AP News in Brief at 6:04 a.m. EDT

But it remained unclear whether Israel would completely stop strikes on Hezbollah, and whether the militant group would recognize a deal it did not play a role in negotiating and which will leave Israeli troops occupying a stretch of southern Lebanon.

Barrages of gunshots rang out across Beirut as residents fired into the air just after midnight to celebrate the beginning of the truce, and displaced families began moving toward southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs despite warnings by officials not to attempt to return to their homes until it became clear whether the ceasefire would hold.

U.S. President Donald Trump heralded the deal a “historic day for Lebanon,” even as he expressed confidence that the war with Iran would soon end in a Las Vegas speech.

“I will say the war in Iran is going along swimmingly,” Trump said. “It should be ending pretty soon.”

Macron and Starmer hold international summit on reopening the Strait of Hormuz

PARIS (AP) — The leaders of France and the U.K. will gather dozens of countries — but not the United States — on Friday to push forward plans to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil route choked off by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

The Paris meeting is part of attempts by sidelined nations to ease the impact of a conflict they didn’t start and haven’t joined, but that has sent the global economy reeling. After the war started on Feb. 28, Iran effectively shut the narrow strait though which a fifth of the world’s oil usually passes.

The U.S. is not part of the planning for what has been branded the Strait of Hormuz Maritime Freedom of Navigation Initiative. In a post on X ahead of Friday’s conference, French President Emmanuel Macron said the mission to provide security for shipping through the strait would be “strictly defensive,” limited to non-belligerent countries and deployed “when security conditions allow.”

Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer have spearheaded international efforts to increase diplomatic and economic pressure on Iran, which Starmer has accused of “holding the world’s economy to ransom.” U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of a retaliatory American blockade of Iranian ports has raised the economic jeopardy even higher.

“The unconditional and immediate reopening of the Strait is a global responsibility, and we need to act to get global energy and trade flowing freely again," Starmer said before the meeting.

Lawyers for singer D4vd say he didn't kill 14-year-old girl after his arrest

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Singer D4vd has been arrested on suspicion of killing a 14-year-old girl whose decomposed body was found seven months ago in his apparently abandoned Tesla, authorities said Thursday, while his lawyers declared his innocence.

Los Angeles police said in a brief statement that homicide detectives arrested the 21-year-old Houston-born alt-pop singer, whose legal name is David Burke, on suspicion of murder in the investigation of the killing of Celeste Rivas Hernandez.

Defense attorneys Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter responded in an email: “Let us be clear — the actual evidence in this case will show that David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez and he was not the cause of her death.”

Police said investigators would present a case to prosecutors at the Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office on Monday. The office said in its own statement that it is aware of the arrest and its Major Crimes Division will review the case to determine whether there is enough evidence to file charges.

The defense lawyers added, “There has been no indictment returned by any grand jury in this case and no criminal complaint filed. David has only been detained under suspicion. We will vigorously defend David’s innocence.”

ICE went on a hiring spree. Sterling credentials were not required, AP investigation finds

Their backgrounds stand out. And not in a good way.

Two bankruptcies and six law enforcement jobs in three years. An allegation of lying in a police report to justify a felony charge against an innocent woman — an incident that led to a $75,000 settlement and criticism of his integrity. A third job candidate once failed to graduate from a police academy, then lasted only three weeks in his only job as a police officer.

Their common bond: All were hired recently by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during an unprecedented hiring spree — 12,000 new officers and special agents to double its force — after the agency received a $75 billion windfall from Congress to enact President Donald Trump's mass deportation campaign.

The president put a premium on swift action, and for ICE that meant rapid-fire recruitment and hiring, which in turn led to new employees with questionable qualifications. Their backgrounds and training have come under scrutiny after numerous high-profile incidents in which ICE agents used excessive force.

“If vetting is not done well and it’s done too quickly, you have higher risk of increased liability to the agency because of bad actions, abuse of power and the lack of ability to properly carry out the mission because people don’t know what they are doing,” said Claire Trickler-McNulty, who served as an ICE official during the Obama, first Trump and Biden administrations.

Asian stocks lower and oil falls after Wall Street sets another record on ceasefire hopes

HONG KONG (AP) — Asian stocks were mostly lower Friday even after Wall Street set another record, as investors watched for signs of more U.S.-Iran talks and an extension of the ceasefire of the Iran war that is expiring next week.

Oil prices fell Friday, while U.S. futures edged up.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.8% to 58,475.90 after reaching an all-time high on Thursday. South Korea’s Kospi was 0.6% lower at 6,191.92.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1% to 26,143.60. Shares of Chinese spatial design software firm Manycore Tech, one of the so-called leading “six little dragons” technology companies of Hangzhou, was up more than 140% on its first day of trading in Hong Kong, fueled by the artificial intelligence boom. The Shanghai Composite index edged down 0.1% to 4,051.43.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.1%. Taiwan’s Taiex traded 0.9% lower, while India's Sensex gained 0.4%.

