to information supplied by the Southern Alleghany School District. District Workforce Development Coordinator Laura Thomson said in a statement that the district is keeping the former student and standout athlete in its thoughts and prayers. She identified Markwood was a 2022 graduate who made a lasting impact on the district community as an athlete and a man of character, and said he was MVP of the football team during his senior year.

Thomson's statement said Markwood is best known for his resilience, strength and kindness. He is a friend to all someone who lifts others up and faces challenges with courage and grace.

Markwood fell onto the warning track in right field just as Pirates star Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run double in the seventh inning to put Pittsburgh ahead 4-3. Players began waving frantically for medical personnel and pointing to the man.

RELATED STORY | Fan remains in critical condition after falling from stands at Pittsburgh Pirates game

Markwood was tended to for approximately five minutes by members of both the Pirates and Cubs training staffs as well as PNC personnel, before being removed from the field on a cart. He was taken to the trauma center at Allegheny General Hospital, where he remained on Thursday.

Pittsburgh owner Bob Nutting said the club was deeply saddened and truly heartbroken over what he called a terrible accident.

In times like these, we must come together, support one another, and keep him and his loved ones in our prayers, Nutting said in a statement. We also want to thank and appreciate the efforts of the first responders who rushed to his attention and provided him with compassionate care."

The railing that runs along the Clemente Wall in right field is three feet (36 inches) in height, which exceeds the building code requirements of 26 inches, according to Pirates vice president of communications Brian Warecki.

Fans were sitting in the front row above the Clemente Wall on Thursday ahead of the series finale between the two teams.

McCutchen, a five-time All-Star and franchise icon, said Thursday that the team was devastated," adding that they prayed together after the game. Asked to describe his viewpoint of the sequence, McCutchen declined, saying he is trying not to think about it and is more focused on the mans health.

RELATED STORY | Is your NFL team playing in the most dangerous stadium in the US?

Were just hoping for the best for him, he said. I hope he pulls through because hes the reason why we are here. Hes the reason why we play the game. People that show their support so we can do something we love, partly because of him and because of fans. So, I just pray that hes all right.

Pirates manager Derek Shelton and Cubs manager Craig Counsell both alerted the umpire crew of the situation immediately after the play.

Even though its 350 feet away or whatever it is, I mean the fact of how it went down and then laying motionless while the play is going on, I mean Craig saw it, I saw it. We both got out there, Shelton said. I think the umpires saw it because of the way it kicked. Its extremely unfortunate. Thats an understatement.

Players from both teams could be seen praying and McCutchen held a cross that hung from his neck while Markwood was taken off the field.

The game was paused for several minutes while he received medical attention but there was no official stoppage in play.

Police said any medical update on the fan will be provided by medical personnel in conjunction with the man's family.

Fans have died from steep falls at baseball stadiums in the past.

In 2015, Atlanta Braves season ticket holder Gregory K. Murrey flipped over guard rails from the upper deck at Turner Field. That was four years after Shannon Stone, a firefighter attending a game with his 6-year-old son, fell about 20 feet after reaching out for a foul ball tossed into the stands at the Texas Rangers former stadium.

Both incidents prompted scrutiny over the height of guard rails at stadiums. The Rangers raised theirs, while the Braves settled a lawsuit with Murreys family.

A spectator at a 2022 NFL game at Pittsburghs Acrisure Stadium died following a fall on an escalator.

Jill Sobule, the award-winning singer-songwriter whose witty and poignant writing first attracted widespread attention with the song "I Kissed a Girl," died in a house fire Thursday. She was 66.

Her death was confirmed by her publicist, David Elkin, in an email Thursday afternoon. It was not immediately clear how the fire in Woodbury, Minnesota, started.

"Jill Sobule was a force of nature and human rights advocate whose music is woven into our culture," John Porter, her manager, said in a statement. "I was having so much fun working with her. I lost a client & a friend today. I hope her music, memory, & legacy continue to live on and inspire others."

During her more than three decades of recording, Sobule released 12 albums that addressed such complex topics as the death penalty, anorexia nervosa, reproduction and LGBTQ+ issues.

Her first album, "Things Here Are Different," was released in 1990. Five years later, she received widespread attention for her hit singles, "Supermodel," from the movie "Clueless," and "I Kissed A Girl," which, despite being banned on several southern radio stations, made it into the Billboard Top 20.

She also starred in an autobiographical off-Broadway musical that initially premiered at the Wild Project in New York in 2022 and includes songs and stories about her life.

Sobule was known for taking control of her career by fundraising so she could make her next album. In 2008, after two major record companies dumped her and two indie labels went bankrupt beneath her, she raised tens of thousands of dollars from fans so she could make a new album.

"The old kind of paradigm, where you've always waited for other people to do things, you'd have your manager and your agent," she said at the time. "You'd wait for the big record company to give you money to do things and they tell you what to do. This is so great. I want to do everything like this."

Sobule was scheduled to perform in Denver on Friday night. Instead, there will be an informal gathering hosted by her friend Ron Bostwick from 105.5 The Colorado Sound at the performance space where attendees can "share a story or song," according to her publicist.

A formal memorial to celebrate her life and legacy will be held later this summer.

"No one made me laugh more. Her spirit and energy shall be greatly missed within the music community and beyond," Craig Grossman, her booking agent, said in a statement.

Born in Denver, Colorado, on Jan. 16, 1959, she has described herself as a shy child who preferred observing over participating.

Sobule was known for playing dozens of shows a year and has described her live performances as vulnerable experiences. She said she often doesn't have a set list and wings it.

