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

US looks to boost anti-China spending worldwide by hundreds of millions, documents say

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is preparing to ramp up funding by hundreds of millions of dollars for programs designed to counter China’s growing influence around the world, after it had put a halt to many of those initiatives last year during a flurry of budget and personnel cuts.

The administration notified Congress late last week that it intends to spend $175.8 million to replace outdated and aging undersea telecommunications cables in the Caribbean and Central America to prevent China from moving in. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the notification on Monday.

The administration has expressed deep concern about China’s activities in the Americas, pushing back on Chinese ownership of ports at either end of the Panama Canal, infrastructure projects funded by China’s Belt and Road initiative in the region, and Chinese investment in the telecommunications sector.

A State Department official said China’s economic activities in the Western Hemisphere pose risks to U.S. national security and prosperity. The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly to the subject and spoke on condition of anonymity, said China’s offerings may seem cheaper but in the end wind up being more expensive due to cost overruns, hidden maintenance fees and poor performance.

The underseas cable funding appears to be part of a broader push to restore support for initiatives aimed at blunting Chinese influence globally that would cost many hundreds of millions of dollars more. That is even as President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping put on a show of cooperation and Xi prepares to visit the U.S. this fall.

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A shootout that killed 3 at a food festival near Seattle’s Space Needle may have been gang-related

SEATTLE (AP) — There were at least three suspects involved in a shootout at a crowded food festival near Seattle’s Space Needle over the weekend, police said Monday. One of them was among those killed in the violence.

In a document filed in juvenile court in Seattle, where a 15-year-old arrested in the case waived his initial appearance Monday, police said they believe there were at least three shooters, rather than two: the 15-year-old, an acquaintance who died at the scene and “at least one other unknown suspect.”

Nicole Powell, the Seattle Police Department’s assistant chief of investigations, told a news conference Monday afternoon that investigators believe the shooting may have been gang-related, with two groups firing at each other. The deceased shooter was 19.

A judge ordered the 15-year-old held in juvenile detention for investigation of firearms violations and first-degree assault. The King County prosecutor’s office said it expected to receive the case from Seattle police on Wednesday for a charging decision.

The gunfire erupted around 6 p.m. Sunday in the waning hours of the Bite of Seattle, leaving three people dead and at least four others, including a toddler, injured. The annual three-day festival draws hundreds of food and retail vendors and performers to Seattle Center, a sprawling park in the shadow of the Space Needle. Many attendees rushed into campus buildings or ran from the park at the sound of the shots.

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Trump administration urges Supreme Court to allow order targeting mail-in voting before midterms

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Monday to clear the way for an executive order from President Donald Trump that could dramatically change mail-in voting ahead of November’s midterm elections.

The Justice Department asked the justices to halt for now lower court decisions blocking the sweeping changes in nearly half the country.

The request comes shortly after Trump delivered a primetime address elevating his yearslong push to raise doubts about the legitimacy of elections, and could be one of several voting-related challenges before the court ahead of the high-stakes midterm contest.

Trump ordered the government in March to create a “state citizenship list” of eligible voters and deliver mail ballots only to people on that list.

Democratic officials in 23 states and the District of Columbia sued, saying the Constitution gives states and Congress the authority to set election rules, not the president. Their attorneys have said Trump’s proposed changes are ripe for abuse and could cause chaos.

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Mediators see progress in efforts to halt Iran war as drone attacks rattle region

CAIRO (AP) — Mediators have achieved progress in getting the United States and Iran back to negotiations, regional officials said Monday, after both sides paused attacks following a period of rapidly escalating tensions. But scattered attacks by armed groups across the region underscored the lingering tensions.

Saudi Arabia said it had shot down drones fired by Iran-backed militias in Iraq that had targeted its petroleum facilities. Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen meanwhile claimed to have attacked Saudi oil facilities as part of a separate but related conflict. It was unclear if they referred to the same attack.

Neither the U.S. nor Iran reported carrying out any attacks for three days — a respite after about two weeks of sustained bombardments that led to increasing fears of a return to all-out war.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran had asked for more discussions, reaching out directly “because we’ve been hitting them very hard.” Iran has said there are no direct talks underway.

“We’re having good talks, so we’ll see what happens,” Trump told reporters Monday on Air Force One. “I think there’s a good chance that something could happen. And if it does, good. if it doesn’t, we go back to doing what we were doing two days ago.”

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Judge rules singer D4vd must stand trial in killing of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge ruled Monday that there is enough evidence to put D4vd on trial in the killing and dismemberment of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who authorities said had threatened to expose their relationship and crater the indie-pop singer’s rising career just a few days before his debut album dropped.

“i will end ur career and ur life,” she told him in a text message sent the night before her death.

Los Angeles Judge Charlaine Olmedo decided that evidence presented during a preliminary hearing provided probable cause for a trial on charges of murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 and unlawful mutilation of human remains.