Trump draws Marie Antoinette comparisons as he leans into the gilded trappings of the presidency

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump had something urgent to address while flying back to Washington from his luxury Mar-a-Lago estate on a recent Sunday.

It wasn’t the Iran war, nor the still-going partial government shutdown over Department of Homeland Security funding. He wanted to talk about a monumental issue of a different kind, hoisting up large artist renderings of the $400 million White House ballroom he’s building, complete with hand-carved “top-of-the-line” Corinthian columns.

“I’m so busy that I don’t have time to do this. I’m fighting wars and other things,” Trump said before extensively detailing plans for “the greatest ballroom anywhere in the world.”

His divided attention has become a Democratic point of attack and a concern for some Republicans who worry he’s not spending enough time on issues that voters care most about ahead of November’s midterm races.

The contrast was on full display Thursday, when, as Trump flew to Las Vegas to discuss tax cuts for Americans earning tips, his administration was pushing ahead with plans to build a 250-foot Triumphal Arch near the Lincoln Memorial replete with a Lady Liberty-like statue and a pair of golden eagles.

More than half a million people expected at Pope Leo XIV's Mass in Cameroon

DOUALA, Cameroon (AP) — Thousands of people turned out Friday to see Pope Leo XIV, who was celebrating a big Mass in Cameroon's port city and then was to visit the country’s Catholic university on a day focused on encouraging young people.

Leo travelled to Douala, the commercial and economic capital of Cameroon, to celebrate Mass. The Vatican predicted some 600,000 people would turn out for the liturgy, the biggest crowd Leo is expected to draw on his 11-day, four-nation trip, the first to Africa by history's first American pope.

With an hour to go before the liturgy got underway, the big field in front of the Japoma sports stadium was bursting with people singing and dancing as an announcer shouted “Habemus Papam!” (We have a pope!). The Latin phrase is used to announce the election of a new pope but in this case joyfully announced Leo's arrival.

The crowd cheered when Leo emerged in his open-sided popemobile, with waves of young people running alongside him trying to keep up, as he looped through the crowd. Some had spent the night on the ground, battling mosquitos, to be in place for the late morning Mass, but said they were willing to make the sacrifice for the pope.

“I wanted to offer this effort to the pope, to show him that what he is doing and what he wants to accomplish should truly come to life,” said Alex Nzumo.

Iran war energy shock drives nuclear power plans in hard-hit Asia and Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The Iran war's global energy shock is causing some nations in Asia and Africa to boost nuclear power generation and spurring atomic energy plans in non-nuclear countries on both continents.

Asia, where most of the Middle Eastern oil and natural gas was headed, was hit first and hardest by disruptions to shipping routes carrying those fuels — swiftly followed by Africa. The U.S. and Europe are also feeling the pinch as the conflict drives up energy costs.

African and Asian nations with nuclear plants are increasing their output as they scramble for short-term energy supplies, while non-nuclear countries are accelerating long-term nuclear plans to safeguard against future fossil fuel shocks.

Nuclear power isn't a quick fix for the current energy crisis. Developing atomic energy can take decades, especially for nuclear newcomers. But long-term commitments to nuclear power made now will likely lock it in to countries' future energy mixes, said Joshua Kurlantzick of the Council on Foreign Relations.

In Asia, the Iran war is pushing South Korea to increase nuclear power generation, while Taiwan is debating restarting mothballed reactors. In Africa, future plans to build reactors have taken on urgency, with Kenya, Rwanda and South Africa affirming their support.

ICE acting director Todd Lyons will resign at end of May, DHS says

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting director Todd Lyons, a key executor of President Donald Trump’s mass deportations agenda, will resign at the end of May, federal officials announced Thursday.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin announced Lyons' departure, calling him a great leader of ICE who helped to make American communities safer. Mullin said Lyons' last day will be May 31.

“We wish him luck on his next opportunity in the private sector,” Mullin said in a statement. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press asking why he is resigning.

Lyons, who was named acting director in March 2025, led the agency at the center of President Donald Trump’s plans to reshape immigration to the U.S.

Under his leadership, the agency was granted a massive infusion of cash through Congress, which it used to expand hiring and detention capabilities, and it ramped up arrests to meet demand from the administration.

Justin Fairfax killed his estranged wife and himself 2 weeks before a court deadline to move out

ANNANDALE, Va. (AP) — Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, a rising star in the Democratic Party until sexual assault allegations ruined his political fortunes, killed his estranged wife and then himself weeks before a judge's deadline to move out of their family home, according to police and court records.

Officers called to the home in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Annandale early Thursday found the bodies of Fairfax, 47, and his wife, Dr. Cerina Fairfax, 49, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said.

Justin Fairfax fatally shot his wife, a successful dentist, in the basement before going to an upstairs bedroom and killing himself, Davis said. Their son called 911.

One of Justin Fairfax's longtime friends told The Associated Press that he became increasingly despondent after his wife filed for divorce last year. The judge overseeing the divorce recently wrote that his “isolation, drinking, and a lack of participation in family life are manifestations of what seems to be a sense of fatalism and hopelessness.”