She's performed with such icons as Neil Young, Billy Bragg and Cyndi Lauper, and also inducted Neil Diamond into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame, according to her website. She also sang a song as herself on an episode of "The Simpsons" in 2019.

"In a good way, I feel like I'm still a rookie," she told The Associated Press in 2023 in an interview about her musical. "There's so much more to do and I haven't done my best yet."

She is survived by her brother and sister-in-law, James and Mary Ellen Sobule, along with her nephews and cousins.

Prince Harry lost his appeal Friday, challenging the U.K. governments decision to strip him of his publicly funded security after he stepped away from royal family duties and moved to the U.S.

The Court of Appeal ruled unanimously that a committee hadn't treated Harry unfairly when it decided to review his protection on a case-by-case basis each time he visits the U.K.

The ruling is likely to leave the Duke of Sussex with a large bill to pay the U.K. governments legal fees in addition to his own lawyers costs.

It wasnt immediately clear if he would try to appeal to the U.K. Supreme Court.

RELATED STORY | US government court filings keep Prince Harry's immigration forms secret

The ruling upheld a High Court judges decision last year that found that a bespoke plan for the Duke of Sussexs security wasnt unlawful, irrational or unjustified.

Harry made a rare appearance for the two-day hearing last month as his lawyer argued that his life was in danger and the Royal and VIP Executive Committee had singled him out for inferior treatment.

There is a person sitting behind me who is being told he is getting a special bespoke process when he knows and has experienced a process that is manifestly inferior in every respect, attorney Shaheed Fatima said. His presence here and throughout this appeal is a potent illustration -- were one needed -- of how much this appeal means to him and his family.

A lawyer for the government said that Harrys argument repeated his misconceived approach that failed in the lower court.

It involves a continued failure to see the wood for the trees, advancing propositions available only by reading small parts of the evidence, and now the judgment, out of context and ignoring the totality of the picture, attorney James Eadie said.

RELATED STORY | Tabloids apologize to Prince Harry, admit intruding on the late Princess Diana

Harry and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, had stepped back from their official roles in the family in 2020 because they didnt feel they were being protected by the institution, his lawyer said.

After doing so, a Home Office committee ruled there was no basis for publicly funded security support for the duke and duchess within Great Britain.

Harry claimed that he and his family are endangered when visiting his homeland because of hostility aimed at him and Meghan on social media and through relentless hounding by news media.

Since he lost his government-sponsored protection, Harry faced at least two serious security threats, his lawyer said in court papers. Al-Qaida had published a document that said Harrys assassination would please Muslims, and he and his wife were involved in a dangerous pursuit by paparazzi in New York.

Harry, 40, the younger son of King Charles III, has bucked royal family convention by taking the government and tabloid press to court, where he has a mixed record.

He lost a related court case in which he sought permission to privately pay for a police detail when in the U.K. A judge denied that offer after a government lawyer argued officers shouldnt be used as private bodyguards for the wealthy.

But he won a significant victory at trial in 2023 against the publisher of the Daily Mirror when a judge found that phone hacking at the tabloid was widespread and habitual. He claimed a monumental victory in January when Rupert Murdochs U.K. tabloids made an unprecedented apology for intruding in his life for years, and agreed to pay substantial damages to settle his privacy invasion lawsuit.

He has a similar case pending against the publisher of the Daily Mail.

Spanish power distributor Red Elctrica said that restoring power to large parts of the country after a massive and unprecedented outage Monday that also hit Portugal could take 6-10 hours.

The company declined to speculate on the causes of the blackout. The Portuguese National Cybersecurity Center issued a statement saying there was no sign the outage was due to a cyberattack.

Eduardo Prieto, head of operations at Red Electrica, told journalists it was unprecedented, calling the event exceptional and extraordinary.

The outage hit across Spain and Portugal, including their capitals, knocking out subway networks, phone lines, traffic lights and ATM machines.

Authorities said the cause was not immediately known, though one Portuguese official said the problem appeared to be with the electricity distribution network in Spain.

The Portuguese Cabinet convened an emergency meeting at the prime ministers residence, and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Snchez visited power distributor Red Elctrica to follow efforts at restoring grid operations.

The countries have a combined population of over 50 million people. It was not immediately clear how many were affected. It is rare to have such a widespread outage across the Iberian Peninsula.

A couple of hours later, Spains electricity network operator said it was recovering power in the north and south of the peninsula, which would help to progressively restore the electricity supply nationwide.

Portugals government said the outage appeared to stem from problems outside the country, an official told national news agency Lusa.

It looks like it was a problem with the distribution network, apparently in Spain. Its still being ascertained, Cabinet Minister Leito Amaro was quoted as saying.

Portuguese distributor E-Redes said the outage was due to a problem with the European electricity system, according to Portuguese newspaper Expresso. The company said it was compelled to cut power in specific areas to stabilize the network, according to Expresso.

Spains public broadcaster RTVE said a major power outage hit several regions of the country just after midday local time, leaving its newsroom, Spains parliament in Madrid and subway stations across the country in the dark.

A graph on Spains electricity network website showing demand across the country indicated a steep drop around 12:15 p.m. from 27,500MW to near 15,000MW.

Video aired on Spanish television showed people evacuating metro stations in Madrid and empty stations with trains stopped in Barcelona.

Play at the Madrid Open tennis tournament was suspended. Three matches were underway when power went down.

Spains traffic department asked citizens to avoid using their cars as much as possible due to the power outage, which has affected traffic lights and electrical road signage.

In Terrassa, an industrial town 50 kilometers (31 miles) from Barcelona, stores selling generators were out of stock after people lined up to buy them.

Portugals E-Redes said parts of France also were affected.

