A tentative deal is reached to end the Iran war and Trump orders a stop to the US naval blockade
ISLAMABAD (AP) — The United States and Iran reached an initial agreement early Monday to open the Strait of Hormuz and further extend a shaky ceasefire in the Iran war, potentially allowing desperately needed oil and natural gas to reach the global market.
Details of the deal were not immediately released and Iran signaled implementation would not start until the signing, which key mediator Pakistan said would occur Friday in Switzerland. It could provide a way to end a war that killed thousands across the Middle East, including the top leaders of Iran's theocracy, and sparked a historic energy crisis.
But the memorandum of understanding over the war already faced intense challenges. Israel's continued hostilities with the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah in Lebanon, where Israel bombed Beirut's southern suburbs Sunday, nearly derailed the negotiations.
Meanwhile, the deal gives just 60 days to resolve what to do about Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium and its atomic program. That took years to resolve in Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from that accord in his first term, setting the stage for the tensions that culminated in the war.
“Congratulations to all!” Trump wrote on social media as he celebrated his 80th birthday Sunday with a UFC cage match fight at the White House.
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Tentative deal on ending the Iran war sends stocks soaring while oil prices fall
BANGKOK (AP) — Share prices soared Monday in Asia after a tentative deal was announced on ending the Iran war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Benchmarks in Tokyo and Seoul initially gained more than 5% early Monday. Oil prices fell more than $4 a barrel.
The future for the S&P 500 was up 1% and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.9%, auguring likely early gains for Wall Street.
U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed the initial agreement and authorized an end to the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports.
Iran confirmed it but signaled that implementation would not start until a signing that Pakistan said would be held Friday in Switzerland. Broader negotiations on issues like Iran’s nuclear program are expected to continue over the next 60 days.
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12 dead in crash of plane on skydiving outing in Missouri, authorities say
BUTLER, Mo. (AP) — A plane carrying a pilot and 11 passengers on a skydiving outing in Missouri crashed in a field and was engulfed in flames Sunday, killing all aboard, authorities said.
The crash happened shortly after the plane took off from a local airport around 11:30 a.m., and some of the occupants' family members witnessed the crash, said Bates County Sheriff Chad Anderson.
A heap of blue and silver mangled metal lay in the grass near Butler Memorial Airport with a massive lineup of emergency vehicles gathered on a nearby street. Clergy and volunteers went to the site to assist relatives, Anderson said, and officials were working Sunday afternoon to identify all victims and notify their next of kin.
Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration were also on scene Sunday afternoon, Anderson said, and a team from the National Transportation Safety Board was en route.
The private plane was operated by Skydive Kansas City, said Dennis Jacobs, the acting airport manager and Bates County Emergency Management Agency director. It was identified as a single engine turboprop plane.
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Trump celebrates his 80th birthday with an Iran deal and UFC cage fights at the White House
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump marked his 80th birthday on Sunday by hailing an initial agreement to end the war in Iran and staging a once unfathomable cage-fighting show on the White House's storied South Lawn.
Trump had been touting the emerging deal for weeks and the continuing conflict threatened to overshadow the UFC mixed martial arts extravaganza, where combatants inside a wire-mesh octagon tried to punch, kick, chop and pummel each other into submission.
Ahead of the fight starting, however, the president said an agreement to end the conflict “is now complete." He declared that the U.S. will end its blockade of Iran, and that the Strait of Hormuz would reopen. That could potentially ease high oil prices — but crucial details still need negotiating over the coming weeks.
Top administration officials and Republican leaders attended the fights, including FBI Director Kash Patel and House Speaker Mike Johnson. Polish President Karol Nawrocki was also spotted at the White House.
Trump and UFC chief Dana White walked together from the Oval Office to the Blue Room Balcony to survey the Octagon, standing for the national anthem as fighter jets thundered overhead.
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In Georgia, Senate hopeful Mike Collins celebrates being Trump's latest 'MAGA' pick in GOP primaries
WOODSTOCK, Ga. (AP) — In the closing stretch of Georgia's Republican U.S. Senate runoff, Rep. Mike Collins celebrated his 11th-hour endorsement from Donald Trump on Sunday and dismissed any ideas that the Republican president's stamp of approval is a risky bet in a potential showdown with Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in November.
Trump disclosed his choice of Collins over former football coach Derek Dooley in a middle-of-the-night social media post that praised the second-term congressman for his loyalty.
“I’ve always said that President Trump has this just impeccable ability to put his thumb on the scale at the right time,” Collins said at a campaign stop Sunday in the northern Atlanta exurbs.
The Republican candidates are competing Tuesday for the chance to unseat Ossoff in one of the most closely watched campaigns in the November midterm elections. Dooley, a political newcomer, is backed by outgoing Gov. Brian Kemp, who has clashed with Trump in the past.
Collins called it “encouraging” to have the president's approval. Looking past Dooley to the potential matchup with Ossoff, the congressman said he planned to invited Trump to Georgia, despite the president's sagging approval ratings.
