A U.S. fighter jet on Wednesday fired on an Iranian oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman as it tried to breach the U.S. blockade of Iranās ports, the U.S. military said.
The attack occurred as Iran and the U.S. are officially in a ceasefire and as the two countries to end the war. U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Iran with a new wave of bombing if a that includes opening the critical Strait of Hormuz.
Hours after he threatened to bomb Iran into submission, Trump said they want to make a deal and āweāll see if we get there.ā
Commerce Secretary appeared for a closed-door interview over his contact with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in the years after Epsteinās 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from an underage girl. Lutnick has given about his relationship with Epstein but says he has done nothing wrong.
So far, lawmakers emerged from the private interview with vastly different assessments of Lutnickās answers. The committee chairman, GOP Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, said Lutnick had been āforthcomingā in describing limited interactions with Epstein.
Democrats accused Lutnick of lying and evading their questions.
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Justice Department sues again over Colorado gun laws
The Trump administration has sued Colorado over a on large-capacity ammunition magazines that the state adopted after a at a movie theater.
The lawsuit followed one the Justice Department against Denver and its police department that sought to strike down an in place in the city since 1989.
In both cases the administration asserts that many firearms, including AR-15-style rifles, that have large-capacity magazines are common in the U.S. They are āordinary semiautomatic riflesā used for lawful purposes, āincluding but not limited to self-defense,ā attorneys for the Justice Department wrote.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser has called guns with large-capacity magazines a major threat to public safety and said the stateās ban is reasonable.
Lutnick is departing Capitol Hill
The commerce secretary has left the room where he was being interviewed by the House Oversight Committee on his previous contacts with Jeffrey Epstein.
The interview lasted just over four hours, but thatās relatively short by the standards of the committee. Lawmakers have kept some interviewees for hours as they try to wear them down with relentless questions.
So far, lawmakers emerged from the private interview with vastly different assessments of Lutnickās answers. The committee chairman, GOP Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, said Lutnick had been āforthcomingā in describing limited interactions with Epstein.
Democrats accused Lutnick of lying and evading their questions.
Lutnick interview is not being recorded on video
The commerce secretaryās interview with lawmakers will be released via transcript, but not video. The committee has video recorded depositions for others, including former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, a former secretary of state.
Democrats slammed that decision and said it allowed Lutnick to escape the same level of scrutiny that has been applied to others.
But the committeeās Republican chair. Rep. James Comer countered that it makes the committeeās investigation easier when subjects like Lutnick voluntarily sit down for an interview, rather than resist the committeeās requests and potential subpoenas.
āNobody wants to be videoed. If you come in, you work with us, then you know, you might not have to be videoed,ā he said.
Trump says deal with Iran is āvery possibleā
Hours after he threatened to bomb Iran into submission, Trump said they want to make a deal and āweāll see if we get there.ā
āWeāve had very good talks over the last 24 hours and itās very possible that weāll make a deal,ā Trump told reporters in the Oval Office after he summoned them to see the UFC fighters heād been meeting with.
āThis is very simple: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,ā the president said.
Israeli strikes kill five across Gaza, hospitals say
Five Palestinians were killed in separate Israeli strikes across Gaza on Wednesday, including incidents near the so-called āYellow Line,ā a boundary dividing Israeli-controlled areas from the rest of the enclave, local health officials said.
One person was killed in Khan Younis when a strike hit a car, according to Nasser Hospital. In Gaza City, three people, including a 16-year-old, were killed earlier in the day when a strike hit an area where residents had been setting up tents, Al Ahli Hospital said. A fifth fatality was reported later in Gaza City after a strike hit a street about 200 meters from the Yellow Line, the same hospital added.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
At Al-Ahli hospital, relatives wept over bodies laid out on hospital beds, some clinging to each other in grief as they said their final goodbyes.
At the strike site in Khan Younis, smoke billowed as people ran in panic.
The deaths come amid a fragile ceasefire that has largely reduced heavy fighting but has not stopped near-daily Israeli fire. Israeli forces have carried out repeated airstrikes and frequently fire on Palestinians near military- held zones, killing at least 837 Palestinians, including at least 226 children and 179 women, according to Gaza health officials.