In a country of some 10.6 million people, the outage hit the capital, Lisbon, and surrounding areas, as well as northern and southern parts. Portuguese police placed more officers on duty to direct traffic and cope with increased requests for help, including from people trapped in elevators.

Portuguese hospitals and other emergency services switched to generators. Gas stations stopped working and trains stopped running.

Portugals National Authority for Emergencies and Civil Protection said backup power systems were operating.

Several Lisbon subway cars were evacuated, reports said. Also in Portugal, courts stopped work and ATMs and electronic payment systems were affected. Traffic lights in Lisbon stopped working.

It was not possible to make calls on mobile phone networks, though some apps were working.

The Justice Department is cracking down on leaks of information to the news media, with Attorney General Pam Bondi saying prosecutors will once again have authority to use subpoenas, court orders and search warrants to hunt for government officials who make unauthorized disclosures to journalists.

New regulations announced by Bondi in a memo to the staff obtained by The Associated Press on Friday rescind a Biden administration policy that protected journalists from having their phone records secretly seized during leak investigations a practice long decried by news organizations and press freedom groups.

The new regulations assert that news organizations must respond to subpoenas when authorized at the appropriate level of the Department of Justice and also allow for prosecutors to use court orders and search warrants to compel production of information and testimony by and relating to the news media.

The memo says members of the press are presumptively entitled to advance notice of such investigative activities, and subpoenas are to be narrowly drawn. Warrants must also include "protocols designed to limit the scope of intrusion into potentially protected materials or newsgathering activities, the memo states.

The Justice Department will not tolerate unauthorized disclosures that undermine President Trump's policies, victimize government agencies, and cause harm to the American people, Bondi wrote.

Under the new policy, before deciding whether to use intrusive tactics against the news media, the attorney general is to evaluate whether there's a reasonable basis to believe that a crime has been committed and that the information the government is seeking is needed for prosecution. Also, deciding whether prosecutors have first made reasonable attempts to obtain the information from alternative sources and whether the government has first pursued negotiations with the affected member of the news media.

The regulations come as the Trump administration has complained about a series of news stories that have pulled back the curtain on internal decision-making, intelligence assessments and the activities of prominent officials such as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, said this week that she was making a trio of criminal referrals to the Justice Department over intelligence community leaks to the media.

The policy shift also comes amid continued scrutiny of the highest levels of the Trump administration over their own lapses in safeguarding sensitive information. National security adviser Michael Waltz was revealed last month to have inadvertently added a journalist to a group text using the Signal encrypted messaging service, where top officials were discussing plans to attack the Houthis. Hegseth has faced his own drumbeat of revelations over his use of Signal, including a chat that included his wife and brother, among others.

In a statement, Bruce Brown, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said in a statement that strong protections for journalists serve the American public by safeguarding the free flow of information.

Some of the most consequential reporting in U.S. history from Watergate to warrantless wiretapping after 9/11 was and continues to be made possible because reporters have been able to protect the identities of confidential sources and uncover and report stories that matter to people across the political spectrum, he said.

The policy that Bondi is rescinding was created in by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland in the wake of revelations that the Justice Department officials alerted reporters at three news organizations The Washington Post, CNN and The New York Times that their phone records had been obtained in the final year of the Trump administration.

The new regulations from Garland marked a startling reversal of a practice of phone records' seizures that had persisted across multiple presidential administrations. The Obama Justice Department, under then-Attorney General Eric Holder, alerted The Associated Press in 2013 that it had secretly obtained two months of phone records of reporters and editors in what the news cooperatives top executive called a massive and unprecedented intrusion into newsgathering activities.

After blowback, Holder announced a revised set of guidelines for leak investigations, including requiring the authorization of the highest levels of the department before subpoenas for news media records could be issued.

But the department preserved its prerogative to seize journalists records, and the recent disclosures to the news media organizations show that the practice continued in the Trump Justice Department as part of multiple investigations.

Yemens Houthi rebels on Monday alleged a U.S. airstrike hit a prison holding African migrants, killing at least 68 people and wounding 47 others. The U.S. military did not acknowledge carrying out the strike.

The strike in Yemen's Saada governorate, a stronghold for the Houthis, is the latest incident in the country's decadelong war to see African migrants from Ethiopia and other nations killed while crossing the nation for a chance to work in neighboring Saudi Arabia.

It also likely will renew questions from activists about the American campaign, known as Operation Rough Rider, which has been targeting the rebels as the Trump administration negotiates with their main benefactor, Iran, over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program.

The U.S. military's Central Command, in a statement early Monday before news of the alleged strike broke, sought to defend its policy of offering no specific details of its extensive airstrike campaign. The strikes have drawn controversy in America over Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's use of the unclassified Signal messaging app to post sensitive details about the attacks.

RELATED STORY | Judge orders Trump admin not to delete Signal communications about attack plans

To preserve operational security, we have intentionally limited disclosing details of our ongoing or future operations, Central Command said. We are very deliberate in our operational approach, but will not reveal specifics about what weve done or what we will do.

It did not immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press about the alleged strike in Saada.

Graphic footage shows aftermath of explosion

Graphic footage aired by the Houthis' al-Masirah satellite news channel showed what appeared to be dead bodies and others wounded at the site. The Houthi-run Interior Ministry said some 115 migrants had been detained at the site.

The rebels' Civil Defense organization said at least 68 people had been killed and 47 others wounded in the attack.

Footage from the site analyzed by the AP suggested some kind of explosion took place there, with its cement walls seemingly peppered by debris fragments and the wounds suffered by those there.

A voice, soft in the footage, can be heard repeating the start of a prayer in Arabic: In the name of God. An occasional gunshot rang out as medics sought to help those wounded.

