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

People fleeing Iran-backed rebels’ advance in Yemen describe a ‘hysterical panic’

It was a heart-pounding escape. As Houthi rebels backed by Iran swept south along Yemen’s Red Sea coast this week, some residents had little time to flee.

“We set out in hysterical panic on a motorcycle, not knowing where we were heading,” Alaa Ali Salem said. “The roads suddenly became extremely congested, and while I was driving, the motorcycle overturned. My wife, my children and I were all injured.”

His family and thousands of others, in numbers leaping by the day, are now displaced as the Arab world’s poorest country faces a potential return to a devastating civil war.

The Associated Press on Saturday visited some of the newly displaced in Aden, a city under the control of Yemen’s internationally recognized government, as residents opened homes to them.

Children sprawled in crowded rooms of thin mattresses that were scattered with the few belongings grabbed in haste. A young girl clutched a smartphone. Crutches were propped against a wall. Worn-looking elders napped. A fan stirred the air on a day where temperatures reached into the 90s Fahrenheit (30s Celsius).

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Saudi Arabia has few options as it faces mounting threats from Iran and its allies

A lightning advance by Houthi rebels threatens a crucial Red Sea shipping route. Drone attacks blamed on Iraqi militias have forced the closure of a major pipeline, and Iran is still disrupting the Strait of Hormuz.

It’s a nightmare scenario for Saudi Arabia, and it has sent jitters through global markets.

The Saudis’ most essential ally, the United States, has been unpredictable and sometimes unreliable. U.S. President Donald Trump seems reluctant to widen an already unpopular and stalemated Mideast war ahead of congressional elections. For Iran, the rebels’ advance and closure of the pipeline ramp up global economic pressure as its grip over the Strait of Hormuz has been loosened.

Michael Ratney, a former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, said the latest developments are “incredibly frustrating” for the kingdom.

“Despite their antipathy for the Iranians, this is a war they never asked for, they had great trepidation about. And once it started, all of their … worst-case scenarios started coming true.”

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US diesel prices soar past $6 a gallon, deepening strain for hauling everyday goods

CHICAGO (AP) — Diesel prices in the U.S. hit yet another record on Friday, soaring past $6 a gallon on average as Washington’s war with Iran disrupts the world’s flow of fuel.

The national average of nearly $6.06 is up from $5.85 last week and almost $3.71 this time last year, according to motor club AAA.

Higher diesel prices mean more expensive transportation for a long list of everyday goods. That’s because diesel is used for many freight and delivery networks. And some businesses have already passed along steeper costs to consumers in the form of added fees on online orders and packages in the mail.

Shoppers may feel more and more sticker shock, particularly in the grocery aisle. Perishable foods, like meat and produce, face one of the most immediate strains of expensive diesel because they need to be hauled in and restocked frequently — or may be harvested using farm equipment powered by the fuel.

It can take time for those costs to trickle down. But the surge in diesel prices doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon.

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Mississippi police arrest a man in the death of Tasia Fortune

Mississippi police have arrested a man in the death of Tasia Fortune, a Black woman found hanging from a tree last month.

Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney said at a news conference Friday that police had secured search and arrest warrants for 51-year-old Jarques Ratliff and arrested him when they encountered him walking on the street. Brackney said the man had an “association” with Fortune but would not elaborate on their relationship.

The state medical examiner’s office determined Thursday evening that the death was a homicide, Brackney said, allowing police to execute the warrants they already had on hand.

“This case remains active, and additional arrests will be pending,” Brackney said.

Ratliff did not appear in Hinds County jail records, and court records were not accessible online. It couldn’t immediately be determined if he had a lawyer, and a message was left for the public defender’s office.

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Trump touches a nerve while in Ireland by saying reunification would be ‘fantastic’

DUBLIN (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday that a unified Ireland would be “fantastic” as he waded into a complex and politically charged subject during a weekend visit to a tournament at his Irish golf course.

At a meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin in Dublin, Trump said he would love to see the reunification of the Republic of Ireland with the United Kingdom’s Northern Ireland.

“I don’t want to cause any problems but I’d love to see it unified,” Trump told a reporter who sought his opinion on the issue. “It’s going to happen eventually. It may as well happen now.

“I think it would be a fantastic thing,” the Republican president said, adding that “the U.K. will have something to say about it, obviously.”

At his next stop, Trump acknowledged there is “no good answer” to the reunification question as he addressed business leaders from both countries gathered at the U.S. ambassador’s residence.

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BRICS leaders voice concern over Middle East, condemn unilateral sanctions at India summit

NEW DELHI (AP) — The BRICS group of emerging economies on Saturday expressed concern over rising tensions in the Middle East and condemned the use of sanctions not authorized by the U.N., as the leaders met in New Delhi to strengthen their position in global affairs seen as dominated by the West.