Democrats accuse Lutnick of evading their questions about contact with Epstein
Democratic lawmakers who are questioning Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick behind closed doors emerged from the room saying that Lutnick is refusing to acknowledge that he made misleading statements in the past about his contacts with Jeffrey Epstein.
āHe was evasive, nervous. He was dishonest,ā said Democratic Rep. Suhas Subramanyam of Virginia. āHe would not admit to lying, which he clearly did.ā
The lawmakers said that the public should be able to observe Lutnickās demeanor as he was answering questions, but the Republican-controlled committee is not video recording the interview.
The Republican committee chair, Rep. James Comer, said that the lack of video kept with the committeeās practice for voluntary interviews and that a transcription of the interview will be released later.
Iranās foreign ministry says Tehran is still examining the latest US ceasefire proposal
The ministryās spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told state media Wednesday that Iran had already āstrongly rejectedā proposals that the Axios news outlet reported the US had put forward for the agreement with Iran.
Axios had reported earlier that the deal included Iran agreeing to a moratorium on nuclear enrichment.
Israel strikes Beirut suburbs for first time since ceasefire was announced
Israel struck Beirutās southern suburbs Wednesday for the first time since a ceasefire between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group was announced on April 17.
Fighting has continued since then in southern Lebanon.
The last attacks in Beirut were before that, on April 8, when a series of massive Israeli strikes, including in central Beirut, killed more than 350 people.
A statement released by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahuās office said Wednesdayās strike, which came without warning, targeted a commander in Hezbollahās Radwan Force. Hezbollah did not immediately comment.
US military fires on Iranian-flagged oil tanker in Gulf of Oman
An American fighter jet shot out the rudder of an Iranian oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman on Wednesday as it tried to breach the U.S. blockade of Iranās ports, the American military said in a social media post.
The attack occurred as Iran and the U.S. are officially in a ceasefire and as the two countries appear to be moving closer to an initial agreement to end . Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump is trying to pressure Tehran with threats of a new wave of bombing if a deal is not reached.
American forces issued multiple warnings and informed the ship it was violating the blockade, U.S. Central Command said in its post.
Trump says question is whether Iran can make a deal āthatās satisfactory to usā
The president insisted that Iranian officials want an agreement to end the war, suggesting as he did previously over social media that U.S. actions could ultimately force a settlement.
āWeāre dealing with people that want to make a deal very much, and weāll see whether or not they can make a deal thatās satisfactory to us,ā Trump said at a Motherās Day lunch at the White House.
The president added: āAnd if they donāt agree, theyāll end up agreeing shortly thereafter.ā
Trump called the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz a āwall of steel,ā as both countries jockey to use the stoppage in oil and natural gas shipments as a way to pressure the other side.
AP source: Office of Virginia Senate leader searched by FBI as part of corruption probe
The FBI searched the Virginia state Senate leaderās office on Wednesday as part of a corruption investigation, a person familiar with the matter said.
The search at Virginia Sen. L. Louise Lucasās district office in Portsmouth comes after the Democrat helped lead effort.
The FBI said only that it was conducting a court-authorized search warrant in Portsmouth. The person who confirmed the FBIās search was not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation by name and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
A message seeking comment was left on a cellphone for Lucas.
Amid a national, state-by-state partisan , Virginia voters on April 21 authorizing new U.S. House districts. Backed by Democrats, the plan could help the party win up to four additional seats.
Lucas has been a vocal leader of the effort.
let the referendum proceed but has yet to rule whether the effort is legal. The court is considering an appeal of a lower court judgeās ruling that because lawmakers violated procedural requirements.
āBy Eric Tucker and Jennifer Peltz
UAE urges UN to take action against Iran if it keeps blocking shipping and attacking neighbors
Mohamed Abushahab, the United Arab Emiratesā U.N. ambassador, said the Security Council must ācompel Iranās complianceā with its March resolution demanding that Tehran stop attacking its Gulf neighbors and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
He told reporters Wednesday that Iran attacked the UAE on May 4 — while a ceasefire is in place — with 12 ballistic missiles, three cruise missiles and four drones which resulted in a fire on critical energy infrastructure in the Fujairah oil industry zone.