The International Organization for Migration, a United Nations agency, said it was deeply saddened by the deaths at the prison.

It is imperative that all efforts are made to avoid harm to civilians and to protect those most vulnerable in these challenging circumstances, it said.

African migrants caught in middle of Yemen's war

Ethiopians and other African migrants for years have landed in Yemen, braving the war-torn nation to try and reach Saudi Arabia for work. The Houthi rebels allegedly make tens of thousands of dollars a week smuggling migrants over the border.

Migrants from Ethiopia have found themselves detained, abused and even killed in Saudi Arabia and Yemen during the war. An Oct. 3, 2022, letter to the kingdom from the U.N. said its investigators received concerning allegations of cross-border artillery shelling and small arms fire allegedly by Saudi security forces, causing the deaths of up to 430 and injuring 650 migrants.

Saudi Arabia has denied killing migrants.

Monday's alleged strike recalled a similar strike by a Saudi-led coalition battling the Houthis back in 2022 on the same compound, which caused a collapse killing 66 detainees and wounding 113 others, a United Nations report later said. The Houthis shot dead 16 detainees who fled after the strike and wounded another 50, the U.N. said. The Saudi-led coalition sought to justify the strike by saying the Houthis built and launched drones there, but the U.N. said it was known to be a detention facility.

The coalition should have avoided any attack on that facility, the U.N. report added.

That 2022 attack was one of the deadliest single attacks in the yearslong war between the coalition and the Houthi rebels and came after the Houthis killed three people in a strike near Abu Dhabi's international airport.

US military says over 800 strikes conducted in campaign so far

Meanwhile, U.S. airstrikes overnight targeting Yemen's capital killed at least eight people, the Houthis said. The American military acknowledged carrying out over 800 individual strikes in their monthlong campaign.

The overnight statement from Central Command also said Operation Rough Rider had killed hundreds of Houthi fighters and numerous Houthi leaders, including those associated with its missile and drone program. It did not identify any of those officials.

"We will continue to ratchet up the pressure until the objective is met, which remains the restoration of freedom of navigation and American deterrence in the region," it added.

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The U.S. is targeting the Houthis because of the groups attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, a crucial global trade route, and on Israel. The Houthis are also the last militant group in Irans self-described Axis of Resistance that is capable of regularly attacking Israel.

US discusses deadly port strike

The U.S. is conducting strikes on Yemen from its two aircraft carriers in the region the USS Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea and the USS Carl Vinson in the Arabian Sea.

On April 18, an American strike on the Ras Isa fuel port killed at least 74 people and wounded 171 others in the deadliest-known attack of the American campaign. Central Command on Monday offered an explanation for why it hit the port.

U.S. strikes destroyed the ability of Ras Isa Port to accept fuel, which will begin to impact Houthi ability to not only conduct operations, but also to generate millions of dollars in revenue for their terror activities, it said.

Meanwhile, the Houthis have increasingly sought to control the flow of information from the territory they hold to the outside world. It issued a notice Sunday that all those holding Starlink satellite internet receivers should quickly hand over the devices to authorities.

A field campaign will be implemented in coordination with the security authorities to arrest anyone who sells, trades, uses, operates, installs or possesses these prohibited terminals, the Houthis warned.

Starlink terminals have been crucial for Ukraine in fighting Russias full-scale invasion and receivers also have been smuggled into Iran amid unrest there.

Israeli jets struck Beiruts southern suburbs Sunday after issuing a warning about an hour earlier, marking the third Israeli strike on the area since a ceasefire took effect in late November.

In a statement following the strike, the Israeli military said it targeted a precision-guided missile storage facility for the militant Hezbollah group. It added that storing such equipment is a violation of the agreement reached to end the Israel-Hezbollah war.

A huge plume of smoke billowed over the area after the strike, which hit what looked like a metal tent situated between two buildings with three bombs, according to an Associated Press photographer on the ground and footage circulating on social media. The photographer saw two burned and destroyed trucks inside the hangar. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

In the warning, the Israeli military said it was targeting Hezbollah facilities in the Hadath area and urged residents to move at least 300 meters from the site before the strike. Two warning strikes followed.

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Fighter jets were heard over parts of the Lebanese capital before the strike near the Al-Jamous neighborhood, where gunfire was shot into the air to warn residents and urge them to evacuate, as families fled in panic.

During the last Israel-Hezbollah war, Israeli drones and fighter jets regularly pounded the southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has wide influence and support. Israel views the area, where it has assassinated several of Hezbollahs top leaders, including chief Hassan Nasrallah, as a militant stronghold and accuses the group of storing weapons there.

President Joseph Aoun condemned the Israeli strike on Beiruts southern suburbs, calling on the United States and France, as guarantors of the ceasefire, to assume their responsibilities and pressure Israel to halt its attacks. He warned that Israels continued actions undermine stability and risk exposing the region to serious security threats.

U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis posted on X that the latest Israeli strike generated panic and fear of renewed violence among those desperate for a return to normalcy. She urged all sides to halt any actions that could further undermine the ceasefire understanding and the implementation of the U.N. resolution that ended the war.

Sundays strike follows two earlier attacks on the capitals southern suburbs, the first taking place on March 28, when Israel also issued a warning, and the second on April 1, when an unannounced strike killed four people, including a Hezbollah official.

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The leader of Lebanons Hezbollah group, Sheikh Naim Kassem, has recently warned that if Israels attacks on Lebanon continued and if Lebanons government doesn't act to stop them, the group would eventually resort to other alternatives.

Kassem also said that Hezbollahs fighters won't disarm as long as Israeli troops remain in southern Lebanon and the Israeli air force regularly violates Lebanese airspace.

