News - Friday, April 3, 2026

At the edge of Enterprise South Nature Park, the throaty engine of a four-wheeler blends with the steady drone of traffic on Interstate 75 as it moves along a bumpy, rock-strewn trail.

It passes between a pair of wooden gates, their white-painted planks hanging from rusted hinges on posts bound with sagging barbed wire. A white cross crowns one gate, where a missing sign leaves a rectangular patch of bare wood – likely once bearing the name “Summit Cemetery.” The other stands in disrepair, its cross toppled at its base.

Old Summit Cemetery contains the graves of a once-thriving Black community – people whose lives reflect a long history of adversity and endurance in the South.

Some are known by name; many are not. Together, they form a record of a community that built lives in what was once rural Hamilton County – then lost much of it, piece by piece, to forces beyond their control.

1859

The East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad completes its line through the area, establishing a stop that would become known as Summit.

1860s-1870s

In the years following the Civil War and emancipation, Black families begin settling in Summit, many migrating from North Georgia and Alabama in search of land, safety and opportunity.

Cemeteries in Tennessee are protected under a mix of state laws designed to preserve burial sites, even when they’re located on private property. But those protections can be complex – especially in cases like Old Summit Cemetery, where boundaries are unclear and development is nearby.

More than 100 members of the local legal community gathered March 24 in Hamilton County Circuit Court to honor the career of retired Circuit Court Judge Marie Williams as her official judicial portrait was unveiled during a ceremony sponsored by the Chattanooga Bar Association.

The Chattanooga Public Library has added admission passes to the Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center to its Family Pass Collection, expanding free access to one of the city’s key historical attractions.

The new passes, now available at all five library locations, cover admission for up to four people of any age and may be checked out with a valid library card on a first-come, first-served basis. Each cardholder may use the pass once per calendar year.

The Salvation Army of Chattanooga will host its 50th annual Easter sunrise service at Chattanooga National Cemetery, 1200 Bailey Avenue. The free, community-wide service will begin at 7:15 a.m. Guests will be served coffee, hot chocolate and doughnuts while listening to a sunrise sermon and bagpipe music. The service, first organized in 1976 by Mildred Montague, has grown to draw hundreds each year. This year’s program will feature remarks from Divisional Commanders Majors Algerome and Teresa Newsome.

Chattanooga Police Lieutenant Justin Kilgore has graduated from the 297th session of the FBI National Academy, a prestigious leadership program for law enforcement professionals.

Kilgore was among 253 officers selected to attend the academy in Quantico, Virginia. The class included representatives from 48 states, the District of Columbia and 24 countries, along with members of four military and four federal civilian organizations.

A new real estate brokerage has launched atop Lookout Mountain, aiming to meet what developers describe as a growing appetite for luxury homes tied to one of the Southeast’s most ambitious resort communities.

McLemore Real Estate Partners, LLC will focus exclusively on marketing private residences and homesites within McLemore Resort, a mountaintop development that has steadily gained national attention for its golf courses, hospitality offerings and scenic views.

Children’s Hospital at Erlanger plans to renovate its emergency department, main lobby and entryways as part of an effort to create a more child-centered experience for patients and families.

Construction is expected to begin in summer 2026 and conclude by the end of the year. The project will be funded through a combination of organizational resources, private donations and proceeds from the 2026 Erlanger Believe Bash.

You might have heard that buying a home is better than renting. After all, why “throw money away” on rent when you could be building wealth through homeownership? Financial professionals say the decision isn’t that simple.

The answer depends on your personal and financial situation. Before you begin house hunting, ask yourself two key questions: Can you afford to buy? And should you buy?

The Chattanooga City Council has been selected as the first recipient in the area of a commemorative replica Liberty Bell, now installed outside the City Council Building at 1000 Lindsay Street.

The installation is part of a broader effort to mark the upcoming 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, a milestone being recognized by communities across the country.

The Final Four remains uncharted territory for the University of Tennessee men’s basketball program.

For the third consecutive season, UT was eliminated in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. The Vols were trounced by Midwest region No. 1 seed Michigan 95-62 Sunday in Chicago, falling one step shy of the elusive national semifinal appearance.

Three-row midsize SUVs are very popular among American families who want space and flexibility without the expense of a full-size SUV or the stigma of owning a minivan. Within this category, the Ford Explorer and Nissan Pathfinder are notable for their long-running nameplates and wide range of trim levels, including models designed for occasional off-roading on dirt roads or trails. 