The United States and its Gulf allies including the UAE have circulated a new Security Council resolution threatening Iran with sanctions or other measures if it doesnāt stop attacks and open the critically important strait, where about 20% of the worldās crude oil had transited.
The proposed resolution was drafted under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter which can be enforced militarily. A watered-down resolution aimed at opening the Strait of Hormuz, which was stripped of Chapter 7 language, was vetoed by Russia and China hours before Washington and Tehran announced a temporary ceasefire in early April.
The UAEās Abushahab was asked whether he thought Russia and China would agree to the new draft under Chapter 7. āNot only is it possible, but itās necessary,ā he replied.
GOP chair of oversight panel says Lutnick was not ātruthfulā about Epstein ties
Rep. James Comer, the Republican chair of the House Oversight Committee, told reporters as he entered the closed-door interview that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had in the past not been ā100% truthfulā about whether he had ever visited Epsteinās infamous private island.
Lutnick said on a podcast last year that he had decided to ānever be in the roomā with Epstein following a 2005 tour of Epsteinās home that disturbed Lutnick and his wife. But the release of case files on Epstein showed that Lutnick had kept in contact with Epstein and met up with him a couple of times in 2011 and 2012.
Under questioning from Democrats during an unrelated hearing earlier this year, Lutnick said he had visited Epsteinās private island with his family in 2012 for lunch.
AP-NORC poll: Many Americans have conflicting views on birthright citizenship
This poll comes as the Supreme Court weighs President Trumpās efforts to restrict birthright citizenship.
The finds about two-thirds of U.S. adults say automatic citizenship should be granted to all children born in the country. Most Democrats and independents back that view, but Republicans are more doubtful: just 44% support birthright citizenship.
The poll also shows that some people are conflicted, saying in general that they support birthright citizenship but also that they oppose it in some specific circumstances.
For instance, the poll found about three-quarters of U.S. adults say they support automatic citizenship for children born to parents who are in the country legally on work visas, while only about half support it for those born to parents who are in the country illegally.
Trumpās commerce secretary arrives for interview in congressional Epstein investigation
Howard Lutnick is answering questions from House lawmakers today about his relationship with his former neighbor, Jeffrey Epstein.
The commerce secretary is the highest-ranking official in the Trump administration, besides Trump himself, to appear in the Epstein case files.
Lutnick has said he barely knew Epstein and has welcomed the closed-door interview with the House Oversight Committee, but his story on his interactions with Epstein has changed. He met with Epstein a couple times and exchanged emails with the financier, even after Epsteinās 2008 conviction in Florida for soliciting prostitution from an underage girl.
French navy moving to support shipping through the strait
Franceās aircraft carrier strike group is moving south of the Suez Canal and into the Red Sea in preparation for a potential future mission as part of a French-British plan for the Strait of Hormuz, a senior French military spokesman told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The repositioning of the nuclear-powered Charles de Gaulle puts Franceās only carrier closer to the Persian Gulf chokepoint where Iran has effectively halted commercial traffic since early March. The French effort is distinct from the U.S. āProject Freedomā mission launched Sunday and paused by Trump on Tuesday evening.
āGoing south of Suez is new for us,ā said Col. Guillaume Vernet, spokesman for the French armed forces chief of staff.
The wider Hormuz coalition ā drawn up by France, Britain and more than 50 nations ā will not begin operating until the threat to shipping eases and the maritime industry is reassured enough to use the strait, Vernet said, adding that any operation would also require the agreement of neighboring countries.
An attack damaged a French-operated cargo ship and injured its crew, company says
A cargo container ship operated by the CMA CGM Group was damaged when it came under attack while transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, the French shipping company said Wednesday.
Multiple crew members were injured in the attack on the CMA CGM San Antonio, the company said without providing details. The injured crew were taken off the ship and are receiving medical treatment.
Trump is going to Beijing. Iranās foreign minister got there ahead of him
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchiās visit comes ahead of Trumpās planned on May 14 and 15 with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the first such trip by a U.S. president since .
