AP News in Brief at 9:04 p.m. EDT
1 person killed in explosion outside fertility clinic; police say act was `intentional´
An explosion killed a person and heavily damaged a fertility clinic Saturday in the upscale California city of Palm Springs in what the FBI characterized as an "intentional act of terrorism."
Akil Davis, the head of the FBI´s Los Angeles field office, said in the evening that the clinic was deliberately targeted, while declining to elaborate on how authorities have reached a conclusion on a motive.
Authorities were still working to confirm the identity of the person who died at the scene. Davis would not directly say whether that person was the suspect but said authorities were not searching for a suspect.
Davis also said four people were hurt but provided no additional details on the severity of the injuries. Authorities were also investigating the possibility that the explosion was being livestreamed.
The FBI said it was sent investigators, including bomb technicians, to the scene.
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Severe weather leaves at least 27 dead, including 18 in Kentucky
LONDON, Ky. (AP) - At least 27 people have been killed by storms systems that swept across part of the U.S. Midwest and South, with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announcing Saturday that 18 of the deaths came in his state and 10 others were hospitalized in critical condition.
A devastating tornado in Kentucky damaged homes, tossed vehicles and left many people homeless. Seventeen of the deaths were in Laurel County, located in the state's southeast, and one was in Pulaski County: Fire Department Maj. Roger Leslie Leatherman, a 39-year veteran who was fatally injured while responding to the deadly weather.
Parts of two dozen state roads were closed, and some could take days to reopen, Beshear said. He also said the death toll could still rise.
"We need the whole world right now to be really good neighbors to this region," the governor said.
State Emergency Management Director Eric Gibson said hundreds of homes were damaged,
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Trump says he will call Putin, then Zelenskyy, on Monday to push for Ukraine ceasefire
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) - U.S. President Donald Trump said he plans to speak by phone Monday with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, followed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and leaders of various NATO countries, about ending the war in Ukraine.
Trump said the call with Putin will be about stopping the "bloodbath" in Ukraine.
"Hopefully it will be a productive day, a ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war, a war that should have never happened, will end," Trump wrote Saturday in a post on his social networking site Truth Social.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed in comments to Russian media that preparations were underway for Monday´s call.
Trump's remarks came a day after the first direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv in years failed to yield a ceasefire. Putin had spurned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's offer to meet face-to-face in Turkey after he himself proposed direct negotiations - although not at the presidential level - as an alternative to a 30-day ceasefire urged by Ukraine and its Western allies, including the U.S.
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Israel launches a new military operation in Gaza. Netanyahu tells negotiating team to stay at talks
JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel said Saturday it launched a major military operation in the Gaza Strip to pressure Hamas to release remaining hostages, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a negotiating team to remain in Qatar for indirect talks with the militant group.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said Operation Gideon Chariots was being led with "great force." Netanyahu had vowed to escalate pressure with the aim of destroying the militant group that has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades.
The military operation in the Palestinian territory came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump concluded his Middle East trip without a visit to Israel. There had been hope that his visit could increase the chances of a ceasefire deal or the resumption of humanitarian aid to Gaza, which Israel has prevented for more than two months.
An Israel official said that Netanyahu was in constant contact throughout the day with the negotiating team in Doha, Qatar, and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, and instructed the team to remain there. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, because he wasn´t authorized to discuss the sensitive negotiations with the media.
Hamas, which released an Israeli-American hostage as a goodwill gesture before Trump´s trip, insists on a deal that ends the war and leads to the withdrawal of Israeli forces - something Israel said that it won't agree to.
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Republicans forge their tax bill in Trump's image, with 'MAGA accounts' and more
WASHINGTON (AP) - Days before Republicans unveiled their sweeping tax cut plan, the chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee had one last person to consult. He went to the White House, where he and President Donald Trump went over the legislation "line by line."
"He was very happy with what we´re delivering," said Rep. Jason Smith, a Republican from Missouri.
Trump had every reason to be pleased. His imprint is all over on the bill making its way through the House, starting with its title - the " One Big Beautiful Bill Act."
The legislation realizes many of Trump's campaign promises, temporarily ending taxes on overtime and tips for many workers, creating a new $10,000 tax break on auto loan interest for American-made cars, and even creating a new tax-free "MAGA account" - a nod to his "Make America Great Again" movement, but in this case, it means "Money Accounts for Growth and Advancement." This would contribute $1,000 to children born in his second term.
The Trump-inspired contours of the legislative package, months if not years in the making, reflect not only the president's considerable influence over the Republican Party, but also the hard political realities in the House, where Republicans have only the barest of majorities and often find it difficult to find consensus without Trump's involvement.
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Justice Department deal ends a ban on an aftermarket trigger. Gun control advocates are alarmed
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Trump administration will allow the sale of forced-reset triggers, which make semiautomatic rifles fire more rapidly, with the federal government ending a ban as part of a settlement that also requires it to return seized devices.
