DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) 鈥� Iran fired on three ships in the Strait of Hormuz and seized two of them Wednesday, intensifying its assault on shipping in the key waterway. The attacks came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump while maintaining an American blockade of Iranian ports.

The standoff between the U.S. and Iran has effectively choked off nearly all exports 鈥� where 20% of the world鈥檚 traded oil passes in peacetime 鈥� with no end in sight. Iranian media said the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard was bringing the two ships to Iran, marking a further escalation, though the White House said the seizures didn’t violate ceasefire terms.

The conflict has already sent far beyond the region and raised the cost of food and . The price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, nosed over $100 per barrel, marking a 35% increase from prewar levels, but stock markets .

The European Union energy commissioner, Dan J酶rgensen, warned of lasting impact for consumers and businesses, likening it to other major energy crises over the last half-century. He said the disruption is costing Europe around 500 million euros ($600 million) each day.

Iran holds firm in apparent tit-for-tat with US

Iranian media said the MSC Francesca and the Epaminondas were being escorted to Iran. The U.S. had earlier seized two Iranian vessels as the ceasefire talks were due to take place in Pakistan.

Technomar, the management company behind the Liberian-registered Epaminondas, said it was 鈥渁pproached and fired upon by a manned gunboat鈥� off the coast of Oman. It said the ship’s bridge was damaged.

A second cargo ship came under fire hours later, with no report of damage, though it was then stopped in the water. No injuries to the crews of either vessel were reported. Panama condemned what it called the 鈥渋llegal seizure鈥� of the Panama-flagged MSC Francesca, and said it represented a serious attack on maritime security.

The Guard attacked a third ship, identified as the Euphoria, which had become 鈥渟tranded鈥� on the Iranian coast, Iranian media reported, without elaborating.

Still, Iran’s seizure of the ships didn’t violate truce terms because 鈥渢hese were not U.S. or Israeli ships, these were two international vessels,鈥� White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox 草莓传媒 Channel.

There have been more than 30 attacks on ships in the Mideast since the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28 with a surprise attack on Iran. Before then, the strait was open for all traffic.

Vortexa, an analytics firm focusing on global energy and freight markets, said it has recorded 34 movements of sanctioned and Iranian-linked tankers in and out of the Persian Gulf in the week after the U.S. imposed its blockade on April 13.

The firm identified 19 outbound and 15 inbound movements. Six of the outbound movements were 鈥渃onfirmed laden with Iranian crude, representing about 10.7 million barrels,鈥� it said in an email. It was not immediately clear whether all those barrels reached markets overseas.

It’s not clear when talks will restart

Iran鈥檚 ability to restrict 鈥� which leads from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean 鈥� has proved a major strategic advantage

While the ceasefire means American and Israeli airstrikes have stopped in Iran 鈥� and Tehran鈥檚 missiles no longer target Israel and the wider Middle East 鈥� the maritime standoff continues and could escalate.

Without any diplomatic agreement, the attacks will likely deter ships from even attempting to pass through the waterway, .

Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Iran鈥檚 parliament speaker who earlier this month, said a complete ceasefire 鈥渙nly makes sense鈥� if it is not violated by the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.

鈥淩eopening the Strait of Hormuz is impossible with such flagrant breach of the ceasefire,鈥� he wrote on X.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told state TV that Iran has not decided whether to take part in a new round of negotiations, and accused the U.S. of a 鈥渄isregard and lack of good faith鈥� in the negotiations.

Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, the head of the Iranian mission in Egypt, earlier told The Associated Press no delegation would go to Pakistan until the U.S. lifts its blockade.

The U.S. has turned back 31 vessels since its blockade began, U.S. Central Command said Thursday.

In the Iranian capital, Tehran, many grappled with the uncertainty.

鈥淲e should know where we stand. Is it going to be a ceasefire, peace, or the war is going to continue?鈥� said Mashallah Mohammad Sadegh, 59. 鈥淭he way things currently are, one doesn鈥檛 know what to do.鈥�

Casualties mount in Lebanon amid plans for new talks

In southern Lebanon, three separate Israeli strikes killed at least six people and wounded others, according to local authorities. Israel denied carrying out one of the strikes and did not immediately comment on the others.

The attacks came as Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors prepared for a new meeting in Washington on Thursday toward extending a fragile 10-day ceasefire that began last week and provided an opening for Iran and the United States to move toward .