Under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire that ended the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war, Israeli forces were supposed to withdraw from all Lebanese territory by late January, while Hezbollah had to end its armed presence south of the Litani River along the border with Israel.

Earlier on Sunday, a drone strike killed a man in the southern Lebanese village of Halta, according to the Health Ministry. In a post on X that included footage of the strike, the Israeli military said that it had targeted a Hezbollah member, where he was working to rebuild Hezbollahs terrorist capabilities in the area.

Last week, the Lebanese government said 190 people have been killed and 485 wounded in Lebanon by Israeli strikes since the U.S.-brokered ceasefire went into effect. Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah officials and infrastructure.

The Lebanese military has gradually deployed in the countrys southern region, and Beirut has urged the international community to pressure Israel to stop attacks and withdraw its forces still present on five hilltops in Lebanese territory.

A man drove a vehicle into a crowd at a Filipino heritage festival in the Canadian city of Vancouver, killing at least 11 people and injuring more than 20 others, police said Sunday.

The vehicle entered the street at 8:14 p.m. on Saturday and struck people attending the Lapu Lapu Day festival, the Vancouver Police Department said in a social media post.

A 30-year-old Vancouver man was arrested at the scene and the departments Major Crime Section is overseeing the investigation, police said.

At this time, we are confident that this incident was not an act of terrorism, the police department posted early Sunday.

Interim Vancouver Police Chief Steve Rai told a news conference that the man was arrested after initially being apprehended by bystanders.

We have had substantive contact with him over mental health issues, Rai told a news conference.

Video circulating on social media shows a young man in a black hoodie with his back against a chain-link fence, alongside a security guard and surrounded by bystanders screaming and swearing at him.

Im sorry, the man says, holding his hand to his head.

Rai declined to comment on the video, but said the person in custody was a lone male who was known to police in certain circumstances.

The festival was being held in a South Vancouver neighborhood. Video posted on social media showed victims and debris strewn across a long stretch of road, with at least seven people lying immobile on the ground. A black SUV with a crumpled front section could be seen in still photos from the scene.

Carayn Nulada said that she pulled her granddaughter and grandson off the street and used her body to shield them from the SUV. She said that her daughter suffered a narrow escape.

The car hit her arm and she fell down, but she got up, looking for us, because she is scared, said Nulada, who described children screaming, and pale-faced victims lying on the ground or wedged under vehicles.

I saw people running and my daughter was shaking.

Nulada was in Vancouver General Hospitals emergency room early Sunday morning, trying to find news about her brother, who was run down in the attack and suffered multiple broken bones.

Doctors identified him by presenting the family with his wedding ring in a pill bottle and said that he was stable, but would be facing surgery.

James Cruzat, a Vancouver business owner, was at the event and heard a car rev its engine and then a loud noise, like a loud bang that he initially thought might be a gunshot.

We saw people on the road crying, others were like running, shouting, or even screaming, asking for help. So we tried to go there just to check what was really actually happening until we found some bodies on the ground. Others were lifeless, others like, you know, injured, Cruzat said.

Nic Magtajas described an SUV roaring through the crowd at high speed.

I saw a bunch of people go over, go high up from the impact of hitting the car, said Magtajas, 19.

Vancouver Mayor Kenneth Sim said in a social media post that the city would provide more information when possible.

I am shocked and deeply saddened by the horrific incident at todays Lapu Lapu Day event, Sim said. Our thoughts are with all those affected and with Vancouvers Filipino community during this incredibly difficult time."

Vancouver had more than 38,600 residents of Filipino heritage in 2021, representing 5.9% of the citys total population, according to Statistics Canada, the agency that conducts the national census.

Lapu Lapu Day celebrates Datu Lapu-Lapu, an Indigenous chieftain who stood up to Spanish explorers who came to the Philippines in the 16th century. The organizers of the Vancouver event said that he represents the soul of native resistance, a powerful force that helped shape the Filipino identity in the face of colonization.

Prime Minister Mark Carney and other political leaders on the final day of the election campaign posted messages expressing shock at the violence, condolences for victims and support for the community celebrating its heritage.

I offer my deepest condolences to the loved ones of those killed and injured, to the Filipino Canadian community, and to everyone in Vancouver. We are all mourning with you, Carney wrote.

Carney delayed his campaign events.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. issued a statement expressing sympathy with the victims and their families.

The Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver is working with Canadian authorities to ensure that the incident will be thoroughly investigated, and that the victims and their families are supported and consoled, he said.

The country's Department of Foreign Affairs said that we remember the 1 million strong Filipino community in Canada and pray for their continued strength and resilience.

In 2018, a man used a van to kill 10 pedestrians in Toronto. Eight women and two men died. Alek Minassian, who was found guilty, told police that he belonged to an online community of sexually frustrated men, some of whom have plotted attacks on people who have sex.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have in recent days deported a Cuban-born mother of a 1-year-old girl, separating them indefinitely, and in another case a 2-year-old girl who is a U.S. citizen along with her Honduran-born mother, their lawyers say.

Both cases raise questions about who is being deported, and why, and come amid a battle in federal courts over whether President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown has gone too far and too quickly at the expense of fundamental rights.

Lawyers in the two cases described how their clients were arrested at routine check-ins at ICE offices, given virtually no opportunity to speak with lawyers or their family members and then deported within two or three days.

A federal judge in Louisiana raised questions about the deportation of the 2-year-old girl, saying the government had not proven that it had done so properly.

The American Civil Liberties Union, National Immigration Project and several other allied groups said in a statement that that case and another in New Orleans that involves deporting children who are U.S. citizens are a shocking although increasingly common abuse of power.