The agreement announced Friday by the Justice Department resolves a series of cases over the aftermarket trigger that the government had previously argued qualify as machine guns under federal law. The settlement is a dramatic shift in Second Amendment policy under the Republican administration, which has signaled it may undo many of the regulations that the previous administration of Democratic President Joe Biden had fought to keep in place in an effort to curb gun violence.
"This Department of Justice believes that the 2nd Amendment is not a second-class right," Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement.
Gun control advocates said the settlement would worsen gun violence.
"The Trump administration has just effectively legalized machine guns. Lives will be lost because of his actions," said Vanessa Gonzalez, vice president of government and political affairs at GIFFORDS, a gun control group.
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New standards for Oklahoma high school students promote misinformation about the 2020 election
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma high school students studying U.S. history learn about the Industrial Revolution, women´s suffrage and America's expanding role in international affairs.
Beginning next school year, they will add conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election.
Oklahoma´s new social studies standards for K-12 public school students, already infused with references to the Bible and national pride, were revised at the direction of state School Superintendent Ryan Walters. The Republican official has spent much of his first term in office lauding President Donald Trump, feuding with teachers unions and local school superintendents, and trying to end what he describes as "wokeness" in public schools.
"The left has been pushing left-wing indoctrination in the classroom," Walters said. "We´re moving it back to actually understanding history ... and I´m unapologetic about that."
The previous standard for studying the 2020 election merely said, "Examine issues related to the election of 2020 and its outcome." The new version is more expansive: "Identify discrepancies in 2020 elections results by looking at graphs and other information, including the sudden halting of ballot-counting in select cities in key battleground states, the security risks of mail-in balloting, sudden batch dumps, an unforeseen record number of voters, and the unprecedented contradiction of `bellwether county´ trends."
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The old slang term '86' probably started as restaurant-worker jargon. Suddenly it's in the news
NEW YORK (AP) - The slang term at the center of a political brouhaha swirling around former FBI Director James Comey is an old one, likely originating as food-service-industry jargon before extending to other contexts. Some of that spread has given rise to accusations from Republicans that it was meant as a threat to President Donald Trump.
In a since-deleted Instagram post, Comey wrote "cool shell formation on my beach walk" to accompany a photo of shells displayed in the shapes of "86 47."
He said in a follow-up post that he took it only as a political message since Trump is the 47th president, and to "86" something can be to get rid of it, like a rowdy patron at a bar or something that is no longer wanted.
But Trump and other Republicans took it more ominously. They say Comey, with whom Trump has had a contentious relationship, was advocating violence against the Republican president, given that the slang term has at times been used as a way to mean someone's killing.
The slang origins of "86" go back to codes used in diners and restaurants as staff shorthand in the 1930s or so, said Jesse Sheidlower, adjunct assistant professor in Columbia University's writing program and formerly editor-at-large for the Oxford English Dictionary.
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Trump warns Walmart: Don't raise prices due to my tariffs but do eat the costs from those taxes
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump on Saturday ripped into Walmart, saying on social media that the retail giant should eat the additional costs created by his tariffs.
As Trump has jacked up import taxes, he has tried to assure a skeptical public that foreign producers would pay for those taxes and that retailers and automakers would absorb the additional expenses. Most economic analyses are deeply skeptical of those claims and have warned that the trade penalties would worsen inflation. Walmart warned on Thursday that everything from bananas to children's car seats could increase in price.
Trump, in his Truth Social post, lashed out at the retailer, which employs 1.6 million people in the United States. He said the company, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, should sacrifice its profits for the sake of his economic agenda that he says will eventually lead to more domestic jobs in manufacturing.
"Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain," Trump posted. "Walmart made BILLIONS OF DOLLARS last year, far more than expected. Between Walmart and China they should, as is said, "EAT THE TARIFFS," and not charge valued customers ANYTHING. I´ll be watching, and so will your customers!!!"
The posting by the Republican president reflected the increasingly awkward series of choices that many major American companies face as a result of his tariffs, from deteriorating sales to the possibility of incurring Trump's wrath. Trump has similarly warned domestic automakers to not raise their prices, even though outside analyses say his tariffs would raise production costs.
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Journalism comes from behind to win the Preakness 2 weeks after finishing 2nd in the Kentucky Derby
BALTIMORE (AP) - Journalism jostled with horses down the stretch, shrugged off the contact, burst through the lane and came from behind to win the 150th running of the Preakness Stakes on Saturday.
The odds-on favorite was bumped by Goal Oriented near the quarter pole, and it looked like another second-place finish was coming two weeks after being the runner-up to Sovereignty in the Kentucky Derby. Journalism instead ran right by Gosger to give trainer Michael McCarthy his second win in a Triple Crown race.
"A lot of bouncing around there," McCarthy said. "When I saw that, I kind of resigned myself to the fact it was another fantastic effort and maybe come up a little bit short. But it just goes to show the testament that this horse has. Couldn´t be prouder of him."
Gosger was second by a half-length. Sandman was third and Bob Baffert-trained Goal Oriented fourth. Journalism went 1 3/16 miles in 1:55.37.
Umberto Rispoli became the first jockey from Italy to win any of the Triple Crown races.