An Israeli drone struck the village of Jabbour, killing one person and wounding two others, according to Lebanon’s state-run National 草莓传媒 Agency. Israel鈥檚 military denied it attacked the area.

Lebanon鈥檚 health ministry said two Israeli strikes on al-Tiri village killed three people, including a newspaper correspondent, and injured one other journalist.

Authorities said the body of Lebanese reporter Amal Khalil, who worked for the daily Al-Akhbar, was pulled from the rubble hours later. Lebanon鈥檚 health ministry said a team searching for her was unable to reach her while Israeli forces fired at an ambulance. Khalil had been covering Israel-Hezbollah hostilities since October 2023 and was reporting during the latest war, the newspaper said.

Israel鈥檚 military alleged people in al-Tiri violated the ceasefire and posed a risk to its troops safety. It denied it prevented rescue teams from reaching the area or that it targets journalists.

The Lebanese Health Ministry said a separate Israeli strike on the village of Yohmor killed two people and injured two others.

Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel from Lebanon days after the war’s outbreak, sparking retaliatory strikes and an Israeli ground invasion. that started Friday has been marred by several Israeli strikes and Hezbollah claimed its first attack Tuesday.

French President Emmanuel Macron said a French peacekeeper wounded in a weekend attack in Lebanon died of his wounds. Another French peacekeeper was killed in the attack Saturday when the force came under small-arms fire in southern Lebanon.

Macron blamed the attack on Hezbollah, which denied involvement.

Since the war started, at least 3,375 people have been killed in Iran, according to authorities. More than 2,290 people have been killed in Lebanon, 23 people have died in Israel and more than a dozen have died in Gulf Arab states. Fifteen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon and 13 U.S. service members have been killed.

___

This story has been updated to correct the spelling of the Epaminondas container ship.

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Associated Press writers Bassem Mroue in Beirut; Samy Magdy in Cairo; Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Pakistan; Lorne Cook in Brussels; Elena Becatoros in Athens, Greece; and Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed to this report.

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In his testimony to various committees in both the Senate and the House over multiple days this week and last, Kennedy was tasked with defending President Donald Trump鈥檚 , which would boost defense spending while cutting more than 12% of funding from Kennedy鈥檚 Department of Health and Human Services.

With lawmakers of both parties raising concerns about programs and research funding being reduced or eliminated, Kennedy acknowledged the cuts were 鈥減ainful鈥� but said they were necessary to address the federal government鈥檚 record .

When Democrats came out swinging, Kennedy became more defiant, even at times screaming his rebuttals 鈥� though some of them didn鈥檛 align with the facts. He accused multiple Democratic lawmakers of grandstanding, making things up and seeking sound bites over meaningful responses.

Here are takeaways from Kennedy鈥檚 gauntlet of budget hearings:

Kennedy deflects blame for Americans not vaccinating

One of the central fights shaping Kennedy鈥檚 interactions with Democratic lawmakers was over who bears responsibility for the decline in childhood vaccination rates and measles outbreaks that have ripped across the country over the past year, threatening the country鈥檚 . Kennedy鈥檚 refrain was consistent: It鈥檚 not my fault.

鈥淚t has nothing to do with me,鈥� Kennedy said Tuesday of the uptick in measles across the country over the past year. He noted there is a global , including in other countries like Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom.

Kennedy, who spent years as an anti-vaccine crusader before entering politics and in 2021 on when kids should get vaccines, disputed accusations that he is anti-vaccine, saying he is 鈥減ro-science.鈥�

Throughout the hearings, he sought to focus on HHS鈥檚 initiatives unrelated to vaccines 鈥� part of a broader administration pivot toward less controversial health topics like nutritious eating.

Kennedy argued that fewer Americans are vaccinating because they lost trust in government recommendations during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said he was working to restore that trust. In fact, surveys show trust in federal health agencies has during Kennedy鈥檚 tenure.

Rep. Kim Schrier, a Democrat from Washington, argued Kennedy鈥檚 vaccine views have caused a 鈥渟pillover effect鈥� that has led to mothers not giving their babies vitamin K injections common at birth to prevent brain bleeding.

鈥淚鈥檝e never said anything about vitamin K,鈥� Kennedy said.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 exactly the point,鈥� Schrier replied.