Lawyers for the girl's father insisted he wanted the girl to remain with him in the U.S., while ICE contended the mother had wanted the girl to be deported with her to Honduras, claims that weren't fully vetted by U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty in Louisiana.

Doughty in a Friday order scheduled a hearing on May 16 in the interest of dispelling our strong suspicion that the Government just deported a U.S. citizen with no meaningful process," he wrote.

The Honduran-born mother was arrested Tuesday along with the 2-year-old girl and her 11-year-old Honduran-born sister during a check-in appointment at an ICE office in New Orleans. Both the mother and 11-year-old girl apparently had outstanding deportation orders. The family lived in Baton Rouge.

Doughty called government lawyers on Friday to speak to the woman while she was in the air on a deportation plane, only to be called back less than an hour later saying a conversation was impossible because she had just been released in Honduras.

In a Thursday court filing, lawyers for the father said ICE indicated that it was holding the 2-year-old girl in a bid to induce the father to turn himself in. His lawyers did not describe his immigration status, but said he has legally delegated the custody of his daughters to his sister-in-law, a U.S. citizen who also lives in Baton Rouge.

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In Florida, meanwhile, a Cuban-born woman who is the mother of a 1-year-old girl and the wife of a U.S. citizen was detained at a scheduled check-in appointment at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Tampa, her lawyer said Saturday.

Heidy Snchez was held without any communication and flown to Cuba two days later. She is still breastfeeding her daughter, who suffers from seizures, her lawyer, Claudia Caizares, said.

Caizares said she tried to file paperwork with ICE to contest the deportation Thursday morning but ICE refused to accept it, saying Snchez was already gone, although Caizares said she doesn't think that was true.

Caizares said she told ICE that she was planning to reopen Snchez' case to help her remain in the U.S. legally, but ICE told her that Snchez can pursue the case while she's in Cuba.

I think theyre following orders that they need to remove a certain amount of people by day and they dont care, honestly, Caizares said.

Snchez is not a criminal and has a strong case on humanitarian grounds for allowing her to stay in the U.S., Caizares said, but ICE isn't taking that into consideration when it has to meet what the lawyer said were deportation benchmarks.

Snchez had an outstanding deportation order stemming from a missed hearing in 2019, for which she was detained for nine months, Caizares said. Cuba apparently refused to accept Sanchez back at the time, so Sanchez was released in 2020 and ordered to maintain a regular schedule of check-ins with ICE, Caizares said.

Iran and the United States held in-depth negotiations in Oman over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program on Saturday, ending the discussions with a promise for more talks and perhaps another high-level meeting next weekend.

The talks ran for several hours in Muscat, the mountain-wrapped capital of this sultanate on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula.

A person close to Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, acknowledged that the meeting had started and later ended. The source spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door talks. Iranian state television also reported their conclusion.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told state television after the talks that the parties exchanged written points throughout the day in discussions that he described as very serious and work-focused.

This time, the negotiations were much more serious than in the past, and we gradually entered into deeper and more detailed discussions," he said. We have moved somewhat away from broader, general discussions though it is not the case that all disagreements have been resolved. Differences still exist both on major issues and on the details.

A senior U.S. administration official said that the talks were positive and productive.

This latest round of direct and indirect discussions lasted over four hours, the official said on condition of anonymity to discuss the talks. There is still much to do, but further progress was made on getting to a deal. We agreed to meet again soon, in Europe, and we thank our Omani partners for facilitating these talks.

Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, who has mediated the two previous round of talks in Muscat and Rome, offered a positive note at the end of Saturday's negotiations.

Iran and the U.S. identified a shared aspiration to reach agreement based on mutual respect and enduring commitments, al-Busaidi posted on X. Core principles, objectives and technical concerns were all addressed. Talks will continue next week with a further high level meeting provisionally scheduled for May 3.

Araghchi arrived Friday in Oman on the eve of the talks and visited the Muscat International Book Fair, surrounded by television cameras and photojournalists. Witkoff was in Moscow on Friday to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and arrived on Saturday to Oman.

Meanwhile on Saturday, a major explosion rocked a port in southern Iran just after the talks began, killing four people and injuring more than 500 others. Authorities offered no immediate cause for the blast, which appeared to have been caused by a highly combustible material though officials ruled out its oil and gas industry. The private security firm also linked to a shipment of a chemical ingredient used to make missile propellant to the port as well.

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Nuclear talks come after decades of tensions

The talks seek to limit Irans nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of some of the crushing economic sanctions the U.S. has imposed on the Islamic Republic closing in on a half-century of enmity.

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Irans program if a deal isnt reached. Iranian officials increasingly warn that they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.

Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers did limit Tehran's program. However, Trump unilaterally withdrew from it in 2018, setting in motion years of attacks and tensions. The wider Middle East also remains on edge over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

Trump, traveling to Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis, again said that he hoped negotiations would lead to a new nuclear deal. However, he still held out the possibility of a military strike if they didn't.

The Iran situation is coming out very well, Trump said on Air Force One. We've had a lot of talks with them and I think we're going to have a deal. I'd much rather have a deal than the other alternative. That would be good for humanity."

He added: There are some people that want to make a different kind of a deal a much nastier deal and I dont want that to happen to Iran if we can avoid it.

Talks turn to experts

From the Iranian side, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-e Ravanchi headed up Tehrans expert team, said Mohammad Golzari, an Iranian government official. Takht-e Ravanchi took part in the 2015 nuclear talks.

The U.S. technical team was led by Michael Anton, the director of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubios policy planning staff. Anton doesn't have the nuclear policy experience of those who led Washingtons efforts in the 2015 talks.

