AP News in Brief at 11:04 p.m. EDT

Renewed fighting tests Gaza ceasefire and Israel briefly halts aid

JERUSALEM (AP) — Gaza’s fragile ceasefire faced its first major test Sunday as Israeli forces launched a wave of deadly strikes, saying Hamas militants had killed two soldiers, and an Israeli security official said the transfer of aid into the territory was halted.

The military later said it resumed enforcing the ceasefire, and the official confirmed that aid deliveries would resume Monday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he’s not authorized to discuss the issue with the media.

A little over a week has passed since the start of the U.S.-proposed ceasefire aimed at ending two years of war. U.S. President Donald Trump said the ceasefire remained in place and “we want to make sure it’s going to be very peaceful.”

He told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday that Hamas has been “quite rambunctious” and “they’ve been doing some shooting.” He suggested that the violence might be the fault of “rebels” within the organization rather than its leadership.

“It’s going to be handled toughly but properly,” he said. Trump did not say whether he thought the Israeli strikes were justified, saying “it’s under review.”

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Trump calls Colombia’s Petro an ‘illegal drug leader’ and announces tariffs and an end to US aid

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The United States will slash assistance to Colombia and enact tariffs on its exports because the country’s leader, Gustavo Petro, “does nothing to stop” drug production, President Donald Trump said Sunday, escalating the friction between Washington and one of its closest allies in Latin America.

In a social media post, Trump referred to Petro as “an illegal drug leader” who is “low rated and very unpopular.” The Republican president warned that Petro “better close up” drug operations “or the United States will close them up for him, and it won’t be done nicely.”

Later in the day, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that Colombia has “no fight against drugs” and “they are a drug manufacturing machine” with “a lunatic” for a president. He said that he would announce new tariffs on Monday.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also announced the latest U.S. strike on a vessel that was allegedly carrying “substantial amounts of narcotics.”

He said the vessel was associated with a Colombian rebel group — the National Liberation Army, or ELN — that has been in conflict with Petro’s government. He did not provide any evidence for his assertions, but he shared a brief video clip of a boat engulfed in flames after an explosion on Friday.

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A cargo aircraft skids off a Hong Kong runway into the sea, killing 2 people

HONG KONG (AP) — A cargo aircraft skidded off a Hong Kong runway into the sea when landing early Monday, killing two people.

The Boeing 747, flown by Turkey-based ACT Airlines, was landing at Hong Kong International Airport around 3:50 a.m. on arrival from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, authorities said. The airline had leased the aircraft from Emirates, a long-haul carrier based in Dubai.

Four crew members on the plane were rescued and taken to a hospital. Authorities said two people in an airport ground handling vehicle, which had fallen into the sea, were killed.

Emirates said the Boeing 747 freighter flying as EK9788 was wet leased and operated by ACT Airlines. In wet leases, the company supplying the plane also provides the crew, maintenance and insurance. Emirates said there was no cargo on board.

Local Hong Kong broadcasters showed the aircraft partially submerged just off the edge of the airport’s sea wall. The aircraft’s front half and cockpit were visible above water but the tail end appearing to have broken off.

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Centrist Rodrigo Paz wins Bolivia’s presidential runoff, topping right-wing rival

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Rodrigo Paz, a centrist senator who was never a nationally prominent figure until now, won Bolivia’s presidential election on Sunday, preliminary results showed, galvanizing voters outraged by the country’s economic crisis and frustrated with 20 years of rule by the Movement Toward Socialism party.

“The trend is irreversible,” Óscar Hassenteufel, the president of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, said of Paz’s lead over his rival, former right-wing President Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga.

Paz won 54% of the votes, early results showed, versus Quiroga’s 45%.

Paz took the podium Sunday night flanked by his wife, María Helena Urquidi, and four adult children. The hotel ballroom went wild, with people shouting his name and holding phones aloft.

“Today, Bolivia can be certain that this will be a government that will bring solutions,” he told supporters. “We extend a hand to govern for the good of the country.”

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To hit back at the United States in their trade war, China borrows from the US playbook

WASHINGTON (AP) — China likes to condemn the United States for extending its arm too far outside of its borders to make demands on non-American companies. But when it sought to hit back at the U.S. interests this month, Beijing did exactly the same.

In expanding export rules on rare earths, Beijing for the first time announced it will require foreign firms to obtain approval from the Chinese government to export magnets containing even tiny amounts of China-originated rare earth materials or produced with Chinese technology.

That means a South Korean smartphone maker must ask for Beijing’s permission to sell the devices to Australia if the phones contain China-originated rare earth materials, said Jamieson Greer, the U.S. trade representative. “This rule gives China control over basically the entire global economy in the technology supply chain,” he said.

For anyone familiar with U.S. trade practice, China is simply borrowing a decades-long U.S. policy: the foreign direct product rule. It extends the reach of U.S. law to foreign-made products, and it has been used regularly to restrict China’s access to certain U.S. technologies made outside of the United States, even when they are in the hands of foreign companies.