Kennedy did get credit, however, from Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who said his work was crucial in helping the state manage a troubling over the past year.

鈥淲e would not be on the right side of this outbreak without your leadership,鈥� Scott told Kennedy.

Kennedy forcefully denies there are Medicaid cuts 鈥� a claim experts call political spin

Nearly every time Democrats brought up the nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts over the next decade largely being created through new work requirements for enrollees, Kennedy lashed back to argue there are no cuts to Medicaid.

鈥淥nly in Washington is it considered a cut,鈥� Kennedy told New Mexico Sen. Ben Ray Luj谩n, a Democrat, on Wednesday.

Kennedy cited a Congressional Budget Office report showing that Medicaid outlays are estimated to increase by about 47% over the next decade. But experts say his analysis of that report is disingenuous, politicized framing and that the increased spending reflects factors like inflation and a growing population.

鈥淭his is an old, sort of tired argument that鈥檚 been used by conservatives to justify spending cuts by saying, well, if spending is still growing in nominal terms, somehow there wasn鈥檛 a cut,鈥� said Edwin Park, a research professor at Georgetown University. 鈥淭he federal government is spending nearly a trillion dollars less than it otherwise would have in the absence of the legislation.鈥�

Lawmakers of both parties are concerned about affordability

A in the 2026 midterm elections is affordability 鈥� including skyrocketing costs for health care and health insurance. That wasn鈥檛 lost on those questioning Kennedy, as lawmakers from both parties raised the issue.

On Tuesday, Rep. Cliff Bentz, a Republican from Oregon, shared the story of his brother who pays $26,000 per year for his health coverage.

鈥淲hat in the world can I go back to him and say? 鈥楬ey, the administration is working on trying to drive these prices down?鈥欌�� he asked Kennedy.

Kennedy, for his part, cited several Trump administration initiatives to lower prices, including the White House’s TrumpRx website for discounted drugs and Trump鈥檚 so-called most favored nations deals with pharmaceutical companies.

Pressed by senators, Kennedy pledged to provide details of those deals that didn鈥檛 include proprietary information or trade secrets. Some Democrats wanted him to do more.

鈥淲hy don鈥檛 you do an agreement yourself? he said in a jab to Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e had power to do that for 20 years and haven鈥檛 done it.鈥�

Kennedy acknowledges some HHS cuts are 鈥榩ainful鈥�

To achieve a more than 12% cut of the more than $100 billion HHS budget, the Trump administration is proposing slashing some $5 billion from the National Institutes of Health and cutting a bevy of other programs and initiatives, including a low-income home energy assistance program.

Several senators asked Kennedy why different areas were being cut. NIH cuts, in particular, raised bipartisan outcry.

鈥淭here鈥檚 an argument to be made that we鈥檙e handing China our lunch,鈥� said Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina.

Kennedy was candid that neither he nor others at his agency wanted to see the cuts, which he called 鈥減ainful.鈥�

鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of cuts to the agency that nobody wants,鈥� he said.

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Multiple videos from bystanders show a masked agent grabbing and pulling Franci Stagi across the street during a protest in October against the detention of three Colombian asylum-seekers in Durango, Colorado. She said he grabbed her by the hair and put her in a chokehold. The state is among several that prohibited or severely limited police officers from using chokeholds and since George Floyd鈥檚 death in 2020.

The Colorado Bureau of Investigations launched an investigation into the U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer’s actions against Stagi at the request of Durango Police Department Chief Brice Current, who raised concerns about possible violations of state law 鈥� an unusual if not unprecedented request.

The Department of Homeland Security, which includes Customs and Border Protection, called the prosecution 鈥渦nlawful鈥� and a 鈥減olitical stunt.鈥� It said states have no authority to investigate such cases.

鈥淔ederal officers acting in the course of their duties can only be investigated by other Federal agencies,鈥� DHS said in a statement.

The department said it was still investigating what happened in the incident.

Court documents didn鈥檛 list any attorney as representing the officer, Nicholas Rice.

Stagi said she was standing close to the officer and filming him outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Durango, a college town popular for outdoor recreation, when he hit her hand hard, causing her to lose her cellphone. Stagi, a retired hypnotherapist, said she then reached for the officer’s shoulder to get his attention. After she said he put her in a chokehold, she said he threw her down an embankment next to the street. She said she still experiences pain in her arm doing normal everyday activities, like putting on her jacket.