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Palestinian death toll in Gaza tops 73,000 as Israel launches strikes despite ceasefire
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Palestinian death toll from the Israel-Hamas war has surpassed 73,000, Gaza’s Health Ministry said Sunday, as Israeli military operations continued despite a stalled and fragile ceasefire in place since October.
Israel says it is targeting Hamas and other militants who pose a threat, and in response to ceasefire violations, including occasional attacks.
Nearly 1,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of the ceasefire, according to the health ministry. Five Israeli soldiers have been killed since the truce.
The number of deaths since the beginning of the war is now 73,001, according to the health ministry's tally. Over 173,200 people have been wounded since the start of the war on Oct. 7, 2023, following the Hamas-led attack into Israel. That attack killed some 1,200 people and took 251 others hostage.
The health ministry, part of the Hamas-led government, is staffed by medical professionals and maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by United Nations agencies and independent experts. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants but says women and children make up around half of all fatalities.
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Russian attack sets fire to centuries-old religious site in Kyiv and kills 5 in Kharkiv
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A large-scale Russian attack on Ukraine killed five rescuers in Kharkiv and wounded at least 20 people in the capital Kyiv on Monday as strikes set apartment buildings ablaze and sparked a fire at one of the country’s most significant religious landmarks.
The rescuers were killed in Kharkiv by a second Russian strike as they fought a blaze caused by an earlier attack, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said. At least five other emergency workers were wounded.
A series of powerful explosions echoed across Kyiv, with a wave of ballistic missiles followed by Shahed drones as many people sought shelter underground and officials urged residents to take cover.
“Kyiv is under the main strike. There is significant destruction of civilian infrastructure,” Klymenko said.
Twenty people, including a child, sought medical help in the capital, said Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration.
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What to know about the G7 summit Trump is attending in France
EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France (AP) — Right after his 80th birthday party celebrations, U.S. President Donald Trump is heading to a summit in France of the G7 club of powerful democracies to dive into issues — Iran, Ukraine, trade and more — that have been sources of friction with allies he will be meeting.
Hours before leaving Washington, Trump announced an agreement to end the war — a development that could change the dynamic for the G7 leaders during the talks from late Monday to Wednesday.
Just days ago, when the Iran-U.S. ceasefire was hanging by a thread, with resumed strikes, the gathering on the shores of Europe’s largest Alpine lake appeared headed for stormy waters.
Analysts speculated that tempers could flare and that Trump might not stick around for long in Evian-les-Bains, the Alpine spa town that's been enveloped in a security bubble for the G7 leaders and guests also invited by French President Emmanuel Macron, the host.
Aside from France and the U.S., the other G7 nations are Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom.
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Hurricanes use stifling defense to blank Golden Knights 3-0 in Game 6 and win the Stanley Cup
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Carolina spent the first part of the Stanley Cup Final surviving, finding ways to overcome deficits and play a high-scoring game that didn't fit the Hurricanes' typical style.
But when it came down to doing what it takes to win the Cup, the Hurricanes' defense put its stamp on this series, shutting down the Vegas Golden Knights and not letting up.
The Hurricanes held Vegas to five total goals in Games 4 and 5 and used a suffocating defense in a 3-0 shutout in Sunday night's clinching Game 6 to win their first championship in 20 years.
“That’s a lot of years,” said Carolina center Jordan Staal, who received the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. "It’s amazing. This is something I’ve been going after ever since we got the first one. You want to win it again and again and again. What a feeling, what a battle. The boys were grinding today, my goodness. So many individual efforts just to keep the puck out of our net. It was an amazing ride. I’m just so proud of these guys.”
Brandon Bussi, who entrance late into Game 3 helped turn around the series for Carolina, recorded his first career playoff shutout in stopping 22 shots. Jackson Blake had a goal and assist, and Taylor Hall scored just 3:47 into the game to set the tone. Nikolaj Ehlers added an empty-net goal.
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Japan fans use blue bags to uphold a cleansing World Cup tradition after draw
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Those blue bags Japan fans waved in a frenzy after their team got a late tying goal were then used after the final whistle to maintain what has become a cleansing World Cup tradition.
The Samurai Blue fans cleaned up before they left the stadium Sunday, picking up trash from the stands after Japan's 2-2 draw against the Netherlands in Group F.
Only a few minutes earlier, those then-empty blue bags were prominent in the celebration when Daichi Kamada scored on a header off Koki Ogawa’s corner kick in the 88th minute.
Along with the constant chants for their team, those bags the fans bring to the stadium are often raised in unison. The scene becomes frantic after goals, such as Keito Nakamura's earlier in the second half to tie the game at 1-all and Kamada's shot that ultimately secured a point for Japan.
Scenes of Japanese soccer fans picking up and sweeping trash first drew public attention during the team's first World Cup appearance in France in 1998. They have done it every four years since, including in Qatar in 2022.
