AP Top News at 11:15 p.m. EDT

Trump announces sweeping new tariffs to promote US manufacturing, risking inflation and trade wars

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced far-reaching new tariffs on nearly all U.S. trading partners — a 34% tax on imports from China and 20% on the European Union, among others — that threaten to dismantle much of the architecture of the global economy and trigger broader trade wars. Trump, in a Rose Garden announcement, said he was placing elevated tariff rates on dozens of nations that run meaningful trade surpluses with the United States, while imposing a 10% baseline tax on imports from all countries in response to what he called an economic emergency. The president, who said the tariffs were designed to boost domestic manufacturing, used aggressive rhetoric to describe a global trade system that the United States helped to build after World War II, saying “our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered” by other nations.

The world reacts with caution to US ‘reciprocal’ tariffs against dozens of nations

BANGKOK (AP) — The sweeping new tariffs announced Wednesday by U.S. President Donald Trump were met initially with measured reactions from key trading partners, highlighting the lack of appetite for a full-fledged trade war. Trump presented the import taxes, which he calls “reciprocal tariffs” and range from 10% to 49%, in the simplest terms: the U.S. would do to its trading partners what he said they had been doing to the U.S. for decades. “Taxpayers have been ripped off for more than 50 years,” he said. “But it is not going to happen anymore.” The president promised that “Jobs and factories will come roaring back into our country.” He framed it not just as an economic issue, but a question of national security that threatens “our very way of life.” Financial markets were jolted, with U.S.

Tornadoes damage homes and power lines as storms wallop Midwest and South

Tornadoes and violent storms struck parts of the South and Midwest on Wednesday, knocking down power lines and trees, ripping roofs off homes and shooting debris thousands of feet into the air. A tornado emergency was briefly issued in northeast Arkansas, with the National Weather Service telling residents on social media: “This is a life threatening situation. Seek shelter now.” Dozens of tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings were issued in parts of Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Mississippi as storms hit those and other states in the evening. Forecasters attributed the violent weather to daytime heating combining with an unstable atmosphere, strong wind shear and abundant moisture streaming into the nation’s midsection from the Gulf.

Netanyahu says Israel will establish a new security corridor across Gaza to pressure Hamas

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel is establishing a new security corridor across the Gaza Strip to pressure Hamas, suggesting it would cut off the southern city of Rafah, which Israel has ordered evacuated, from the rest of the Palestinian territory. The announcement came after Netanyahu’s defense minister said Israel would seize large areas of Gaza and add them to its so-called security zones. A wave of Israeli strikes, meanwhile, killed more than 40 Palestinians, nearly half of them women and children, according to Palestinian health officials. Israel has vowed to escalate the nearly 18-month war with Hamas until the militant group returns dozens of remaining hostages, disarms and leaves the territory.

Musk could be headed for a Washington exit after turbulent times at Trump’s DOGE

WASHINGTON (AP) — DOGE’s days appear to be numbered. Elon Musk recently suggested that he will be done with his work in the near future. President Donald Trump told reporters this week that “at some point, he’s going to be going back” to running his companies. As far as the Department of Government Efficiency, Trump said “it will end.” All of that talk was before Musk faced a setback Tuesday in Wisconsin, where voters rejected his choice for a state Supreme Court candidate despite more than $21 million in personal donations and his campaign appearance over the weekend. There are more problems for the billionaire entrepreneur at Tesla, his electric automaker, which saw a 13% drop in sales in the first three months of the year.

Amazon’s last-minute bid for TikTok comes as a US ban on the platform is set to take effect Saturday

WASHINGTON (AP) — Amazon has put in a bid to purchase TikTok, a Trump administration official said Wednesday, in an eleventh-hour pitch as a U.S. ban on the platform is set to go into effect Saturday. The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the Amazon offer was made in a letter to Vice President JD Vance and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. The New York Times first reported on the bid. President Donald Trump on Inauguration Day gave the platform a reprieve, barreling past a law that had been upheld unanimously by the Supreme Court, which said the ban was necessary for national security.

Myanmar’s military declares a ceasefire to ease quake relief as deaths pass 3,000

BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s ruling military declared a temporary ceasefire in the country’s civil war Wednesday to facilitate relief efforts following a 7.7 magnitude earthquake that has killed more than 3,000 people. The surprise announcement by military leaders who also head the unelected government came late Wednesday on state television MRTV, which said the halt in fighting would run until April 22 to show compassion for people affected by Friday’s quake. The announcement followed unilateral temporary ceasefires announced by armed resistance groups opposed to military rule, and the military warned that those groups must refrain from attacking the state and regrouping, or else face “necessary” measures.

Judge dismisses corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge dismissed New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ corruption case on Wednesday, agreeing it was the only practical outcome while blasting the Justice Department’s “troubling” rationale for wanting the charges thrown out — namely so the Democrat could help President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. The judge, though, denied prosecutors the option to refile the charges after the mayoral election. Judge Dale E. Ho’s order to dismiss the case “with prejudice” spares Adams from having to govern in a way that pleases Trump or potentially risk having the Republican’s Justice Department revive the charges. The judge said he wasn’t opining on the merits of the case, but that courts can’t force prosecutors to move forward.

Shingles is awful, but here’s another reason to get vaccinated: It may fight dementia

WASHINGTON (AP) — A vaccine to fight dementia? It turns out there may already be one – shots that prevent painful shingles also appear to protect aging brains. A new study found shingles vaccination cut older adults’ risk of developing dementia over the next seven years by 20%. The research, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, is part of growing understanding about how many factors influence brain health as we age – and what we can do about it. “It’s a very robust finding,” said lead researcher Dr. Pascal Geldsetzer of Stanford University. And “women seem to benefit more,” important as they’re at higher risk of dementia.

Val Kilmer, ‘Top Gun’ and Batman star with an intense approach, dies at 65

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Val Kilmer, the brooding, versatile actor who played fan favorite Iceman in “Top Gun,” donned a voluminous cape as Batman in “Batman Forever” and portrayed Jim Morrison in “The Doors,” has died. He was 65. Kilmer died Tuesday night in Los Angeles, surrounded by family and friends, his daughter, Mercedes Kilmer, said in an email to The Associated Press. Kilmer died from pneumonia. He had recovered after a 2014 throat cancer diagnosis that required two tracheotomies. The New York Times was the first to report his death. Kilmer, who at 17 was the youngest actor ever accepted to the prestigious Juilliard School at the time he attended, experienced the ups and downs of fame more dramatically than most.