AP News in Brief at 12:04 a.m. EDT

The writings, sent shortly before shots were fired Saturday night at the Washington Hilton, made repeated references to President Donald Trump without naming him directly and alluded to grievances over a range of administration actions, including U.S. strikes on boats accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

Investigators are treating the writings, along with a trail of social media posts and interviews with family members, as some of the clearest evidence yet of the suspect’s mindset and possible motives.

Authorities uncovered what one law enforcement official described as numerous anti-Trump social media posts linked to the suspect, Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old California man accused of trying to breach a security checkpoint at the dinner while armed with multiple guns and knives.

Allen’s brother contacted police in New London, Connecticut, after receiving the writings, according to the law enforcement official, who was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Accused attacker at Washington media dinner is a tutor and computer engineer from California

TORRANCE, Calif. (AP) — The California man arrested in the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner is a highly educated tutor and amateur video game developer opposed to the policies of President Donald Trump.

Authorities say Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, was taken into custody at the dinner Saturday night in Washington that was attended by Trump and top members of his administration. A social media profile for a man with the same name and a photo that appears to match that of the suspect show he worked part-time for the last six years at a company that offers admissions counseling and test preparation services to aspiring college students.

In a message sent to family members minutes before the attack, the 31-year-old the described himself as “Friendly Federal Assassin” and railed against recent actions taken by the U.S. government under Trump, though he did not name the Republican president directly, according to a copy obtained by The Associated Press.

The writings ran more than a thousand words and read as a rambling, deeply personal message, opening almost jarringly with a casual “hello everybody!” before shifting into apologies to family members, co-workers, fellow travelers and even strangers he feared could be caught in the violence. The note moved between confession, grievance and farewell, with Allen thanking people in his life even as he sought to explain the attack.

Elsewhere, the document veered between political anger, religious justifications and rebuttals to imagined critics, at times reading as if he were arguing with detractors in real time.

Iran's top diplomat briefly returns to Pakistan but Trump says the sides can talk by phone

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Iran 's foreign minister briefly visited Islamabad again on Sunday as Pakistan's political and military leadership scrambled to reignite ceasefire negotiations between Tehran and Washington, but U.S. President Donald Trump said they could talk by phone instead.

Abbas Araghchi had left Pakistan’s capital late the previous day, creating confusion around an expected second round of talks there, but he returned before continuing on to Moscow on Sunday, Iranian state media said. He had been in Oman, which previously mediated talks and is on the other side of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

The White House last week said it would dispatch envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Islamabad to follow up on historic face-to-face talks earlier this month. But shortly after Araghchi's departure Saturday, Trump said he had called off the mission because of a lack of progress with Iran.

“If they want, we can talk but we’re not sending people," Trump told Fox News on Sunday. He said earlier on social media: “All they have to do is call!!!”

Indirect talks between the two sides were ongoing, two Pakistani officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Tillis says he's ready to move ahead with confirming Warsh as Trump's pick as Fed chair

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican senator who had effectively blocked confirmation of President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Reserve said Sunday he was dropping his opposition after the Department of Justice ended its investigation of the current central bank chair.

The announcement by Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina removes a big hurdle to Trump's effort to install Kevin Warsh, a former high-ranking Fed official, in the job in place of Jerome Powell, long under White House pressure to lower interest rates. Tillis' opposition was enough to stall the nomination in the GOP-controlled Senate Banking Committee as Powell neared the scheduled end of his term on May 15.

“I am prepared to move on with the confirmation of Mr. Warsh. I think he’s going to be a great Fed chair,” Tillis told NBC’s “Meet the Press,” two days after the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia said her office’s investigation of the Fed’s multibillion-dollar building renovations was over. Powell's brief congressional testimony last summer about that work was also under review.

The Fed's internal watchdog is scrutinizing a project, now at $2.5 billion after earlier estimates had put it at $1.9 billion, that the Republican president has criticized for cost overruns. Powell had asked in July for the inspector general's review.

“I believe that there will not be any wrongdoing. Maybe we find a little stupid here in terms of somebody responsible for the project making a decision they shouldn't? Maybe. But it doesn’t rise to a criminal prosecution. That was my problem to begin with because I feel like there were prosecutors in D.C. that thought this was going to be a lever to have Mr. Powell leave early," he said.

With goals of Iran war unfulfilled, Netanyahu's government faces unhappy public as elections loom

Iran’s government is still in power. Hezbollah and Hamas haven't been defeated. U.S. President Donald Trump's interests may be diverging from Israel's.

Wars with Iran and its proxies haven’t gone according to plan for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and that could mean trouble for Israel’s longest-serving prime minister in elections scheduled for later this year. Many Israelis are dissatisfied with the Netanyahu government’s wartime leadership, according to a recent poll.

At the start of the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran in late February, Netanyahu said the goal was to degrade the Islamic Republic's military, eradicate its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and create the conditions for its overthrow. While Iran’s military has been badly damaged, it is still a threat to neighbors and ships in the Strait of Hormuz — and Netanyahu's other goals remained unfulfilled when a ceasefire was announced earlier this month.

