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

5 men arrested near UK air base used by US in Iran war on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act

LONDON (AP) — U.K. police said that five men arrested in the early hours of Sunday near an air base used by the United States during its war against Iran are being held on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act that appeared to involve three trucks.

London’s Metropolitan Police, which takes the lead on potential terrorist activities, said police received a call at 12:45 a.m. related to the three suspicious vehicles that appeared to be traveling toward RAF Fairford, a U.K.-owned base that is operated by the U.S. under an agreement dating back to the Cold War.

The arrests come at a time of heightened tensions around the threat from hostile states to the U.K., with Russia and Iran among those that have used proxies to commit crimes on their behalf on British soil. In March, officials said the number of national security cases involving activity by hostile states including Iran increased 50% in the six months to December 2025.

Fairford has been used by American bombers for strictly limited strikes against Iranian missile sites under an agreement with former British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who voiced opposition to the war after it was launched by the U.S. and Israel on Feb. 28.

Authorities are investigating a link between the Fairford arrests and Iran as one possibility. Iran has previously indicated that a base used to attack its territory is a legitimate target.

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Powerful nor’easter floods Northeast again, causing problems from New Jersey to New England

BOSTON (AP) — Residents of coastal communities in the Northeast slogged through floodwaters for a second day as a powerful nor’easter pummeled the shoreline Sunday, knocking out power to tens of thousands of homes.

Tidal surges swamped low-lying neighborhoods in New Jersey while wind gusts toppled trees on New York’s Long Island, damaging homes and bringing down utility poles.

In the New Jersey beach town of Sea Bright, each high tide brought a new round of flooding. “It’s not like a one-time occurrence,” said Caroline Virenius, whose garage filled with about a foot of water (30 centimeters). “It’s getting wet again and again.”

The slow-moving storm, which killed a New York City Housing Authority worker when a tree fell Saturday, was expected to linger through Sunday with heavy rain, strong winds and dangerous surf all the way to New England.

Extreme amounts of rain — more than 4 inches (10 centimeters) since Friday in some spots in New Jersey — combined with a surging ocean led to flooding amounts not seen for close to a decade in places used to dealing with high water, residents said.

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Mexico’s Baja California braces for major Hurricane Polo as Hurricane Nolo still threatens Hawaii

HILO, Hawaii (AP) — Hurricane Nolo edged further away from the Hawaiian Islands on Sunday as major Hurricane Polo bore down on Mexico’s southern Baja California peninsula with a threat of storm surge, high winds and heavy rains.

Nolo was well southwest of Hawaii and moving away from the Big Island as the weekend drew to a close. A high-wind warning, wind advisory and high surf advisory remained in effect for parts of the island through Sunday evening as Nolo’s maximum sustained winds increased to near 105 mph (165 kph).

Meanwhile, residents of Mexico’s Baja California braced for the expected arrival Monday of Category 3 Polo, which had top sustained winds of 125 mph (205 kph) Sunday evening, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said. Heavy rainfall from Polo would begin impacting the peninsula overnight and could produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides.

Forecasters said Polo would hit the Mexican mainland after crossing Baja California and could bring heavy rain and flooding to parts of the U.S. Southwest later in the week. Polo was moving to the north at 12 mph (19 kph) about 270 miles (435 kilometers) west of Cabo San Lucas at the peninsula’s southern tip, the hurricane center said.

Forecasters said Nolo’s outer bands could cause life-threatening flooding and mudslides, with parts of the Big Island possibly getting up to 20 inches (50 centimeters) of rain. Heavy rain also was expected on the other islands.

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Pope blasts assisted dying as ‘false compassion’ at French shrine known for miraculous cures

LOURDES, France (AP) — Pope Leo XIV on Sunday condemned the legalization of medically assisted death as immoral “false compassion,” reaffirming Catholic teaching on the sanctity of life during a visit to Lourdes, the French shrine associated with miraculous healings.

On the third day of his visit to France, Leo again waded into the end-of-life debate unfolding in his native U.S. and countries around the world. The issue roiled French politics for years before lawmakers recently approved legislation allowing adults with incurable illnesses to receive lethal medication.

Leo also met on Sunday with seven survivors of clergy sexual abuse, in what has now become a regular appointment for popes on foreign visits. The aim is to atone for the Catholic Church’s failure to protect its youngest and most vulnerable members from predator priests.

“It was extraordinary,” said survivor Jean-Marie Delbos, who joined four others at a press conference afterward to praise Leo for the encounter, saying he listened and was informed of their cases. “I never thought I would have a pope before me.”

Leo’s visit to the once staunchly Catholic and officially secular France has been marked by huge crowds — 800,000 at Leo’s Mass on Paris’ iconic Place de la Concorde — and his messaging against abortion and assisted dying.

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Palestinian death toll in Gaza war passes 74,000, and other Mideast news

The Palestinian death toll from the nearly three-year Israel-Hamas war has surpassed 74,000, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Tehran has not been formally notified of U.S. President Donald Trump’s rejection of its proposed deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. And the World Health Organization says nearly 700 people have been killed in Yemen since fighting escalated last month.

Here is a look at the latest news from the Middle East on Sunday.

Araghchi said Tehran awaits a U.S. response through mediators after Trump rejected Iran’s proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume negotiations.