Court documents allege that Rice committed third-degree assault by causing bodily injury to Stagi, but the documents don鈥檛 describe how she was injured or make mention of a chokehold. Rice also is charged with criminal mischief for allegedly damaging Stagi鈥檚 cellphone.

Stagi said Wednesday she was disappointed Rice was charged with less serious crimes. The assault charge, a misdemeanor, carries a maximum sentence of just under a year in jail. But she hopes the prosecution sends a message that immigration officers can’t tackle people indiscriminately and use excessive force.

鈥淚t did open my eyes to how quickly I can be under someone else’s control, and it’s frightening,鈥� said Stagi, whose legal name is Anne Francesca Stagi.

Federal law enforcement officers have broad legal protections when acting in the course of their official duties, and the Justice Department has in recent months taken a hard line against state efforts to arrest or prosecute federal agents. Late last year, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said arrests of federal officers performing their duties would be 鈥渋llegal and futile,鈥� citing the Constitution鈥檚 Supremacy Clause and federal law. Legal experts say those protections are significant but not absolute and the Supremacy Clause does not provide blanket immunity.

Chokeholds have been at the center of public discourse and state legislative initiatives about what constitutes an unreasonable use of force since Eric Garner died in New York in 2014 after he was put in a chokehold by a white police officer.

Garner鈥檚 dying words, 鈥� 鈥� became a rallying cry for the

While some states have banned chokeholds and other tactics, sweeping changes were met with resistance.

A federal package of reforms that would have banned chokeholds nationwide passed the U.S. House in 2021 but failed to reach then-President Joe Biden鈥檚 desk. The bill was named in honor of Floyd, who died in Minneapolis after a white police officer pressed his knee to his neck.

Within a month of Floyd鈥檚 death, Colorado lawmakers approved a ban on chokeholds as part of broader police reform legislation. The law overrode more limited chokehold restrictions that were put in place four years earlier.

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Slevin reported from Denver, and Lee from Santa Fe, New Mexico.

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The Red Line opened to the public in March 1976 with just five stops in central D.C. It now spans 32 miles and includes 27 stations.

Metro documents state that the Red Line’s “aging system presents challenges with safety, reliability, capacity and efficiency.” The documents state that trespassing incidents and human error “are difficult to mitigate with current system design.”

Under the plan, $913 million would go toward Red Line improvements that Metro said will put the system “on the path to providing world-class transit.”

There are plans to seek federal funding in the form of grants that could support the project. The details are part of the proposed FY 2027-32 Capital Improvement Plan.

The issue will come up for a vote by the Metro Board of Directors on Thursday morning.

Modernizing the Red Line would include installing platform doors that would open only when trains pull into stations. Platform doors are currently used in transit systems in other countries, and closer to home; they operate similarly to those at Dulles International Airport’s AeroTrain.

Metro officials said the doors would make stations safer and allow for speedier train arrivals and departures.

Automation could also extend to eliminating the need for train operators 鈥� a move that has caused concern among the union representing rail operators.

Benjamin Lynn with Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 told 草莓传媒, “The union isn’t opposed to progress. Progress can come in many forms.”

ATU Local 689 represents approximately 8,500 WMATA employees.

“The union thinks that step is premature 鈥� that WMATA should focus first on insuring the system is at a state of good repair,” he added.

Lynn said there’s roughly $15 billion of needed repairs that have already been identified.

“Job loss is a concern of the union,” Lynn said. “We’re also really concerned about what full automation without a human operator would mean for the safety of the riding public.”

Lynn said that the union would be part of the conversations about exactly what full automation would mean.

The automation of the Red Line is the first step toward a system-wide modernization, according to Metro.

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Alaska is one of at least 12 states that has provided or said it would provide detailed information about its voters 鈥� including date of birth, driver’s license number or partial Social Security number 鈥� to the Trump administration, according to the Brennan Center. Alaska and Texas also signed agreements when they shared data in which the department outlined plans for its own analysis of voter files, its plans to flag voter list issues and directions for removing voters deemed ineligible.

Several other states provided the data, but refused those agreements, as part of a wide-ranging effort by the Justice Department to from every state. Some elections officials the information being sought could be used by the Trump administration to search for possible noncitizens.