Iran has insisted that keeping its enrichment is key. But Witkoff has muddied the issue by first suggesting in a television interview that Iran could enrich uranium at 3.67%, then later saying that all enrichment must stop. The demand that all enrichment stop also has been repeated by Rubio.

However, Iranians remain hopeful that the talks could be successful, as the Iranian rial has rebounded from historic lows during which it took more than 1 million rials to buy $1.

Its OK to negotiate, to make the nuclear program smaller or bigger, and reach a deal, Tehran resident Farzin Keivan said. Of course we shouldnt give them everything. After all, weve suffered a lot for this program.

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

A massive explosion and fire rocked a port Saturday in southern Iran purportedly linked to a shipment of a chemical ingredient used to make missile propellant, killing 25 people and injuring around 800 others.

Helicopters and aircraft dumped water from the air on the raging fire through the night into Sunday morning at the Shahid Rajaei port. The explosion occurred just as Iran and the United States met Saturday in Oman for the third round of negotiations over Tehrans rapidly advancing nuclear program.

No one in Iran outright suggested that the explosion came from an attack. However, even Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who led the talks, on Wednesday acknowledged that our security services are on high alert given past instances of attempted sabotage and assassination operations designed to provoke a legitimate response.

State media offered the casualty figures, saying authorities identified only 10 of the dead, including two women.

Meanwhile, state TV reported the fire was under control and will be fully extinguished later Sunday. It also said activities have resumed at the port, showing footage of containers of a commercial ship being unloaded.

There were few details on what sparked the blaze just outside of Bandar Abbas, causing other containers to reportedly explode.

Video shows explosion and fire that rocked a port Saturday in southern Iran

Private security firm Ambrey says the port received missile fuel chemical in March. It is part of a shipment of ammonium perchlorate from China by two vessels to Iran, first reported in January by the Financial Times. The chemical used to make solid propellant for rockets was going to be used to replenish Iran's missile stocks, which had been depleted by its direct attacks on Israel during the war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

"The fire was reportedly the result of improper handling of a shipment of solid fuel intended for use in Iranian ballistic missiles," Ambrey said.

In a first reaction Sunday, the spokesman of Irans defense ministry Gen. Reza Talaeinik, denied reports that missile fuel had been imported through the port.

No sort of imported and exporting consignment for fuel or military application was (or) is in the site of the port, he told state TV by phone. He called foreign reports on the missile fuel baseless.

Ship-tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press put one of the vessels believed to be carrying the chemical in the vicinity in March, as Ambrey said. Iran hasn't acknowledged taking the shipment.

It's unclear why Iran wouldn't have moved the chemicals from the port, particularly after the Beirut port blast in 2020. That explosion, caused by the ignition of hundreds of tons of highly explosive ammonium nitrate, killed more than 200 people and injured more than 6,000 others. However, Israel did target Iranian missile sites where Tehran uses industrial mixers to create solid fuel.

Social media footage of the explosion on Saturday at Shahid Rajaei saw reddish-hued smoke rising from the fire just before the detonation. That suggests a chemical compound being involved in the blast, like in the Beirut explosion.

Get back, get back! Tell the gas (truck) to go!" a man in one video shouted just before the blast. "Tell him to go, its going to blow up! Oh God, this is blowing up! Everybody evacuate! Get back! Get back!

On Saturday night, the state-run IRNA news agency said that the Customs Administration of Iran blamed a stockpile of hazardous goods and chemical materials stored in the port area" for the blast, without elaborating.

An aerial shot released by Iranian media after the blast showed fires burning at multiple locations in the port, with authorities later warning about air pollution from chemicals such as ammonia, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide in the air. Schools and offices in Bandar Abbas will be closed Sunday as well.

Port is a major destination for Iranian cargo

Shahid Rajaei has been a target before. A 2020 cyberattack attributed to Israel targeted the port. It came after Israel said that it thwarted a cyberattack targeting its water infrastructure, which it attributed to Iran. Israeli officials didn't respond to requests for comment regarding Saturday's explosion.

Social media videos showed black billowing smoke after the blast. Others showed glass blown out of buildings kilometers, or miles, away from the epicenter of the explosion. State media footage showed the injured crowding into at least one hospital, with ambulances arriving as medics rushed one person by on a stretcher.

Hasanzadeh, the provincial disaster management official, earlier told state television that the blast came from containers at Shahid Rajaei port in the city, without elaborating. State television also reported that there had been a building collapse caused by the explosion, though no further details were offered.

The Interior Ministry said that it launched an investigation into the blast. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also offered his condolences to those affected in the blast.

Shahid Rajaei port in Hormozgan province is about 650 miles southeast of Iran's capital, Tehran, on the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20% of all oil traded passes.

The woman who accused Britain's Prince Andrew and other influential men of sexually exploiting her as a teenager trafficked by financier Jeffrey Epstein has died. She was 41.

Virginia Giuffre died by suicide Friday at her farm in Western Australia, her publicist confirmed.

Deeply loving, wise and funny, she was a beacon to other survivors and victims, publicist Dini von Mueffling said in a statement. She adored her children and many animals. She was always more concerned with me than with herself. I will miss her beyond words. It was the privilege of a lifetime to represent her.

The American-born Giuffre, who lived in Australia for years, became an advocate for sex trafficking survivors after emerging as a central figure in Epstein's prolonged downfall.

The wealthy, well-connected New York money manager killed himself in August 2019 while awaiting trial on U.S. federal sex trafficking charges involving dozens of teenage girls and young women, some as young as 14. The charges came 14 years after police in Palm Beach, Florida, first began investigating allegations that he sexually abused underage girls who were hired to give him massages.

