AP News in Brief at 9:04 p.m. EDT
Trump lays out Mideast vision as he looks to revamp US approach in Iran, Syria and beyond
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - President Donald Trump on Tuesday held out Saudi Arabia as a model for a reimagined Middle East, using the first major foreign trip of his term to emphasize the promise of economic prosperity over instability in a region reeling from multiple wars.
Offering partnership to longtime foes, Trump said he would move to lift sanctions on Syria and normalize relations with the new government led by a former insurgent, and he touted the U.S. role in bringing about a fragile ceasefire with Yemen´s Houthis. But Trump also indicated his patience was not endless, as he urged Iran to make a new nuclear deal with the U.S. or risk severe economic and military consequences.
With his carrot and stick approach, Trump gave the clearest indication yet of his vision for remaking the region, where goals of fostering human rights and democracy promotion have been replaced by an emphasis on economic prosperity and regional stability.
Trump also made a pitch to Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords started in his first term and recognize Israel. And he envisioned a hopeful future for the people of Gaza - emphasizing they must first cast off the influence of Hamas.
"As I have shown repeatedly, I am willing to end past conflicts and forge new partnerships for a better and more stable world, even if our differences may be profound," Trump said as he laid out his outlook for the region in a speech at an investment forum.
___
Trump says he will ease sanctions on Syria and move to restore relations with new leader
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he will ease sanctions on Syria and move to normalize relations with its new government to give the country "a chance at peace."
Trump made the announcement shortly before he was set to meet Wednesday in Saudi Arabia with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, the onetime insurgent who last year led the overthrow of longtime leader Bashar Assad. Trump said the effort at rapprochement came at the urging of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi de facto ruler, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
"There is a new government that will hopefully succeed," Trump said of Syria, adding, "I say, good luck, Syria. Show us something special."
The developments were a major boost for the Syrian president, who had been imprisoned in Iraq for his role in the insurgency following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of the Arab country. Al-Sharaa was named president of Syria in January, a month after a stunning offensive by insurgent groups led by al-Sharaa´s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, that stormed Damascus, ending the 54-year rule of the Assad family.
The U.S. has been weighing how to handle al-Sharaa since he took power in December. Gulf leaders have rallied behind the new government in Damascus and want Trump to follow, believing it is a bulwark against Iran's return to influence in Syria, where it had helped prop up Assad's government during a decadelong civil war.
___
Judge reduces Menendez brothers' murder sentences, putting them a step closer to freedom
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Erik and Lyle Menendez will have a new shot at freedom after 35 years behind bars for murdering their parents, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic reduced the brothers´ sentences from life without parole to 50 years to life. They´re now eligible for parole under California´s youthful offender law because they committed the crime under the age of 26. The state parole board must still decide whether to release them from prison.
"I´m not saying they should be released, it´s not for me to decide," Jesic said. "I do believe they´ve done enough in the past 35 years, that they should get that chance."
The brothers did not show any apparent emotion during most of the testimony as they appeared via livestream video, but chuckled when one of their cousins, Diane Hernandez, told the court that Erik Menendez received A+ grades in all of his classes during his most recent semester in college.
"I killed my mom and dad. I make no excuses and also no justification," Lyle said in a statement to the court. "The impact of my violent actions on my family ... is unfathomable."
___
Sean 'Diddy' Combs´ ex-girlfriend Cassie testifies at his trial about abuse and 'freak offs'
NEW YORK (AP) - Cassie, the R&B singer and former girlfriend of Sean "Diddy" Combs, testified Tuesday that the mercurial music mogul - powerful, abusive and controlling - beat her mercilessly and ordered her to have "disgusting" sex with strangers during drug-fueled, multi-day marathons he called "freak offs."
Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, sniffled and dabbed her eyes with a tissue, sighed heavily and paused to compose herself through about five hours of testimony at Combs' sex trafficking trial.
In humiliating detail, she recounted a turbulent 10-year relationship with Combs that she said was consumed by violence and his obsession with a form of voyeurism where "he was controlling the whole situation." That included directing her encounters with male sex workers right down to the copious amounts of baby oil she applied to maintain the "glistening" look he desired.
The "Me & U" singer told jurors that his demands for her to engage in sometimes-revolting sex acts - sometimes as he watched from another room via FaceTime - left her feeling "heavily objectified." But, she said, she endured them because she was in love with Combs.
At the same time, Cassie said, Combs controlled every aspect of her life, from her career to her living arrangements, and she didn´t feel like she could tell him "no."
___
Kim Kardashian testifies about being bound and held at gunpoint during Paris robbery
PARIS (AP) - Kim Kardashian said a silent prayer - for her sister, her best friend, her family - as a masked man pulled her toward him in a Paris hotel room during the 2016 jewelry heist that changed her life. She wore a bathrobe. Her hands were zip-tied. Her mouth was taped. She thought she wouldn´t survive.
"I was certain that was the moment that he was going to rape me," she told a Paris court Tuesday. "I absolutely did think I was going to die."
She said she was getting ready for bed when she heard stomping on the stairs. At first, she thought it was her sister Kourtney and a friend returning drunk from a night out at Paris Fashion Week.
"Hello? Hello? Who is it?" she called out. Then masked men stormed the room.
She grabbed her phone but didn´t know the French emergency number. She tried to call her sister and bodyguard, but one man stopped her. The men threw her on the bed, zip-tied her hands and pressed a gun to her.