Israel’s latest war with Hezbollah in Lebanon has also been cut short. Netanyahu said he agreed to a truce at the request of Trump but that Israel was “not finished yet” with the Iran-backed militant group; Israeli forces are still occupying a 10-kilometer- (6-mile-) deep swath of southern Lebanon.

The recent poll showing Israelis' dissatisfaction comes on top of the unresolved war in Gaza – another instance in which Trump pressured Netanyahu to wind down military operations. More than two years after Hamas’ October 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war, the Iran-backed militant group is weakened but still standing.

Tornadoes in northern Texas leave at least 2 dead and destroy multiple homes

RUNAWAY BAY, Texas (AP) — A tornado-producing thunderstorm left at least two people dead in northern Texas and displaced at least 20 families, with many homes sustaining major damage, authorities said Sunday.

At least one person was killed and numerous homes were damaged Saturday night in the town of Runaway Bay, said Wise County Judge J.D. Clark, who serves as the county’s chief executive. Emergency responders worked to clear debris to reach damaged homes and provide medical care where needed, Clark said.

“Access has been difficult due to blocked roadways and downed utilities, but crews have continued pushing forward to reach those in need,” Clark said.

The storm also hit Springtown, where Parker County Assistant Fire Chief David Pruitt said in an email that a second person died south of the city limits. There was “significant damage” in the area, Pruitt said.

“One of the most significant ongoing challenges is the widespread power outage affecting many residents,” he wrote.

A fast-growing Georgia wildfire tops 31 square miles, with evacuations possible

NAHUNTA, Ga. (AP) — One of two large wildfires in southeastern Georgia continues to grow and now exceeds 31 square miles (80 square kilometers), officials reported Sunday.

The Highway 82 Fire has been burning since April 20 and as of Saturday had destroyed at least 87 homes. On Sunday morning, officials said it was only 7% contained.

Highway 82 in Brantley County is about 35 miles (56.3 kilometers) north of the state line with Florida.

“The fire basically doubled last night in size,” Brantley County Manager Joey Cason said Sunday in a Facebook post. “It is a dynamic fire event that will be impacted by the wind.”

Wind gusts of about 15 mph (24.1 kph) were expected Sunday.

Malian defense chief is killed as jihadis and rebels seize towns and military bases

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Mali 's defense minister was killed in a sweeping attack by jihadis and rebels who seized several towns and military bases, authorities said Sunday, the latest violence in the junta-run country that has long battled militants linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group as well as a separatist rebellion in the north.

The Malian government confirmed the death of the defense chief, Gen. Sadio Camara, in a post on the defense ministry's Facebook page, and expressed its condolences to his family. State-run television also broadcast the announcement of his death by spokesman Gen. Issa Ousmane Coulibaly.

Mali was struck on Saturday by one of the biggest coordinated attacks on its army in the capital, Bamako, and several other cities and towns in an assault that also challenged Mali’s security partner, Russia, which has forces on the ground in the West African country.

The government said Sunday the attacks appear to be over, but several questions remain, including who was in control of a key northern city that the separatists claim to have taken.

The government has not provided a death toll from Saturday and previously said only that at least 16 people were wounded in what it denounced as terror attacks.

Marathon milestone shattered: Sabastian Sawe breaks the fabled 2-hour barrier by 30 seconds

LONDON (AP) — A pair of African distance runners took down what was once among the most unthinkable records in sports on Sunday, shattering the long-unapproachable two-hour barrier in the 26.2-mile (42.2-kilometer) marathon.

Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the London Marathon in 1 hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds, bettering the previous men’s world record by an astonishing 65 seconds. He beat Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha, who was running his first marathon and finished in 1:59.41.

“What comes today is not for me alone,” Sawe said, “but for all of us today in London.”

Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda came in third, finishing in 2:00.28. That was seven seconds better than the previous world record held by Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum and completed a podium in which all three men broke Kiptum’s three-year-old mark.

Legend has it that the marathon's distance is the same as the run a Greek soldier made from Marathon to Athens to announce a military victory in ancient times.

'Michael' moonwalks to $97 million opening, shattering record for music biopics

NEW YORK (AP) — "Michael," the big-budget Michael Jackson spectacle, shrugged off bad reviews and a troubled production to launch with $97 million in U.S. and Canada theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday, shattering a record debut for music biopics.

A highly authorized portrayal of the King of Pop, co-produced by the Jackson estate, Lionsgate’s “Michael” far surpassed previous biopic top performers like “Straight Outta Compton” (a $60.2 million debut in 2015) and “Bohemian Rhapsody” ($51 million in 2018).

International sales were also strong. “Michael” collected $120.4 million overseas, to give it a $217.4 million global opening — a new high for a music biopic. Universal picked up distribution in most international markets.

A few weeks back, estimates for “Michael” were closer to $50 million. Going into the weekend, the studio estimated closer to $70 million. But it wildly overperformed.

"From the beginning, all of the signals were that something like this was possible," said Adam Fogelson, Lionsgate chairman. “We were seeing massive engagement with every conceivable audience segment that you could identify.”