AP Top News at 11:43 p.m. EDT

Iran and US envoys hold 1st negotiation over Tehran’s nuclear program, and talk face-to-face

MUSCAT, Oman (AP) — Iran and the United States will hold more negotiations next week over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program, Iranian state television reported Saturday at the end of the first round of talks between the two countries since President Donald Trump returned to the White House. Iran’s state-run broadcaster revealed that U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi “briefly spoke” together — the first time the two nations have done that since the Obama administration. Tehran’s declaration that the two sides spoke face-to-face — even if briefly — suggests the negotiations went well even to Iranian state TV, which long has been controlled by hard-liners.

Israel cuts off Gaza’s southern city of Rafah and vows to ‘vigorously’ expand in the territory

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel announced Saturday it had completed construction of a new security corridor cutting off the southern city of Rafah from the rest of Gaza, and the military said it would soon expand “vigorously” in most of the small coastal territory. Palestinians were further squeezed into shrinking areas. “Activity will expand rapidly to additional locations throughout most of Gaza and you will have to evacuate the fighting zones,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement, without saying where Palestinians were meant to go. The statement urged Palestinians to remove Hamas and release the remaining hostages, saying: “This is the only way to stop the war.” Israeli troops were deployed last week to the new security corridor referred to as Morag, the name of a Jewish settlement that once stood between Rafah and Khan Younis, after the army ordered sweeping evacuations covering most of Rafah — an indication it could soon launch another major ground operation.

Trump administration says it will exclude some electronics from reciprocal tariffs

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Trump administration late Friday said it would exclude electronics like smartphones and laptops from reciprocal tariffs, a move that could help keep the prices down for popular consumer electronics that aren’t usually made in the U.S. It would also benefit big tech companies like Apple and Samsung and chip makers like Nvidia, setting the stage for a likely tech stock rally on Monday. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said items like smartphones, laptops, hard drives, flat-panel monitors and some chips would qualify for the exemption. Machines used to make semiconductors are excluded too. That means they won’t be subject to the current 145% tariffs levied on China or the 10% baseline tariffs elsewhere.

Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of failing to pause strikes after US envoy leaves Moscow

Russia and Ukraine’s top diplomats on Saturday used a high-level conference in Turkey to once again trade accusations of violating a tentative U.S.-brokered deal to pause strikes on energy infrastructure, underscoring the challenges of negotiating an end to the 3-year-old war. The two foreign ministers spoke at separate events at the annual Antalya Diplomacy Forum, a day after U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss peace prospects. Ukraine’s European allies on Friday promised billions of dollars to help Kyiv keep fighting Russia’s invasion. While Moscow and Kyiv both agreed in principle last month to implement a limited, 30-day ceasefire, they issued conflicting statements soon after their separate talks with U.S.

Democrats dislike the ‘chaos’ of Trump’s trade war but are OK with some tariffs

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are quick to say that President Donald Trump’s tariffs are horrible, awful, terrible. But Democrats are also stressing that they are not inherently anti-tariff. What Trump’s political opponents say they really dislike is the “chaos” he has unleashed. “Tariffs are an important tool in our economic toolbox,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. “Trump is creating chaos, and that chaos undercuts our economy and our families, both in the short term and the long term. ... He’s just created a worldwide hurricane, and that’s not good for anyone.” Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said Democrats have a consensus around “a unified concept, which is targeted tariffs can work, across the board tariffs are bad.” “The right targeting is in the eye of the beholder, but nobody on our side thinks zero tariffs ever,” Kaine said.

US won’t say whether it’s facilitating return of mistakenly deported man, despite judge’s order

The Trump administration confirmed to a federal judge Saturday that a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported last month remains confined in a notorious prison in El Salvador. But the government’s filing did not address the judge’s demands that the administration detail what steps it was taking to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the United States. The government said only that Abrego Garcia, 29, is under the authority of the El Salvador government. Abrego Garcia’s location was confirmed to the court by Michael G. Kozak, who identified himself in the filing as a “Senior Bureau Official” in the State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs.

Brazil’s former president Bolsonaro transferred to Brasilia after hospitalization for abdominal pain

SAO PAULO (AP) — Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was transferred Saturday by medical aircraft from northeastern Brazil to the capital Brasilia after being hospitalized with abdominal pain a day earlier. Bolsonaro was hospitalized Friday morning while traveling in northeastern Brazil. The pain was caused by a bowel obstruction and was related to long-term effects of being stabb ed in the abdomen in September 2018, his doctors said. Bolsonaro has been in and out of hospitals since the attack at a campaign event before Brazil’s 2018 presidential election. The conservative leader underwent several surgeries during his presidency from 2019-2022. “After so many similar episodes over the past few years, I had gotten used to the pain and discomfort.

Dominican club collapse death toll rises to 226 after woman pulled from rubble dies in hospital

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — A woman hospitalized after being rescued from the rubble of a roof collapse at a popular nightclub in the Dominican Republic died on Saturday, raising the death toll to 226, health officials said. The latest victim was a 41-year-old Costa Rican national, according to the National Health Service. Earlier in the day, health officials said four other people hospitalized after the disaster had died overnight. Officials said 189 people were rescued alive from the rubble of the popular venue in the capital Santo Domingo. More than 200 were injured, with 14 still hospitalized, including four in critical condition.

Intellectually disabled teen shot by Idaho police dies after being removed from life support

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An autistic, nonverbal teenage boy who was shot repeatedly by Idaho police from the other side of a chain-link fence while he was holding a knife died Saturday after being removed from life support, his family said. Victor Perez, 17, who also had cerebral palsy, had been in a coma since the April 5 shooting, and tests Friday showed that he had no brain activity, his aunt, Ana Vazquez, told The Associated Press. He had undergone several surgeries, with doctors removing nine bullets and amputating his leg. Police in the southeast Idaho city of Pocatello responded to a 911 call reporting that an apparently intoxicated man with a knife was chasing someone in a yard.

Take a trip to Ohio to learn about William McKinley, Trump’s much-admired Gilded Age president

CANTON, Ohio (AP) — If you’ve been intrigued by President Donald Trump’s praise of his long-ago White House predecessor William McKinley and yearn to know more, it’s time you head to Ohio. America’s 25th president was born and is buried in the Buckeye State, where museums and monuments to him abound. Websites promoting the state’s McKinley attractions have seen a surge in page views since Trump began highlighting McKinley’s Gilded Age presidency, which ran from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. Officials hope a bump in summer tourism will follow. “I don’t think there has been as much interest in William McKinley in at least a century, in terms of kind of the public consciousness,” said Kevin Kern, an associate professor of history at the University of Akron.