Speaking from New York, Araghchi told NBC that Iran is “fully prepared for the war to be resumed.”

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Anthropic and OpenAI sound the alarm on AI safety — and seek to shape how it’s controlled

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — As tech titans warned an AI-weary world that their own advanced systems could endanger humanity, the question emerged: What do they have to gain?

The answer may lie in the companies’ efforts to score political goals ahead of the U.S. midterm elections and the money top artificial intelligence labs and their investors stand to make in much-anticipated listings on a jittery stock market.

The CEOs of Anthropic and OpenAI recently declared America’s cutting-edge models are so powerful, they’re dangerous, and need to be regulated and independently tested before being released. In a rare instance of unity, they have sketched alarming scenarios in essays, social media posts and speeches to the United Nations.

Along the way, they are shaping the conversation around how their technology should be controlled. With their rhetoric, the companies appear to be seeking public favor and to set the terms for their own safety protocols in the unregulated market, experts, analysts and former government evaluators told The Associated Press.

Those aims may not exactly align with what Anthropic engineer Jacob Coxon sought when he quit via a post on X this month, calling for a pause on tech development to keep “superhuman” systems from eluding their makers’ control. But the companies saw his post as an opportunity to highlight their own safety efforts and position themselves as cautious market leaders, just when they need fresh capital before going public on Wall Street.

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Supreme Court vote shadows Maine Sen. Susan Collins in her first race after abortion rights decision

GORHAM, Maine (AP) — For years, Planned Parenthood’s endorsement of Susan Collins was enough to persuade Erin Evans to vote for Maine’s longtime U.S. senator, believing that the moderate Republican would protect abortion access.

Evans is now “just furious with myself” for those votes. The 56-year-old from Portland described Collins’ critical vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court, where President Donald Trump’s nominee eventually helped overturn the constitutional right to abortion, as a betrayal.

“I was a really uninformed voter,” Evans said. “I thought any woman from Maine was probably in line with me.”

The Nov. 3 election will be the first time Collins is on the ballot since the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade, resulting in abortion being banned in much of the United States. This time, Evans says she is backing Democrat Troy Jackson, a former state lawmaker and logger trying to deny Collins a sixth term.

Jackson and Democrats are hoping that voters like Evans will help flip a seat in a state the party has made a priority in the quest to retake the Senate.

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From collapse to clinch, Phillies survive ‘living hell’ of last week and win final NL wild card

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kyle Schwarber belly-flopped more than he actually slid headfirst into second base and popped up with his uniform smudged in dirt. He punched his right fist in the air and shouted something in exhilaration toward a fired-up Phillies dugout.

Schwarber delivered with a clutch two-run double, yes. He also showed the fire, the fight that vanished from the Phillies during a treacherous week that sent them from the brink of a wild-card clinch to the edge — and yes, the bottom was crumbling — of an all-time franchise collapse.

His slide had Phillies fans roaring from their feet — perhaps more than a few who wore brown paper bags over their heads a night earlier — and instantly all felt right on a soggy day inside Citizens Bank Park.

Zack Wheeler pitched a gem against Tampa Bay on Sunday and untangled a few thousand knots inside the stomachs of Phillies fans, and even from those inside a mostly solemn clubhouse. The Phillies survived their perilous five-day scare and are indeed headed to the playoffs for the fifth straight season after beating the Rays 7-3 to clinch the final NL wild-card berth.

“We didn’t play the best baseball we could in September,” slugger Bryce Harper said. “Should we have clinched two weeks ago? Probably, right? But we didn’t. We clinched today.”

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Americans rally in singles to win the Presidents Cup for the 11th straight time

MEDINAH, Ill. (AP) — The deficit was larger than anything the Americans had ever experienced at home in the Presidents Cup. The celebration Sunday afternoon? That was all too familiar, even the part where President Donald Trump stuck around for the trophy presentation.

The U.S. players — from world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler to 21-year-old rookie Jackson Koivun — passed the gold cup down the line, which was only fitting.

Everyone had a hand in the latest comeback at Medinah, where the Americans delivered the most lopsided singles session in Presidents Cup history. They won nine of the 12 matches and halved the other for a 17-13 victory, their 11th in a row against the hard-luck Internationals.

U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker went from blaming himself for the three-point deficit to choking back emotions as his team set the tone early and rode momentum and a raucous Chicago gallery late that left them believing again they can succeed in team golf.

The real proof comes a year from now in Ireland for the Ryder Cup. For now, the Americans redeemed themselves in a competition they have lost only once since these matches began in 1994.

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Taylor Swift becomes most-awarded artist in MTV VMAs history, dedicates top prize to Dolly Parton

NEW YORK (AP) — Taylor Swift broke records at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards, as she is known to do.

The pop powerhouse received the inaugural Artist Director Honors on Sunday night, becoming the most-awarded artist in VMA history.

Previously, she was tied with Beyoncé for the title, with 30 VMAs each. The new award is meant to recognize artists “whose work behind the camera has expanded the possibilities of music video and advanced the art of visual storytelling.”

“I got to start making music videos and being a part of music videos 20 years ago,” Swift said in her speech, adding that she’s been involved in making roughly 60 music videos, 18 of which she wrote and directed.

“You, the fans, make it so much fun,” she said.