___
Federal grand jury indicts Wisconsin judge in immigration case, allowing charges to continue
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - A federal grand jury indicted a Wisconsin judge Tuesday on charges she helped a man in the country illegally evade U.S. immigration authorities looking to arrest him as he appeared before her in a local domestic abuse case.
Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan's arrest and ensuing indictment has escalated a clash between President Donald Trump´s administration and local authorities over the Republican´s sweeping immigration crackdown. Democrats have accused the Trump administration of trying to make a national example of Dugan to chill judicial opposition to the crackdown.
Prosecutors charged Dugan in April via complaint with concealing an individual to prevent arrest and obstruction. In the federal criminal justice system, prosecutors can initiate charges against a defendant directly by filing a complaint or present evidence to a grand jury and let that body decide whether to issue charges.
A grand jury still reviews charges brought by complaint to determine whether enough probable cause exists to continue the case as a check on prosecutors´ power. If the grand jury determines there´s probable cause, it issues a written statement of the charges known as an indictment. That´s what happened in Dugan´s case.
Dugan faces up to six years in prison if she's convicted on both counts. Her team of defense attorneys responded to the indictment with a one-sentence statement saying that she maintains her innocence and looks forward to being vindicated in court. She was scheduled to enter a plea on Thursday.
___
Zelenskyy says he will be waiting for Putin in Ankara on Thursday for talks
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that he will be waiting for his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in the Turkish capital this week to conduct face-to-face talks about the more than 3-year war, amid heavy pressure from the U.S. and European leaders to reach a settlement.
Putin hasn't yet said whether he will be at the talks, which U.S. President Donald Trump has urged the two sides to attend as part of Washington´s efforts to stop the fighting.
Zelenskyy told reporters in Kyiv that he will be in Ankara on Thursday to conduct the negotiations. He will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the two will wait for Putin to arrive, he said.
Zelenskyy said he would "do everything to agree on a ceasefire, because it is with (Putin) that I must negotiate a ceasefire, as only he can decide on it."
Zelenskyy said that if Putin chooses Istanbul to hold the meeting, then both leaders will travel there from Ankara.
___
Wall Street rises again as the S&P 500 erases its loss for 2025
NEW YORK (AP) - Most U.S. stocks rose Tuesday following an encouraging report that showed inflation unexpectedly slowed across the country last month.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.7%, coming off an even bigger gain to start the week after the United States and China announced a 90-day pause in their trade war to allow for negotiations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 269 points, or 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 1.6% as AI and other tech stocks led the way.
Stocks have been roaring back since the S&P 500 fell nearly 20% below its record last month on hopes that President Donald Trump will ease his stiff tariffs on trading partners worldwide before they create a recession and send inflation spiking higher. The S&P 500, which sits at the center of many 401(k) accounts, is back within 4.2% of its all-time high set in February and positive again for the year so far.
Tuesday´s report said that even with all the uncertainty around trade, and even with many businesses rushing to import products from other countries before tariffs raise their prices, inflation slowed to 2.3% last month from 2.4% in March.
It´s encouraging because such data pulls the economy further from a worst-case scenario called "stagflation," one where the economy stagnates but inflation remains high. The Federal Reserve has no good way to fix that toxic combination. It could try to lower rates to help the economy, for example, but that would likely worsen inflation in the short term.
___
FDA and RFK Jr. aim to remove ingestible fluoride products used to protect kids' teeth
WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. health regulators announced an effort Tuesday to phase out ingestible fluoride supplements sometimes used to strengthen children´s teeth, opening a new front in Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.´s effort against a mainstay of dental care.
The Food and Drug Administration said it will conduct a scientific review of the children's products by late October with the aim of removing them from the market. Formally withdrawing medical products requires a lengthy rulemaking process that can take years. Instead, the FDA will ask manufacturers to voluntarily pull their products, according to an administration official.
Fluoride tablets and lozenges are sometimes recommended for children and teens at increased risk of tooth decay or cavities because of low fluoride in their local drinking water. Companies also sell drops for babies.
FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said the products pose a risk when swallowed because they may interfere with healthy gut bacteria that are critical to digestion, immunity and other key bodily functions. He also referenced studies showing possible associations between excess fluoride intake and other problems, including decreased IQ.
The nation's leading dental group said Tuesday the studies "do not in fact demonstrate any harmful effects" from fluoride at the levels used by dentists.
___
MLB reinstates Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson, making them Hall of Fame eligible
NEW YORK (AP) - Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson were reinstated by baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred on Tuesday, making both eligible for the sport´s Hall of Fame after their careers were tarnished by gambling scandals.
Rose´s permanent ban was lifted eight months after his death and came a day before the Cincinnati Reds will honor baseball´s career hits leader with Pete Rose Night.
Manfred announced Tuesday he was changing the league's policy on permanent ineligibility, saying bans would expire at death. MLB said 17 individuals had their status changed by the decision, including all eight banned members of the 1919 Chicago Black Sox, former Philadelphia Phillies president Williams D. Cox and former New York Giants outfielder Benny Kauff.
Under the Hall of Fame´s current rules, the earliest Rose or Jackson could be inducted would be in 2028.
Rose agreed with then-Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti to a permanent ban on Aug. 23, 1989, following an investigation commissioned by Major League Baseball concluded Rose repeatedly bet on the Reds as a player and manager of the team from 1985-87, a violation of a long-standing MLB rule.