Giuffre came forward publicly after the initial investigation ended in an 18-month Florida jail term for Epstein, who made a secret deal to avoid federal prosecution by pleading guilty instead to relatively minor state-level charges of soliciting prostitution. He was released in 2009.

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In subsequent lawsuits, Giuffre said she was a teenage spa attendant at Mar-a-Lago President Donald Trump's Palm Beach club when she was approached in 2000 by Epstein's girlfriend and later employee, Ghislaine Maxwell.

Giuffre said Maxwell hired her as a masseuse for Epstein, but the couple effectively made her a sexual servant, pressuring her into gratifying not only Epstein but his friends and associates. Giuffre she was flown around the world for assignations with men including Prince Andrew while she was 17 and 18.

The men denied it and assailed Giuffre's credibility. She acknowledged changing some key details of her account, including the age at which she first met Epstein.

But many parts of her story were supported by documents, witness testimony and photos including one of her and Andrew, with his his arm around her bare midriff, in Maxwells London townhouse.

Giuffre said in one of her lawsuits that she had sex with the royal three times: in London during her 2001 trip, at Epsteins New York mansion when she was 17 and in the Virgin Islands when she was 18.

Ghislaine said, I want you to do for him what you do for Epstein, Giuffre told NBC News Dateline in September 2019.

Andrew categorically rejected Giuffres allegations and said he didn't recall having met her.

His denials blew up in his face during a November 2019 BBC interview. Viewers saw a prince who proffered curious rebuttals such as disputing Giuffre's recollection of sweaty dancing by saying he was medically incapable of perspiring and showed no empathy for the women who said Epstein abused them.

Within days of the interview, Andrew stepped down from his royal duties. He settled with Giuffre in 2022 for an undisclosed sum, agreeing to make a substantial donation to her survivors' organization. A statement filed in court said that the prince acknowledged Epstein was a sex trafficker and Giuffre an established victim of abuse.

She also filed, and in at least some cases settled, lawsuits against Epstein and others connected to him. In one case, she dropped her claims against a prominent U.S. attorney, saying she might have erred in identifying him as one of the men to whom Epstein supplied her.

Epstein's suicide put an end to his accusers' hopes of holding him criminally accountable.

Maxwell was convicted in 2021 on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. She said said she wasnt to blame for Epsteins abuse.

Prosecutors elected not to include Giuffre's allegations in the Maxwell case, but Giuffre later told the court that the British socialite had "opened the door to hell.

RELATED STORY | What to know about names released in Jeffrey Epstein court docs

Giuffre, born Virginia Roberts, told interviewers that her childhood was shattered when she was sexually abused as a grade-schooler by a man her family knew. She later ran away from home and endured more abuse, she said.

She said she met her now-husband in 2002 while taking massage training in Thailand at Epstein's behest. She married, moved to Australia and had a family.

Giuffre founded an advocacy charity, SOAR, in 2015.

Giuffre was hospitalized after a serious accident, her publicist said last month. She didnt answer questions about the date, location, nature or other specifics of the accident and about the accuracy of an Instagram post that appeared to come from Giuffre on Sunday. The post said she had been in a car that was hit by a school bus and her prognosis was dire.

The AP does not identify people who say they were victims of sexual assault unless they have come forward publicly.

Steelers first-round draft pick Derrick Harmon's mother, Tiffany Saine, died late Thursday night shortly after Pittsburgh selected the defensive lineman from Oregon with the 21st overall pick.

Harmon said after he was drafted that he planned to visit his mother, who he said was on life support at a hospital in the Detroit suburbs. Saine had endured several brain surgeries and a stroke in recent years. Harmon, 21, pointed to his mother as an inspiration for him to keep going as he made his way from Michigan State to Oregon.

Steelers President Art Rooney II extended the team's condolences to their newest star.

Though we are excited to select Derrick in the first round of the NFL Draft, our hearts are heavy as we mourn the death of his mother, Tiffany Saine, Rooney said in a statement. We will support Derrick and his family however we can as he navigates this period of grief. In times like this, we hope Derrick finds comfort in the love and support from the organization and Steelers fans around the world.

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The federal government is reversing the termination of legal status for international students after many filed court challenges around the U.S., a government lawyer said Friday.

Judges around the country had already issued temporary orders restoring the students' records in a federal database of international students maintained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. The records had been suddenly terminated in recent weeks, often without the students or their schools being notified.

A lawyer for the government read a statement in federal court in Oakland that said ICE was manually restoring the student status for people whose records were terminated in recent weeks. A similar statement was read by a government attorney in a separate case in Washington on Friday, said lawyer Brian Green, who represents the plaintiff in that case. Green provided The Associated Press with a copy of the statement that the government lawyer emailed to him.

RELATED STORY | More than 1,000 international students have had their visas or legal status revoked

It says: ICE is developing a policy that will provide a framework for SEVIS record terminations. Until such a policy is issued, the SEVIS records for plaintiff(s) in this case (and other similarly situated plaintiffs) will remain Active or shall be re-activated if not currently active and ICE will not modify the record solely based on the NCIC finding that resulted in the recent SEVIS record termination."

Green said that the government lawyer said it would apply to all students in the same situation, not just those who had filed lawsuits.

SEVIS is the Student and Exchange Visitor Information Systems database that tracks international students' compliance with their visa status. NCIC is the National Crime Information Center, which is maintained by the FBI. Many of the students whose records were terminated were told that their status was terminated as a result of a criminal records check or that their visa had been revoked.

International students and their schools were caught off guard by the terminations of the students' records. Many of the terminations were discovered when school officials were doing routine checks of the international student database or when they checked specifically after hearing about other terminations.