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday that Pam Bondi is out as his attorney general, ending the contentious tenure of a loyalist who upended the Justice Department's culture of independence from the White House, oversaw large-scale firings of career employees and moved aggressively to investigate the Republican president's perceived enemies.

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks overcame early losses to finish with slim gains and close out their first winning week since the start of the Iran war.

Oil prices remained elevated, however, having soared after a national address late Wednesday from President Donald Trump, where he vowed the U.S. will continue to attack Iran and failed to offer a clear timetable for ending the conflict in the Middle East.

PHOENIX (AP) — Shea Ralph surveyed the room as she received The Associated Press Coach of the Year award and all she saw was family.

On one side was the Vanderbilt coach's assistants and school administrators, as well as her husband, daughter and mother. On the other, was her mentors from UConn, including Huskies coaches Geno Auriemma and Chris Dailey, for whom she played and worked alongside.

PHOENIX (AP) — Shea Ralph of Vanderbilt was named The Associated Press women's basketball Coach of the Year on Thursday after turning the Commodores into one of the top teams in the nation.

Ralph led a team that returned just one starter to the most successful season in school history. The team went 29-5, with 13 of those wins coming in the regular season against a rugged Southeastern Conference schedule. The Commodores finished tied for second in the conference, which matched the best finish in program history. They earned a 2-seed in the NCAA Tournament and reached the Sweet 16.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Pam Bondi is out of her job after failing to deliver criminal cases against President Donald Trump's political enemies.

But there's no guarantee her successor will have any better success at placating the president.

Over the last year, Bondi's Justice Department has encountered resistance from judges, grand jurors and its own workforce in trying to establish criminal conduct by one Trump foe after another. A new attorney general will confront not only Trump's demand for political prosecutions — a constant dating back to his first term in the White House — but also the same skeptical court system, and factual and legal hurdles, that have impeded efforts to deliver the sought-after results.

NEW YORK (AP) — After Pam Bondi became U.S. attorney general last year, conservative influencers, online sleuths and others who wanted the government to disclose all it knew about Jeffrey Epstein thought they might have a champion in the Department of Justice.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ousted the Army's top uniformed officer and two other generals, the Pentagon said Thursday without giving a reason for the departures while the United States is waging a war against Iran.

Gen. Randy George "will be retiring from his position as the 41st Chief of Staff of the Army effective immediately," said Sean Parnell, the Pentagon's top spokesman. George has held the post of Army chief of staff, which typically runs for four years, since August 2023 under the Biden administration.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that he will allow service members to carry personal weapons onto military installations, citing the Second Amendment and recent shootings at bases across the country.

In a video posted to X, Hegseth said he is signing a memo that will direct base commanders to allow requests for troops to carry privately owned firearms "with the presumption that it is necessary for personal protection."

WASHINGTON (AP) — American employers added a surprisingly strong 178,000 new jobs last month, rebounding from a dismal February. And the unemployment rate dipped to 4.3%.

The Labor Department reported Friday that hiring marked a rebound from the loss of 133,000 jobs in February. The job gains were about three times what economists had forecast.

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon is slapping a 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge on third-party sellers using its platform starting later this month amid a spike in fuel prices since the war in Iran started.

The temporary charge is effective April 17 for many of the sellers who use Amazon's fulfillment services, the online behemoth confirmed to The Associated Press in an email Thursday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has proposed boosting defense spending to $1.5 trillion in his 2027 budget released Friday, the largest such request in decades, reflecting his emphasis on U.S. military investments over domestic programs.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday accused China of "bullying" by detaining or holding up dozens of Panama-flagged ships — though for a short period of time — after the Central American country seized control of two critical ports on the Panama Canal earlier this year from a subsidiary of a Hong Kong-based company.

NEW YORK (AP) — This is not the run up to the midterm elections that Republicans wanted.

A year and a half after winning the White House by promising to lower costs and end wars, Donald Trump is a wartime president overseeing surging energy costs and an escalating overseas conflict that many in his own party do not like.

ATLANTA (AP) — The Georgia General Assembly ended its annual session early Friday without a plan for new equipment to overhaul the state's voting system by a July deadline, plunging into doubt the future of elections in the political battleground.

NASHVILLE (AP) — A new Tennessee law has eased up on two longstanding financial hurdles for people with felony sentences who want their voting rights back, including a unique requirement among states that they must have fully paid their child support costs.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito fell ill at an event in Philadelphia last month and was treated for dehydration before returning home to suburban Washington, the court's spokeswoman said Friday.