It is the latest example of Beijing turning to U.S. precedents for tools it needs to stare down Washington in what appears to be an extended trade war between the world’s two largest economies.

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Trump suggests US will buy Argentinian beef to bring down prices for American consumers

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (AP) — President Donald Trump said Sunday that the United States could purchase Argentinian beef in an attempt to bring down prices for American consumers.

“We would buy some beef from Argentina,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One during a flight from Florida to Washington. “If we do that, that will bring our beef prices down.”

Trump promised earlier this week to address the issue as part of his efforts to keep inflation in check.

U.S. beef prices have been stubbornly high for a variety of reasons, including drought and reduced imports from Mexico due to a flesh-eating pest in cattle herds there.

Trump has been working to help Argentina bolster its collapsing currency with a $20 billion credit swap line and additional financing from sovereign funds and the private sector ahead of midterm elections for his close ally, President Javier Milei.

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George Santos says he’s humbled but dismisses ‘pearl clutching’ critics

NEW YORK (AP) — Freed from the prison where he had been serving time for ripping off his campaign donors, former U.S. Rep. George Santos says he’s humbled by his experience behind bars but unconcerned about the “pearl clutching” of critics upset that President Donald Trump granted him clemency.

“I’m pretty confident if President Trump had pardoned Jesus Christ off the cross, he would have had critics,” Santos said Sunday in an interview on CNN.

Santos, who won office after inventing a bogus persona as a Wall Street dealmaker, pleaded guilty to fraud and identity theft last year and began serving a 7-year sentence in July at a prison in New Jersey. But Trump ordered him released him Friday after he’d served just 84 days. Trump called Santos a “rogue,” but said he didn’t deserve a harsh sentence and should get credit for voting Republican.

Speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Santos said he had “learned a great deal” and had “a very large slice of humble pie, if not the whole pie” while in prison.

He also apologized to former constituents in his New York congressional district, saying he was “in a chaotic ball of flame” when he committed his crimes. Santos admitted last year to deceiving donors and stealing the identities of 11 people — including his own family members.

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Thieves steal crown jewels in 4 minutes from Louvre Museum

PARIS (AP) — In a minutes-long strike Sunday inside the world’s most-visited museum, thieves rode a basket lift up the Louvre ’s facade, forced a window, smashed display cases and fled with priceless Napoleonic jewels, officials said.

The daylight heist about 30 minutes after opening, with visitors already inside, was among the highest-profile museum thefts in living memory and comes as staff complained that crowding and thin staffing are straining security.

The theft unfolded just 250 meters (270 yards) from the Mona Lisa, in what Culture Minister Rachida Dati described as a professional “four-minute operation.”

One object, the emerald-set imperial crown of Napoleon III’s wife, Empress Eugénie, containing more than 1,300 diamonds, was later found outside the museum, French authorities said. It was reportedly recovered broken.

Images from the scene showed confused tourists being steered out of the glass pyramid and adjoining courtyards as officers closed nearby streets along the Seine.

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State emergency officials say new rules and delays for FEMA grants put disaster response at risk

State officials on the front lines of preparing for natural disasters and responding to emergencies say severe cuts to federal security grants, restrictions on money intended for readiness and funding delays tied to litigation are posing a growing risk to their ability to respond to crises.

It’s all causing confusion, frustration and concern. The federal government shutdown isn’t helping.

“Every day we remain in this grant purgatory reduces the time available to responsibly and effectively spend these critical funds,” said Kiele Amundson, communications director at the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency.

The uncertainty has led some emergency management agencies to hold off on filling vacant positions and make rushed decisions on important training and purchases.

Experts say the developments complicate state-led emergency efforts, undermining the Republican administration’s stated goals of shifting more responsibility to states and local governments for disaster response.

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AP Top 25 gets an overhaul behind No. 1 Ohio State; Vandy is a top-10 team for 1st time since 1947

Vanderbilt is a top-10 team in college football for the first time since 1947 in an Associated Press poll that got a nearly complete makeover Sunday after a weekend when nine Top 25 teams lost.

Ohio State was the only team to hold its spot, remaining No. 1 for an eighth straight week after shutting out Wisconsin 34-0 on the road.

Beyond the Buckeyes, significant revision was required with four top-10 teams losing in the same week for a third time this season. Nine Top 25 losing teams were the most since Week 5 in 2022, when 10 went down, according to Sportradar. Four of the losses this week were to unranked opponents.

The Buckeyes received 60 first-place votes, 10 more than a week ago. No. 2 Indiana pulled away from Michigan State, improved its program-record ranking by one spot and got the other six first-place votes.

Texas A&M’s one-rung promotion to No. 3 gives the Aggies their highest ranking since 1995. No. 4 Alabama has its highest ranking of the season and No. 5 Georgia returned to the top five after a three-week absence.