In a televised interview Wednesday with Iranās state media from Beijing, Araghchi said his discussions with Chinese officials included the Strait of Hormuz, Iranās nuclear program and sanctions imposed on Tehran. And he said Iran has attained āan elevated international standing,ā having proven its capabilities and strength.
Chinaās Foreign Ministry said after the meeting that it values Iranās pledge not to pursue nuclear weapons while affirming its ālegitimate right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy.ā
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had expressed hope on Tuesday Beijing would reiterate the need for Iran to release its chokehold on the strait, its main source of leverage, as Trump demands a major rollback of its disputed nuclear program.
Trumpās Indiana wins show his power over GOP with more primaries and redistricting debates ahead
Five months ago, was stinging from a political defeat as Republican state senators in Indiana. Now he has proved he can still punish wayward party members after the slate of challengers he endorsed .
The heading into upcoming Republican primaries where he wants more incumbents ousted, including Sen. of Louisiana and Rep. of Kentucky.
Indianaās primary results also ratchet up pressure on Republican lawmakers in other states to in time for the November elections.
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Shipper either loses millions or risks sanctions for paying Iranians for safe passage
Hamburg-based shipping company Hapag-Lloyd says the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is costing it around $60 million a week, in particular in costs for fuel and insurance, as it remains too risky to permit its ships to try getting through.
Insurance costs have shot up due to the risk of attack from Iranian drones and small boats. Alternate routes to safe harbors or overland are ālimited in capacity and cannot completely replace the regular maritime routes through the region,ā a company statement said.
The number of ships passing the strait has dwindled to a trickle. Iran has demanded that vessels go through a vetting process run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp that involves passing to the north near the Iranian cost, submitting information on crew and cargo, and in some cases paying. But paying the IRGC risks running afoul of sanctions from the US and the EU, which have designated it a terrorist organization.
Shipping industry and oil traders see no quick return to normal
Oil prices and shipping are unlikely to return to normal until itās clear the risk of attacks in the Strait of Hormuz have receded, cautions Kaho Yu, head of energy and resources resources at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.
āEven with diplomatic engagement continuing, energy markets are unlikely to return quickly to pre-crisis assumptions,ā he said. āRefiners, shippers, and commodity traders will remain cautious until there is clearer evidence that Hormuz disruptions will not re-escalate.ā
Despite the Iran-China meetingās emphasis on de-escalation, āHormuz remains the real metric that will be watched,ā he added. āTanker traffic and energy flows over the coming weeks and months are likely to matter more than diplomatic language in assessing whether Beijing can translate influence with Tehran into practical stability.ā
Poll: Most believe the US is no longer a great place for immigrants
About 6 in 10 U.S. adults say the United States is no longer a great place for immigrants, according to the AP-NORC poll.
Roughly 3 in 10 say the U.S. is a great place for immigrants, while about 1 in 10 say it never was. The belief that America is no longer great for immigrants is more common among Democrats and independents.
Nick Grivas, a 40-year-old Democrat from Massachusetts, said he worries that federal immigration policies could discourage new arrivals from investing in their communities, especially if they donāt believe they will be allowed to remain.
āYouāre less willing to commit to the project if you donāt think that youāre gonna be able to stay,ā he said.
White House says it believes an agreement with Iran is near
The White House believes it is nearing an agreement with Iran on a one-page memorandum to end the war, according to reporting by Axios.
There is not an agreement yet, but the provisions include a moratorium on Iranian uranium enrichment, a lifting of U.S. sanctions and the distribution of frozen Iranian funds and the opening of the Strait of Hormuz for ships.
The White House did not respond to questions about the possible agreement.
Trump threatens Iran with bombing if it doesnāt reopen Strait of Hormuz
Trump posted on social media that the war with Iran could soon end and oil and natural gas shipments could restart. But that all depends on Iran accepting a reported agreement that the U.S. president did not detail.
āIf they donāt agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before,ā Trump said.
Trump said that it was āperhaps a big assumptionā that Iran would agree to the terms being offered by the United States.
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