Alito's illness did not require an overnight hospital stay and he was back on the bench the following Monday, spokeswoman Patricia McCabe said in a statement.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A California dairy producer that health authorities have been investigating amid an ongoing outbreak of E. coli is recalling some of its raw cheese products, after initially refusing to do so.

Raw Farm of Fresno, California, said Thursday it is voluntarily recalling more than a half-dozen varieties of its cheddar cheese made from raw milk. The recalled batches carry expiration dates spanning from May 2026 to September 2026.

NEW YORK (AP) — This is not the run-up to the midterm elections that Republicans wanted. A year and a-half after winning the White House by promising to lower costs and end wars, Donald Trump is a wartime president overseeing surging energy costs and an escalating overseas conflict.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Steve Bannon, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump, on Monday won a Supreme Court order that is expected to lead to the dismissal of his criminal conviction for refusing to testify to Congress.

Prodded by the Trump administration, the justices threw out an appellate ruling upholding Bannon's conviction for defying a subpoena from the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack by a mob of Trump supporters on the U.S. Capitol.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The economic fallout from the war with Iran is driving up the cost of buying a home, even as other housing market trends in many parts of the country favor home shoppers this spring.

Mortgage rates have been rising since the war began, as surging energy prices heighten worries about higher inflation, pushing up the yield on U.S. 10-year Treasury bonds, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans.

DALLAS (AP) — Women suffering through the hot flashes, night sweats, mood changes and sleep problems that can come with menopause — all while looking in the mirror and noticing signs of aging — are being bombarded with products.

More open conversations about menopause and the period leading up to it — called perimenopause — are happening at the same time that marketing has been supercharged by social media. Women are being confronted by lotions and serums and light masks that promise to rejuvenate their faces and necks, dietary supplements claiming to do everything from boost moods to ease hot flashes and gadgets promising to help with symptoms.

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Rising household electricity prices and controversy over data centers are reshaping low-profile elections for control over utilities that build power plants and power lines — and then bill people for the cost.

The tensions played a prominent role during last year's elections in Georgia, New Jersey and Virginia, and now they're sweeping through Arizona and Alabama, where once-sleepy contests are becoming political brawls.

NEW YORK (AP) — Samsung is saying goodbye its namesake texting app.

According to an end of service announcement published on the tech giant's U.S. support website, Samsung Messages will be discontinued in July. Impacted owners of Samsung smartphones and other gadgets are being asked to switch to Google Messages in the meantime, "to maintain a consistent messaging experience on Android."

The Associated Press said Monday it is offering buyouts to an unspecified number of its U.S.-based journalists as part of an acceleration away from the focus on newspaper journalism that sustained the company since the mid-1800s.

The news organization is becoming more focused on visual journalism and developing new revenue sources, particularly through companies investing in artificial intelligence, to cope with the economic collapse of many legacy news outlets. Once the lion's share of AP's revenue, big newspaper companies now account for 10% of its income.

NEW YORK (AP) — Savannah Guthrie was back and almost all business at NBC's "Today" show anchor desk on Monday, marking a return for the first time in more than two months since her mother's disappearance. "Here we go, ready or not," Guthrie said as the show opened. "Let's do the news."

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The screenwriters union and Hollywood studios reached a surprise four-year tentative agreement after roughly three weeks of negotiation.

The Writers Guild of America West said on X that its negotiating committee unanimously approved a tentative agreement with The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents studios. The alliance confirmed the deal in a separate statement on its website Saturday.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran on Monday rejected the latest ceasefire proposal and instead said it wants a permanent end to the war, even as U.S. President Donald Trump's ultimatum loomed to avoid a major escalation in attacks against power plants and bridges.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday made expletive-filled threats against Iran and its infrastructure if it doesn't open the Strait of Hormuz by his Tuesday deadline, after American forces rescued a wounded aviator whose Iran-downed plane fell behind enemy lines.

NEW YORK (AP) — Hunched over a sewing machine, Kil Bae is hemming a dress inside his Manhattan tailor shop when a new customer stops by with a vintage Tommy Hilfiger jacket he wants taken in.

The modeling agent paid $20 at a thrift store for his reversible bomber style that's plaid on one side and red on the other. He's willing to spend $280 to have it slimmed down. Alteration requests with such a price disparity would have seemed odd a few years ago, the tailor says, but are helping to keep the bobbins bobbing at his one-man shop, 85 Custom Tailor.