The Alaska lawsuit was filed in state court against state Division of Elections officials by the League of Women Voters of Alaska and Alaska Black Caucus. It alleges the handing over of personal data on the voter list violates the right to privacy under the state constitution. It also says the memorandum of understanding violates due process by allowing the Justice Department to flag voters for removal 鈥渨ithout any apparent notice or process for impacted voters to challenge those decisions.鈥�

The lawsuit names as defendants Republican Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, who oversees the division, and division Director Carol Beecher.

Sam Curtis, a spokesperson with the state Department of Law, said by email that it would be premature to comment on specific claims raised in the lawsuit. But Curtis said the department has previously explained in public hearings that state law 鈥渆xpressly permits the sharing of this information for authorized governmental purposes. That statute is on the books, and we will defend it.鈥�

“Alaska statutes contain numerous provisions that allow the sharing of otherwise non-public or confidential information with law enforcement,” Curtis said.

The plaintiffs are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska, ACLU Voting Rights Project and the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

The Justice Department has sued at least 30 states and the District of Columbia to try to force the release of the data, according to a tally by the Brennan Center. Judges have rejected those efforts in , , , and most recently, . A judge in dismissed a Justice Department lawsuit after ruling it had been filed in the wrong city. It was subsequently refiled.

In the Rhode Island case, Justice Department attorneys acknowledged the department was seeking unredacted voter information so it could be shared with the Department of Homeland Security to check citizenship status.

In addition to the state court lawsuit in Alaska, at least four federal lawsuits have been filed around the U.S. seeking to stop the Justice Department from collecting information from unredacted voter registration files or to prevent states from taking steps to cancel or suspend people鈥檚 voter registrations based on the federal project.

During a legislative hearing in Alaska last month, Rachel Witty, an attorney with the state Department of Law, told lawmakers the state had a 鈥渃ompelling interest鈥� to comply with the federal request.

“To ensure the integrity of elections, there was a mutual interest in maintaining voters rolls that were accurate and current,鈥� she said.

The Alaska lawsuit describes the process under state law for maintaining voter rolls and states that there are only limited circumstances under which a voter’s registration can be promptly canceled 鈥� 鈥渦pon death or conviction of a felony involving moral turpitude.” It says that while elections officials have said they will only remove voters 鈥渢o the extent allowed by state and federal law,鈥� that interpretation is 鈥渋rreconcilable with the plain language鈥� of the agreement signed with the Justice Department.

The plaintiffs are asking a judge to void the agreement and require the elections division to make 鈥渞easonable efforts” to ensure the immediate destruction by the Justice Department of any hard copies and electronic versions of the list that was shared.

鈥淩ather than fiercely defending the rights of Alaska鈥檚 voters, our Division of Elections acceded to federal overreach,鈥� Eric Glatt, legal director for the ACLU of Alaska, said in a statement. 鈥淣ow, we are asking the court to step in and ensure that DOE upholds its constitutional and legal obligations to Alaskans.鈥�

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Associated Press reporter John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas, contributed.

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The D.C. area has been waiting two and a half months to see her, and on Wednesday, they finally were able to meet the Smithsonian National Zoo’s newest Asian elephant calf.

Visitors lined up early Wednesday morning to be some of the first to get a glimpse at 2-month-old Linh Mai, the cutest quarter ton thing you鈥檒l probably ever see.

鈥淲e’ve been big Linh Mai enthusiasts ever since she was born, and we’ve been tracking her progress,” said D.C. resident Benji Gering. “We’re excited to finally get to come and say hello.”

The bundle of joy now weighs in at nearly 500 pounds, and is able to chug a half gallon of formula in about three minutes. Visitors got to see one of these bottle feedings as soon as the doors opened.

鈥淚 find elephants to be so majestic. I’ve loved elephants since I was little,鈥� said Thomas Cole, who drove to the zoo at 4 a.m. up from Norfolk, Virginia.

鈥淪he seemed very playful, very curious. Just like a big puppy. We want to bring her home! Security might have to check in with us before we leave. If it looks like I’ve gained about 400 pounds, you might want to check in,鈥� Cole added.

Nora Wagner came from Boston, Massachusetts, with her mother to see the calf.

鈥淚t’s a baby elephant. What’s not to like? It’s a baby, it’s an elephant. It’s a baby elephant!鈥� Wagner emphasized.

You can catch Linh Mai at the National Zoo in D.C.’s Woodley Park neighborhood or online at the

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