The dark and disturbing details presented over five days brought tears, gasps and horror to the courtroom. The evidence included grisly autopsy photos, explicit descriptions and depictions of sexual abuse and a stark picture of the final texts she sent minutes before she died and her phone went permanently silent.

The ruling was a major step in the 10-month investigation and prosecution of D4vd that began when the dismembered and decomposing body of a girl was found in the trunk of his Tesla in the Hollywood Hills in September while he was on tour.

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What to know about the historic wildfires in France and Spain

PARIS (AP) — Heat waves and scant rainfall in Europe have contributed to historic wildfires in France and Spain that have forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes in one of the continent’s biggest evacuation efforts since World War II.

Rising temperatures later this week could complicate efforts to battle the blazes that have scorched an area four times the size of Paris in southwestern France and are raging near Spain’s capital, Madrid.

Climate data shows Europe is heating faster than anywhere else on earth. The continent has already faced extreme heat events multiple times this year.

Firefighters in Spain have called the blazes so violent that they could not be tackled head on. But the first glimmer of hope emerged Monday in France that the spread of a giant fire in the southwestern Gironde region may have slowed.

Here’s what to know.

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Lindsay Clancy goes on trial over whether postpartum psychosis drove her to kill her 3 children

PLYMOUTH, Mass. (AP) — In the months after the birth of her third child, Lindsay Clancy ‘s mental health collapsed. Unable to sleep and stricken with thoughts of harming herself, she sought care from experts in postpregnancy mood disorders, was put on multiple psychiatric medications, and when nothing worked, checked in to a psychiatric hospital.

Nineteen days after she was discharged, she strangled her three children at their Massachusetts home.

A jury heard opening statements Monday in Clancy’s murder trial, featuring dueling views about her mental state. Both sides agree she killed her children. They disagree over whether she should be held criminally responsible for their deaths.

The first witness was her former husband, who found the children’s bodies after returning home on the day of the killings in January 2023. He has said in interviews that he forgives his wife, who he viewed as ill, not evil.

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Trump defends his sweeping tariffs and watches ‘America First’ drag races during Michigan stop

MILFORD, Mich. (AP) — President Donald Trump came to Michigan on Monday and argued that his economic policies have revived the auto industry and American manufacturing, even as some businesses contend that the sweeping tariffs he’s imposed have actually hurt the state.

Trump visited a sprawling General Motors facility in the Detroit suburb of Milford that is a testing ground for its vehicles. He pumped a fist after watching a trio of drag races that involved muscle cars and luxury vehicles like the Corvette Z06, Cadillac Escalade V, and EV Hummer — events the announcer promised were “all America First power.”

It was the kind of thundering speed the president is expecting at an IndyCar race in Washington next month, which is part of America’s 250th birthday celebrations.

In a subsequent speech inside a design facility, the president cheered GM’s plans to expand production domestically in coming years and declared himself a president who was standing up for auto workers “at long last.”

“I’ve done more for you than your parents, OK?” he joked.

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Wisconsin tornado causes extensive damage and cuts power to thousands of homes

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A tornado struck northeastern Wisconsin on Monday, blackening the midday sky and sending workers sheltering in office basements as fierce winds splintered homes, scattered twisted metal across a highway and knocked out power to more than 30,000 people.

There were no reports of fatalities or injuries as of Monday evening, but emergency officials were still searching, said Gordon Hintz, Winnebago County’s top elected official.

The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado in Winnebago County, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) northwest of Milwaukee. Damage was reported in cities including Appleton and Menasha, where Police Chief Matt Albrecht said some homes and businesses were “severely impacted.”

The twister was spun off by a large storm system that moved through the Great Lakes, fueled by a buildup of heat and humidity, National Weather Service meteorologist Scott Berschback said.

Hintz said it could be several days before power in the stricken area is restored.

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Chiefs assistant Eric Bieniemy’s son charged in shooting of his mother in Virginia, authorities say

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — The son of Chiefs assistant coach Eric Bieniemy has been arrested and charged with the shooting of his mother, Mia Bieniemy, the wife of the Kansas City offensive coordinator, authorities in Virginia said Monday.

The Loudon County Sheriff’s Office said deputies responded late Sunday to a shooting in Ashburn, Virginia, where the couple still had a home from Bieniemy’s time coaching the Washington Commanders. They found the 57-year-old Mia Bieniemy with multiple gunshot wounds, and she was transported to a hospital where she was in stable condition Monday.

Elijah Zion Bieniemy, the 27-year-old son of the couple, was arrested early Monday in connection with the shooting. He has been charged with malicious wounding, use of a firearm in commission of a felony and discharge of a firearm inside a dwelling, and is being held without bond at the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center.

The sheriff’s office said the investigation was ongoing.

Eric Bieniemy was with the Chiefs at training camp in St. Joseph, Missouri, earlier Sunday. He was not present for Monday’s workout involving rookies, quarterbacks and a few veterans, which was closed to the public.