HAVANA (AP) — Two U.S lawmakers called for a permanent solution to Cuba's crises after witnessing the effects of a U.S. energy blockade during an official visit to the island.

Democratic Reps. Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Jonathan Jackson of Illinois met with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez and members of Parliament during a five-day trip that ended Sunday.

The Associated Press, one of the world's oldest and most influential news organizations, said Monday it is offering buyouts to an unspecified number of its U.S.-based journalists as part of an acceleration away from the focus on newspapers and their print journalism that sustained the company since the mid-1800s.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States relied on dozens of aircraft, hundreds of personnel, secret CIA technology and a dose of subterfuge to rescue a two-man F-15E fighter jet crew downed deep inside Iran, a risky mission that President Donald Trump and his top defense aides detailed Monday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A top Federal Reserve official said Monday that an interest rate hike could be appropriate if inflation remains persistently above the central bank's 2% target, the latest sign that some policymakers are moving away from a bias toward reducing borrowing costs.

NEW YORK (AP) — JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon warned in his annual shareholder letter that a "resilient" U.S. economy could face renewed inflation pressures if the war in Iran disrupts global energy markets.

Dimon described inflation as the potential "skunk at the party" this year, cautioning that turmoil in oil and commodity markets could ripple through the economy, affecting everything from gasoline prices to manufacturing costs. He also warned that sustained inflation could force the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates higher for longer, posing risks to the broader economy and financial system.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a measure into law Monday that gives him along with other Florida leaders the ability to label groups as domestic or foreign terrorist organizations and expel state university students who support them.

The law, criticized by free speech advocates, allows a top official at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to designate a group as a domestic or foreign terrorist organization, with the governor and three other members of the Florida Cabinet approving or rejecting the designation. Besides the governor, the Cabinet is made up of the state attorney general, the chief financial officer and the agriculture commissioner, all of whom are elected separately.

The Tennessee Lady Vols ' struggles haven't ended since finishing the season on an eight-game skid capped by a first-round NCAA Tournament loss.

As of Monday, coach Kim Caldwell had no players with eligibility left wanting to play for Tennessee anymore.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Adrian Kempe scored the only goal of the shootout in the second round, and the Los Angeles Kings tightened the Western Conference playoff race with a 3-2 win over the Nashville Predators on Monday night.

Los Angeles has played extra time in seven of its last 10 games — and 32 this season.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa can enforce a law that restricts teachers from talking about LGBTQ+ topics with students in kindergarten through the sixth grade and bans some books in libraries and classrooms, an appellate court said Monday.

The decision for now vacates a lower court judge's temporary blocks on the law.

O'SMACH, Cambodia (AP) — I have often used the word industrial-scale in my own writing to describe the scam compounds that dot the region.

But the weight of that phrase truly sunk in at the O'Smach Resort complex that we visited Tuesday. Thailand's military, which conducted a tour for the media, said that the whole area encompasses around 197 acres (80 hectares), equivalent to 150 American football fields.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Education Department said Monday it has terminated agreements with five school districts and a college aimed at upholding protections for transgender students, backing away from requirements negotiated by previous administrations that took a different interpretation of civil rights.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Russia and China on Tuesday vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz that had been repeatedly watered down in hopes those two countries would abstain.

The vote — 11-2, with two abstentions from Pakistan and Colombia— took place just hours before an 8 p.m. Eastern deadline set by U.S. President Donald Trump for Iran to open the strategic waterway or face attacks on its power plants and bridges. One-fifth of the world's oil typically passes through the strait, and Iran's stranglehold during the war has sent energy prices soaring. "Failing to adopt this resolution sends the wrong signal to the world, to the people of the world," Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Bahrain's foreign minister, said after the vote — "the signal that the threat to international waterways can pass without any decisive action by the international organization responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security."

NEW YORK (AP) — Global leaders have been scrambling to contain the rising cost of oil and gasoline since the start of the Iran war, which took a record amount of oil off the market when tankers full of crude were stranded in the Persian Gulf and military strikes damaged refineries, pipelines and export terminals.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The U.S. again struck the Iranian oil hub of Kharg Island, according to a White House official who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The U.S. hit military targets on the island, the official said Tuesday. The strikes came hours ahead of a deadline President Donald Trump set for Iran to capitulate to his demands or face a major attack. He said Tuesday morning that "'whole civilization will die tonight" if Iran did not make a deal.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian officials on Tuesday urged young people to form human chains to protect power plants, as U.S. President Donald Trump warned that a "whole civilization will die tonight" if Tehran does not meet his latest deadline to agree to a deal that includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

WASHINGTON (AP) — In his news conference Monday, President Donald Trump threatened to blow up every bridge and power plant in Iran, action that would be so far-reaching that some experts in military law said it could constitute a war crime.