The meeting, which included Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, voiced concern over “deliberate attacks” on civilian infrastructure and peaceful nuclear facilities under the U.N. atomic energy agency’s safeguards, saying nuclear safety and security must be protected during armed conflicts. The statement was seen as indirect criticism of U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

The leaders also took aim at unilateral sanctions not authorized by the U.N. Security Council. They did not name any countries, but Russia, one of the founding members of BRICS, has faced Western sanctions following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

“We call for the elimination of such unlawful measures, which undermine international law and the principles and purposes of the U.N. Charter,” the joint statement said.

BRICS was founded in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India and China, with South Africa joining in 2010. It has since expanded to 11 members, representing about half the world’s population and a significant share of global economic output. The group has increasingly called for greater representation for developing countries in global institutions.

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8 killed in Russian strikes on Ukraine as Putin warns Europe against sending troops

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian strikes killed eight civilians and wounded dozens of other people in Ukraine, local officials said Saturday, after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that sending European troops into Ukraine would amount to direct conflict with Russia.

Ukraine is under mounting pressure from Russia’s intensifying air campaign that uses ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones to pierce defenses. Moscow’s attacks have targeted Ukraine’s power grid ahead of winter in what officials say is meant to demoralize civilians.

Two people were killed and one wounded when Russian drones struck a residential area overnight in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, regional head Ivan Fedorov said.

One person died and three others were wounded in strikes on Kryvyi Rih, according to local officials.

In the Black Sea port of Odesa and the surrounding area, 35 people were wounded overnight in what regional head Oleh Kiper called a “massive attack.” Among the buildings hit was a residential high-rise, whose upper floors were completely destroyed.

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US marks 25 years since the Sept. 11 attacks

NEW YORK (AP) — Americans commemorated the 25th anniversary of 9/11 on Friday, remembering the shock, the dead and the sweeping consequences of the al-Qaida attacks on symbols of U.S. might and prosperity.

The milestone anniversary brought memorial rituals — wreath-laying, flag-flying, moments of silence, vigils and readings of victims’ names — and volunteer projects in tribute to a day that about half of U.S. adults remember as the most historic event of their lifetime, according to a new poll. On Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaida extremists hijacked four commercial jets and crashed them into New York’s World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing nearly 3,000 people.

Elsie Caldwell carried a photograph of her son Kenny Caldwell to the trade center to hear his name and all the others read aloud Friday morning. She last spoke to him that morning a quarter-century ago.

“Mom, I just want to let you know that I love you,” her son told her in a final phone call, she recalled. His remains, like those of many other victims, have never been recovered.

The attacks brought down the World Trade Center’s twin towers — icons of U.S. economic power, and among the tallest buildings on Earth — and blew a hole in the Pentagon, the U.S. military’s fortresslike headquarters near Washington. The fourth plane was headed for Washington, officials concluded, but the aircraft went down in Pennsylvania after passengers and crew members stormed the cockpit and fought the hijackers.

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FACT FOCUS: A look at false and misleading claims during the Republican midterm convention

President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and other Republican officials came together for a two-day convention this week to rally voters in advance of midterm elections in November. But in celebrating their accomplishments, they made several false and misleading claims, many of which have been stated repeatedly during Trump’s second term.

They covered topics including the economy, jobs, healthcare and the 2020 election. Trump spoke both nights and Vance gave the keynote on Thursday.

Here’s a closer look at the facts.

VANCE: “We’ve created 1 million new jobs, and unlike the last administration, where most of the job growth went to illegal aliens, 100% of the job growth in the United States of America is going to American citizens.”

THE FACTS: Overall, the United States has added 807,000 jobs since Trump took office for his second term, close to Vance’s claim of 1 million. But by historical standards, it’s not a particularly large increase.

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No relief from inflation as Middle East clashes lifts fuel prices to painful levels

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. inflation accelerated last month as gas prices spiked in the wake of renewed fighting in the Middle East, underscoring the affordability challenges that are top of mind for many voters with midterm elections now just seven weeks away.

The consumer price index rose 3.4% last month compared with a year ago, the Labor Department said Friday, just like July. But inflation quickened month to month as costs jumped 0.4% from July, quadrupling the 0.1% registered in the previous month.

Inflation remains stubbornly elevated more than five years after prices soared as the economy emerged from the pandemic. Friday’s report increases pressure on the inflation-fighters at the Federal Reserve to boost their benchmark interest rate next week, which could lift mortgage and auto loan costs in the months ahead.

Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh and other Fed officials have signaled they would need to see continuing disinflation to leave rates where they are.

“Today’s August report did not deliver that,” said Kathy Bostjancic, chief economist at Nationwide.