AP News Summary at 1:02 a.m. EDT

Strikes hit world's largest natural gas field in Iran, and Tehran retaliates with more attacks

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran has broadened its strikes on major energy facilities in the Middle East, eliciting strong warnings from Gulf Arab states that called it a dangerous escalation that threatened to draw them into direct combat with Tehran. The strikes come after Israel killed Iran’s intelligence minister and reportedly attacked the world’s largest natural gas field in Iran. Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates all denounced the Iranian attacks targeting their natural gas fields. Global prices surged after the attacks.

State Department cut jobs with deep expertise in Middle East as Iran crisis escalates

WASHINGTON (AP) — The widening war in Iran is exposing big gaps at the State Department, especially in the bureau that handles the Middle East. In recent weeks, officials say, the Trump administration has cut staff, left key leadership jobs vacant and relied on a small circle of aides. Former officials describe an understaffed and demoralized workforce. They link the turmoil to mixed public messaging, weak planning and trouble helping Americans trapped in conflict zones. They say the department started evacuation planning late. The State Department now relies on temporary task forces and volunteers.

US eases Venezuela oil sanctions as Trump seeks to boost world oil supply during Iran war

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Treasury Department is easing sanctions on Venezuela’s state oil company. It's one way the Trump administration is trying to ease oil prices that have soared during the Iran war. The U.S. issued a license on Wednesday that lets Venezuela's state-run company sell and export Venezuelan oil to U.S. buyers and on global markets. Separately, the White House says Trump will waive, for 60 days, requirements for goods shipped between U.S. ports to be moved on U.S.-flagged vessels for 60 days. That 1920s law is often blamed for making gas more expensive. Analysts and economists say the changes could help keep a lid on price increases, but said markets are expected to be fraught as long as the war continues.

Trump's failed strong-arming of allies on Iran shows that pressure is losing its effect

PARIS (AP) — We’ve long had your back, now it’s our turn. That is how the famously transactional U.S. President Donald Trump is framing his demands that allies help him with the Iran war. He wants to call in IOUs for decades of U.S. security guarantees. The string of refusals indicates that his stock of European goodwill is low. Trump has put allies through the wringer since his return to the White House, bullying them over tariffs, Greenland and other issues, and now demanding — not just requesting — assistance with the Iran war. This time, they’re punching back.

Tulsi Gabbard says Iran's regime still intact but refuses to discuss talks with Trump about war

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government’s top intelligence official has told lawmakers that Iran’s regime “appears to be intact but largely degraded.” However, Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, repeatedly dodged questions about whether President Donald Trump had been warned about the fallout from the weeks-old war, including Iran's attacks on Gulf nations and its effective closure of the vital Strait of Hormuz. Gabbard also stated in prepared remarks to the Senate Intelligence Committee that U.S. attacks on Iran last year had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program and that there had been no effort since then to rebuild that capability. The statement was notable given Trump’s repeated assertions that a war with Iran was necessary.

Mullin makes his case as a steady hand for DHS but faces Senate pushback over his temperament

WASHINGTON (AP) — Markwayne Mullin says he'd be a steady hand at the Department of Homeland Security if he's confirmed as secretary. But he faced pushback from fellow senators at a hearing Wednesday as DHS tries to move on from the controversies that roiled it under Kristi Noem. Mullin is signaling that he'll follow President Donald Trump’s immigration priorities and he's taking issue with concerns over his temperament for the Cabinet post. The Oklahoma Republican says Congress must end the shutdown that has left many DHS workers without pay. The early part of the Senate hearing grew testy when the committee head, Republican Sen. Rand Paul, sought to challenge Mullin’s fitness for the job.

Democrats storm out of Justice Department leaders' briefing on the Epstein files

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic lawmakers have stormed out of a closed-door briefing on the Jeffrey Epstein files by Justice Department leaders, and say they will push to force Attorney General Pam Bondi to answer questions under oath about the case. Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche went to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to try to quell bipartisan frustration over the Justice Department’s handling of millions of files related to Epstein’s sex trafficking investigation. Republicans on the committee dismissed the move by Democrats as political grandstanding, said Bondi and Blanche had been answering “substantiative questions,” and that Bondi said she would follow the law regarding her subpoena.

Gov. JB Pritzker criticizes AIPAC after pro-Israel group spent heavily in Illinois primary

CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is condemning special interest money that poured into the state ahead of this week’s primary, including from a pro-Israel political group that the billionaire and potential 2028 presidential contender once supported. Pritzker is a Jewish Democrat who also spent money to influence races Tuesday. He was once a donor to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee before he walked away more than a decade ago. He told The Associated Press that AIPAC lost its way as a bipartisan group focused on Middle East peace. Outside groups, including AIPAC, funneled roughly $70 million into six open U.S. House and Senate races in Illinois on Tuesday.

Fed keeps key rate unchanged as Powell vows to stay until DOJ investigation is finished

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve kept its key interest rate unchanged Wednesday and Chair Jerome Powell highlighted the increasingly uncertain outlook for the U.S. economy and inflation in the wake of the Iran war, suggesting the Fed could stand pat for an extended period. Fed policymakers maintained their forecast for an additional rate cut this year, but in a news conference, Powell suggested that the central bank remains concerned about inflation that was still stubbornly elevated even before the conflict’s impact on gas prices.

César Chavez accused of sexually abusing labor rights leader Dolores Huerta and others

Labor rights activist Dolores Huerta revealed she was among women and girls who say they were sexually abused by César Chavez, the long-admired Latino icon, while he led the United Farm Workers union. Huerta says in a statement released Wednesday that she stayed silent for 60 years out of concern that her words would hurt the farmworker movement. The stunning allegations against Chavez, who died more than three decades ago, drew immediate calls to change events and memorials honoring the man who in the 1960s brought to light the struggles of field workers.