The issue could turn on whether the power plants were legitimate military targets, whether the attacks were proportional compared with what Iran has done and whether civilian casualties were minimized.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has pushed back a deadline for Iran to cut a deal or open the Strait of Hormuz from Monday to Tuesday, the latest of several deadline delays, and threatened that without a deal "Hell will reign down on them."

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The city of Minneapolis released a video Monday showing a chase and scuffle that ended in a nonfatal shooting in January and the suspensions of two federal officers involved in the Trump administration's immigration crackdown in Minnesota.

NEW YORK (AP) — Deere & Co. has agreed to pay $99 million as part of a settlement that would resolve a class action lawsuit accusing the farm equipment giant of monopolizing repair services.

NEW YORK (AP) — The animal rights group PETA's lawsuit over the health of French bulldogs and some other popular dog breeds has been dismissed, with a judge saying a New York law was misapplied to the case.

The suit, filed last year, marked a new front in the PETA's long-running campaign against dog breeders. The case accused the American Kennel Club of promulgating unhealthy "standards," or ideals, for Frenchies — the nation's most prevalent dog breed, by the club's count — as well as bulldogs, Chinese shar-peis, dachshunds and pugs. The AKC, the nation's oldest purebred dog registry, rejected the claims and said it prioritizes canine health.

NEW YORK (AP) — The racial reckoning that followed George Floyd 's murder in 2020 carried hopes of new support for disproportionately underfunded, Black-led nonprofits. American companies stepped up donations to historically Black colleges and universities. Major climate funders pledged to give more toward minority groups. Large donors sought to narrow the racial wealth gap.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks swung sharply Tuesday as uncertainty about the war with Iran increased ahead of a looming deadline set by President Donald Trump to destroy Iranian power plants and bridges.

The S&P 500 fell as much as 1.2% after Trump threatened that a "whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again" if Iran does not meet his deadline at 8 p.m. Eastern time to open the Strait of Hormuz. But stocks rallied at the end of trading after Pakistan's prime minister urged Trump to extend his deadline for another two weeks and asked Iran to open up the strait for two weeks.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department's new leader said Tuesday that "nobody" other than President Donald Trump knows why Pam Bondi was replaced as attorney general last week.

"Nobody has any idea why the attorney general is no longer the attorney general, and I'm the acting attorney general, except for President Trump," Todd Blanche told reporters when asked at an unrelated news conference if Bondi lost her job because she was not successful in bringing criminal cases against the Republican president's perceived adversaries.

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Justus Annunen stopped 43 shots — one shy of his career high — for his third career shutout, and the Nashville Predators sent the Anaheim Ducks to their sixth consecutive loss, 5-0 on Tuesday night.

Erick Haula, Filip Forsberg and Brady Skjei scored second-period goals, and Zachary L'Heureux and Fedor Svechkov scored in the third for the Predators. Joakim Kemmell and Ryan O'Reilly each had two assists.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Ray Stevens broke his neck and is recovering at home after being briefly hospitalized, according to a statement published Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday defended his decision to repeal the legal determination that serves as the basis for federal rules to slow climate change, telling a gathering of climate change skeptics that they should "celebrate vindication."

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — There are faster ways to get from Chicago to Los Angeles, but none have the allure or cultural cachet of Route 66.

To John Steinbeck, it was the Mother Road that led poor farmers from Dust Bowl desperation to sunny California. To Native Americans along the route, it was an economic boon that also left scars. To Black travelers, it offered sanctuary during segregation. And to music fans, it was the place to get their kicks.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran, the United States and Israel agreed to a two-week ceasefire in an 11th-hour deal that headed off U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to unleash a bombing campaign to destroy Iranian civilization. But hours after the announcement, Iran and Gulf Arab countries reported new attacks Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump, over the course of a single day, went from threatening Iran with "annihilation" to proclaiming that the battered Islamic Republic's leadership had presented a "workable" plan that led him to agree to a 14-day ceasefire that he expects will pave the way to end the nearly six-week war.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's recent statements of intent about his administration's plans for Iran — some laced with profanity, some threatening deeply destructive, nation-shattering actions — have raised questions about international law.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said he would suspend his threatened attack against Iran less than two hours before the deadline the president set for Tehran Tuesday, which followed weeks of deadline delays and escalating threats, including Trump's earlier post that "a whole civilization will die tonight."

NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices are plunging back toward $95 per barrel, and stock markets are surging worldwide on Wednesday after President Donald Trump pulled back from his threat to force a "whole civilization" to die in the war with Iran.

The S&P 500 leaped 2.3% after Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran, less than 90 minutes before a deadline Trump had set for it to open the Strait of Hormuz and allow oil tankers to exit the Persian Gulf. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1,165 points, or 2.5%, as of 11:45 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 2.8% higher following even bigger gains in European and Asian stock markets.

HONG KONG (AP) — A subsidiary of a Hong Kong-based conglomerate started arbitration proceedings against Danish logistics and port group Maersk, accusing the company of aligning with Panama in a scheme to take over its port operations on the Central American country's critical canal.

WASHINGTON (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte is expected to meet with President Donald Trump on Wednesday to try to smooth over the president's anger with the military alliance over the Iran war.

Trump had suggested the U.S. may consider leaving the trans-Atlantic alliance after NATO member countries ignored his call to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping waterway, as Iran effectively shut it and sent gas prices soaring.

WASHINGTON (AP) — March's persistent unseasonable heat was so intense that the continental United States registered its most abnormally hot month in 132 years of records, according to federal weather data. And the next year or so looks to turn the dial up on global warmth even more, as some forecasts predict a brewing El Niño will reach superstrength.

NEW YORK (AP) — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is launching a new podcast that he says will begin "a new era of radical transparency in government," according to a teaser video first obtained by The Associated Press.

The show, titled "The Secretary Kennedy Podcast," will launch next week and feature Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaccine crusader who has reshaped the country's health policy, in conversation with doctors, scientists and agency staff, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services officials told the AP ahead of the launch. In the teaser video, in a slick HHS-branded studio with ominous music playing in the background, Kennedy bills it as a new way to expose corruption and lies that have made Americans sick.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Wednesday announced plans to tap into unconventional natural gas deposits in an effort to lower her country's reliance on foreign energy at a time when the Iran war is disrupting global energy markets.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hackers backing Tehran say an uncertain ceasefire between Iran and the United States and Israel won't end their retaliatory cyberattacks, a warning that American cybersecurity experts say potential targets in the U.S. and Israel should take seriously.

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — To end the war with the United States and Israel, Iran is demanding the right to collect tolls in the Strait of Hormuz as a precondition for reopening the waterway vital to world oil supplies.

Yet collecting tolls in the strait would violate a basic and enduring principle of international maritime trade: freedom of peaceful navigation. It's an ancient idea that was codified by the United Nations' Convention on the Law of the Sea, which took effect in 1994.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A tenuous ceasefire deal in the Iran war allowing negotiations for a longer-term peace between the United States and Iran appears to be in jeopardy after Tehran accused the Trump administration of major violations.

Such a swift collapse may not entirely come as a surprise, however, because neither side had seemed able to agree on even the basic contours of the key issues being discussed.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz again Wednesday in response to Israeli attacks against the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, casting doubt over whether an already precarious ceasefire to end more than a month of war will hold.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Justice has indicated that former Attorney General Pam Bondi will not appear for a scheduled deposition next week before a House committee investigating how the government handled its investigations into Jeffrey Epstein.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Federal Reserve policymakers willing to consider an interest rate hike this year rose between the January and March meetings, as higher gas prices stemming from the Iran war threatened to worsen inflation in the coming months.

NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices plunged below $95 per barrel, and stock markets surged worldwide Wednesday after President Donald Trump pulled back from his threat to destroy Iran.

The S&P 500 leaped 2.5% after Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran, less than 90 minutes before a deadline Trump had set for it to open the Strait of Hormuz and allow oil tankers to exit the Persian Gulf. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 1,325 points, or 2.8%, and the Nasdaq composite soared 2.8% following even bigger gains in European and Asian stock markets.

NEW YORK (AP) — Longtime media executive Jeff Shell is leaving Paramount, in a move that arrives amid a messy legal battle and the Skydance-owned company's ongoing efforts to take over Hollywood rival Warner Bros. Discovery.