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

US strikes Iranian rocket launchers on the Strait of Hormuz in first military action in weeks

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces struck Iranian rocket launchers on the Strait of Hormuz in their first military action in a month on Sunday, breaking a lull in fighting during an intermittent war that has lasted more than six months. Vowing to retaliate for what it called a deadly attack, Iran later said it had launched missiles at U.S. sites in Jordan.

Forces with the Revolutionary Guard Corps were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the strait, according to Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for the U.S. Central Command. The U.S. military last week completed clearing sea mines from the strait’s international shipping routes.

Semiofficial news outlets in Iran reported sounds of explosions near Larak island on the strait. The Guard in a statement carried by Iran’s state broadcaster noted “the martyrdom and injury of several of our fighters and compatriots.”

Later, Iranian state television showed what it said were ballistic missiles being fired by Iran at U.S. bases in Jordan in response to the American strikes. Jordan’s armed forces said they intercepted eight missiles that penetrated the country’s airspace early Monday in the Mideast.

U.S. military officials disputed Iran’s claim that the latest American strikes were an act of aggression, calling them a “limited, precise action” against what they said were minelaying forces.

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US plans to sanction another bank in effort to clamp down on Iran transactions, Bessent tells AP

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration plans to impose sanctions on another bank this week as it intensifies efforts to economically isolate Iran, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told The Associated Press on Sunday.

“This is going to be financial violence if we have to,” Bessent said in the interview. “We are showing people that we know who you are, you know who you are, and this has got to stop.”

Bessent spoke with the AP ahead of Group of 20 meetings in Asheville, North Carolina, where he will huddle individually with his counterparts from the world’s major and developing economies to encourage cooperation against Iran.

He said he plans to focus on encouraging economic growth in his meetings, which are taking place as he faces scrutiny for an unusual bond buyback program and his approach to $40 trillion in U.S. debt, and he defended the Treasury’s decision to exclude certain reporters from covering the event.

Bessent did not name the bank that would face sanctions this week. His comments come after the Trump administration signaled that it would shift from military strikes to economic pressure during a war that recently reached the six-month mark, promising what it called an “economic D-Day” against a country that has already weathered decades of punishing sanctions.

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Icelandic voters reject a proposal to restart negotiations to join the European Union

REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) — Iceland’s voters rejected restarting negotiations to join the European Union in a referendum that pitted concerns about geopolitical stability against keeping national control of Iceland’s prized fisheries, officials said Sunday.

Opponents defeated the measure by a margin of 52.8% to 47.2%, the National Electoral Commission said. The result puts the divisive issue to rest for now — more than a decade after a euroskeptic government ended EU talks that had begun after the 2008 financial crisis.

The vote Saturday was held in the shadow of repeated threats by U.S. President Donald Trump to take control of nearby Greenland. Although Iceland is a NATO member, supporters said European solidarity would provide greater protection if Trump ever made similar threats toward the volcanic island.

Iceland’s left-leaning coalition government, elected in 2024, moved up the EU referendum it had planned for next year after Trump mistakenly named Iceland four times while speaking about his designs on Greenland.

The Trump administration respects “the sovereign decision” by Iceland, State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a statement. “We look forward to strengthening our partnership with Iceland on all fronts including security, energy, innovation, and economic and cultural ties, to further advance our shared vision of peace and prosperity,” he said.

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Nepal warns of possible fresh flooding as communities grapple with devastation

DHADING, Nepal (AP) — Authorities in Nepal warned of possible fresh flooding on Sunday and urged residents in flood-affected districts to remain on high alert after water levels rose in the Bhotekoshi River.

Flood warning notices were sent to people’s phones early Sunday as rescue crews worked to clear a major highway connecting Kathmandu to one of the areas worst hit by Wednesday’s catastrophic floods, which killed at least 800 people and left more than 3,000 missing in Nepal and Tibet.

The latest warnings came after Chinese authorities informed their Nepalese counterparts of increased water flow upstream, according to Dharam Raj Uprety, chief executive of Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.

The Chinese state news agency Xinhua, citing the country’s water resources ministry, said a new lake formed after Wednesday’s floods high in the mountains had largely drained.

But Xinhua said the ministry warned that a crater located 5.6 kilometers (3.5 miles) upstream, which held an estimated 1.4 million cubic meters (370 million gallons) of water, still posed some risk and required close monitoring.

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Grand Canyon flooding knocks out water pipeline serving tourists at the national park, officials say

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A major flash flood at the Grand Canyon forced the evacuation of dozens of people and swept large boulders, metal structures and other debris into the Colorado River that runs through it, the National Park Service said. Flooding also knocked out the sole water pipeline that serves tourists and residents at the national park, officials said late Sunday.

Starting Monday, tourists won’t be able to stay overnight at lodges and hotels within Grand Canyon National Park. The park is also asking residents who live there year-round to conserve water.

“These measures are crucial for ensuring the safety and sustainability of water resources,” the park said in a statement.

The flooding in Bright Angel Creek, which flows into the river, happened Saturday afternoon and has left the park service seeking information about 15 people who may be missing or unaccounted for. Torrents of water wiped out footbridges over the creek and significantly altered the landscape, widening the creek bed and creating what appeared to be a new river rapid.

As the park service tries to account for everyone in the area, it is asking asked anyone with details about people hiking or camping there to get in touch. It said it was working with the Arizona Department of Public Safety to continue evacuations Sunday.

