Trump tells US steelworkers he’s going to double tariffs on foreign steel to 50%

WEST MIFFLIN, Pa. (AP) — President Donald Trump says he’s doubling the tariff rate on steel to 50%, a dramatic increase that could further push up prices for a metal used to make housing, autos and other goods. Trump made the announcement Friday at U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works–Irvin Plant in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, where he announced investments by Japan’s Nippon Steel. The price of steel products has increased roughly 16% since Trump became president in January, according to the government’s producer price index. Trump later added that aluminum tariffs would also be doubled to 50% and said both tariff hikes would go into effect Wednesday.

Hegseth says US will stand by Indo-Pacific allies against 'imminent' threat of China

SINGAPORE (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reassured allies in the Indo-Pacific that they will not be left alone to face increasing military and economic pressure from China. Hegseth spoke on Saturday at the Asian Defense Summit in Singapore. He said Washington will bolster its defenses overseas to counter what the Pentagon sees as rapidly developing threats by Beijing. Hegseth said China is no longer just building up its military forces to be able to take Taiwan by 2027, it’s “actively training for it, every day.” He said the threat China poses "is real — and it could be imminent.”

Floods kill at least 111 as northern Nigeria battles climate change, dry spells and heavy rainfall

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Officials say torrents of predawn rain unleashed flooding that killed at least 111 people in a market town where northern Nigerian farmers meet with traders from the south. The death toll is expected to grow. The Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency did not immediately say how much rain fell after midnight Thursday in the town of Mokwa. Communities in northern Nigeria have been experiencing prolonged dry spells worsened by climate change and excessive rainfall that leads to severe flooding during the brief wet season. Rescuers continued to find more bodies Friday afternoon. The death toll could go higher as the search continues.

Sean 'Diddy' Combs' lawyers say ex-assistant’s social media posts undercut her rape allegation

NEW YORK (AP) — Sean “Diddy” Combs’ lawyers confronted his rape-alleging former personal assistant with her social media posts that praised the hip-hop mogul as a mentor and “friend for life” after she says he assaulted her. Defense attorney Brian Steel on Friday portrayed the warm messages as contradictory to the assistant's claims that working for Combs was often toxic and terrifying. Testifying under the pseudonym “Mia” for a second day, she said the posts were a facade, telling the jury that, “Instagram was a place to show how great your life was, even if it was not true.”The 55-year-old Combs has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges.

Alf Clausen, Emmy-winning composer who wrote music for 'The Simpsons' for 27 years, dies at 84

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Alf Clausen, the Emmy-winning composer who provided the music for “The Simpsons” for 27 years, has died at age 84. Clausen's daughter says he died in Los Angeles on Thursday. Clausen began providing the music for the animated antics of “The Simpsons” in its second season in 1990, and wrote the scores for nearly 600 episodes. He won two Emmys and was nominated for 30. He also composed the music for the TV series “Moonlighting” and “Alf.” “Simpsons” creator Matt Groening once called Clausen “one of the unacknowledged treasures of the show.”

Supreme Court lets Trump end legal protections for 500,000 migrants, exposing more to deportation

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has again cleared the way for the Trump administration to strip temporary legal protections from hundreds of thousands of immigrants for now. This pushes the total number of people who could be newly exposed to deportation to nearly 1 million. The justices on Friday lifted a lower-court order that kept humanitarian parole protections in place for more than 500,000 migrants from four countries: Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. The court has also allowed the administration to revoke temporary legal status from about 350,000 Venezuelan migrants in another case.

US measles cases rise slightly as Colorado reports a new outbreak

The U.S. is up to 1,088 confirmed measles cases. Texas added 10 cases in the past week, and Colorado is reporting a new outbreak. Two elementary school-aged children and an adult have died from measles-related illnesses this year. Other states with active outbreaks include Colorado, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. Measles is caused by a highly contagious virus that’s airborne. It is preventable through vaccines, and has been considered eliminated from the U.S. since 2000.

Wall Street glides to the end of its best month since 2023

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street closed its best month since 2023 with a quiet day of trading. The S&P 500 was essentially flat and edged down by less than 0.1% as it finished a winning week and its first winning month in the last four. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.3%. Hopes climbed through the month that the worst of the pain caused by President Donald Trump’s tariffs may have already passed, though uncertainty still hangs over the market. Treasury yields eased in the bond market following encouraging reports on inflation and consumer sentiment in the United States.

Hamas says it is still reviewing a US proposal for a Gaza ceasefire

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas says it is continuing to review a U.S. proposal for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza. The ceasefire plan, which has been approved by Israeli officials, won a cool initial reaction Thursday from the militant group. But President Donald Trump said Friday that negotiators were close to reaching an agreement. A Hamas official and an Egyptian official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive talks, said Thursday that the proposal called for a 60-day pause in fighting, guarantees of serious negotiations leading to a long-term truce and assurances that Israel will not resume hostilities after the release of hostages, as it did in March. In a terse statement, Hamas said it is holding consultations with Palestinian factions over the proposal.

States are rolling out red carpets for data centers. But some lawmakers are pushing back

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The explosive growth of the data centers needed to power America’s fast-rising demand for artificial intelligence and cloud computing has spurred states to dangle incentives in hopes of landing an economic bonanza. It's also eliciting pushback in places where an influx of data centers has caused friction with neighboring communities. Activity in state legislatures — and competition for data centers — has been brisk. Many states are offering financial incentives or tax breaks worth tens of millions of dollars. In some cases, those incentives are winning approval only after a fight or efforts to attach riders that require data centers to pay for their own electricity or meet energy efficiency standards.