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Ontario premier answers Trump’s ‘Lake America’ with giant ‘Lake Ontario’ sign

TORONTO (AP) — Ontario Premier Doug Ford answered President Donald Trump’s “Lake America” decree Saturday with a billboard-sized message on the Canadian shoreline — “Lake Ontario. Now and Always” — as Canadian leaders met the move with ridicule rather than outrage.

Wearing a Team Canada soccer jersey, Ford unveiled the sign near Grimsby, Ontario, and posed for photographs. The 24-by-12-foot (7.3-by-3.6 meter) sign stands on 6-foot (1.8-meter) legs, putting its top about 18 feet (5.5 meters) above the ground — roughly two stories high. The message is repeated in French.

The display followed Trump’s executive order directing U.S. federal agencies to call Lake Ontario “Lake America.” After months of tariffs, threats to make Canada the 51st U.S. state and personal attacks on its leaders, the reaction in Canada has mixed defiance with mockery.

Ford said Trump was trying to rename the lake because Ontario and Canada were “standing up for ourselves” and argued the name would outlast the president.

“Long after President Trump is gone, it will still be called Lake Ontario,” Ford said in a video posted on social media.

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Moulton says Sen. Markey, 80, is too old for another term. Young Massachusetts Democrats are divided

BOSTON (AP) — In a race that has centered on whether Ed Markey, 80, is too old for another U.S. Senate term, the Massachusetts Democrat’s answer to a recent debate question was especially striking.

When asked whether he uses AI platforms like Claude or ChatGPT in his work, Markey seemed unclear on the topic. He responded that he uses “whatever is inside of my iPhone or my iPad — whatever comes up” and added that he doesn’t know “what companies my iPad may be using.”

For Arsen Bagdassarian, an 18-year-old supporter of Markey’s rival, 47-year-old U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, the answer reinforced a concern that has become central to Moulton’s campaign to unseat the incumbent in Tuesday’s party primary: that Markey, who would be 86 at the end of another term, is too old to represent a generation confronting problems that didn’t exist when Markey entered Congress 50 years ago.

“To be frank, I didn’t expect him to be as clueless as he really was on that topic,” said Bagdassarian, an incoming freshman at Boston’s Northeastern University. Artificial intelligence is “a major concern,” he said, and the country needs leaders “who understand what they’re being asked to regulate.”

The 2026 midterms have brought a number of generational challenges like the one Moulton is waging against Markey, with younger Democrats taking on — and in some cases unseating — longtime incumbents. There are signs that Democratic voters, especially, are looking for change, and some young voters argue older politicians can’t truly understand a world transformed by artificial intelligence, rising housing costs and student debt.

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NASA’s newest space telescope launches on a quest to explore the hidden universe

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA’s newest crown jewel blasted off Sunday to hunt for planets around other stars, explore secret dark energy and survey the cosmos like never before.

SpaceX launched the $4.3 billion Roman Space Telescope shortly after daybreak aboard a triple-the-firepower Falcon Heavy rocket. Roman blazed toward an observation point 1 million miles (1.6 million kilometers) away that’s home to the Webb Space Telescope, one of NASA’s other big-ticket eyes in the sky.

The bus-sized telescope — named after the late Nancy Grace Roman, NASA’s first chief astronomer — will take more than three months to reach its destination. Once there, it will cast the widest gaze yet on the hidden parts of the universe from space, uncovering the unimaginable with unsurpassed speed.

“It’s going to find thousands of supernovae, tens of thousands of planets, billions of galaxies and tens of billions of stars,” said NASA science mission director Nicky Fox. “It’s going to be able to do things that we’ve never been able to do before with its massive field of view.”

Several minutes after the thunderous launch from Kennedy Space Center, the rocket’s two reusable side boosters descended tail-first in a thrilling scene, producing sharp sonic booms as they landed back at Cape Canaveral. Soon afterward, the telescope separated successfully from the rocket’s upper stage, drawing applause from ground controllers.

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Aaron Donald ends his 2 1/2-year retirement and returns to the Los Angeles Rams

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Aaron Donald returned to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, ending his retirement after 2 1/2 years to chase another Super Bowl title.

The 35-year-old Donald made his decision after several weeks of discussion and nearly three months of intensive workouts for a star defensive lineman who reigned atop his position in a Rams uniform from 2014 until his retirement in early 2024.

Donald joined a light practice at the Rams’ training complex later Sunday, shaking hands and exchanging hugs with Myles Garrett and the rest of his teammates, both old and new.

While he hasn’t decided whether he will play in the Rams’ season opener against the 49ers in Australia next month, Donald is eager to complete a comeback that seemed improbable only three months ago.

“Do I feel like I can play at a high level? Yes,” Donald said. “Do I feel like I can still be myself? One hundred percent, and if I didn’t feel like that, I wouldn’t be here.”

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At least 8 dead after ferry with nearly 270 passengers and crew capsizes off Cyprus’ northern coast

BODRUM, Turkey (AP) — At least eight people have died after a ferry carrying nearly 270 passengers and crew capsized off the coast of the breakaway north of ethnically divided Cyprus on Sunday, Turkish media reported.

Unal Ustel, the north’s Turkish Cypriot prime minister, told Turkish state broadcaster TRT that 237 people have so far been rescued. A search is underway for another 22 people, officials said.

Ustel said the ferry faced adverse weather conditions and began taking on water just 15 minutes after departure. A call for help was issued shortly after, he said. Police detained eight people — including the ferry captain — as part of an investigation into the sinking, according to Ustel.

Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman said weather conditions “were not bad” and urged against speculating about the cause of the accident. He said the vessel went down in waters 500 meters (1,640 feet) deep, encumbering search efforts.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered his condolences and said his government was coordinating with Northern Cyprus in the search and rescue effort.