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

U.S. Central Command said on social media that the latest strikes “are designed to further degrade Iranian military capabilities used to attack commercial shipping" in the strait.

Even as the U.S. and Iran inch closer to all-out war again, glimmers of hope appeared on the diplomatic front, as Iran's interior minister traveled to Pakistan, a key mediator in the conflict, for talks.

The interim deal signed last month that was meant to end the fighting has crumbled. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz — a vital supply route for world energy supplies — has largely stalled. And as fighting intensifies, both sides have targeted civilian infrastructure relied on by millions of people.

A new potential threat to world energy markets emerged Monday after Iran-backed rebels in Yemen said they planned to prevent Saudi Arabia from shipping in the Red Sea, an alternate route for oil exports during the war.

US soldiers killed by Iran were from Texas and Hawaii, military says

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two U.S. Army soldiers killed in Jordan while defending against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks were identified on Monday — the first U.S. troop deaths from direct Iranian fire since the opening days of the war.

The Defense Department said in a statement that Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, and Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas, were killed in Jordan in Friday’s attacks.

Feehan, a first lieutenant, will be posthumously promoted to the rank of captain and awarded the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and the Combat Action Badge. The Army did not provide details about his commendations. He was assigned out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to the 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command.

Gonzales was a private with the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command in Ansbach, Germany. She graduated last year from Hebron High School in Carrollton, near Dallas, school officials said.

“She gave her life in that service, and our district is heartbroken by her loss,” the Lewisville Independent School District said in a statement. “Her decision to serve after graduation speaks volumes of her character.”

The Tate brothers fight extradition to the UK where they face rape and sex trafficking charges

MIAMI (AP) — Social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate will fight extradition to the United Kingdom where the brothers are accused of rape and sex trafficking, their lawyer said Monday, suggesting their arrest in Miami was politically motivated without explaining why.

The Tates appeared in federal court Monday for the first time since their arrest on Saturday and are being held in federal detention. In the coming weeks, a U.S. district judge will consider whether they meet the conditions for extradition. U.S. Magistrate Lauren Louis set another hearing for Monday July 27.

The brothers, through their social media empire promoting wealth, male dominance and misogyny, are among the world’s most polarizing internet personalities.

Normally photographed in tailored suits and fitted shirts, they wore tan jail uniforms and handcuffs during the brief hearing. Neither brother said a word.

Their attorney, Joseph McBride, insisted they should remain in the U.S.

Trump imposes 50% tariffs on Canadian goods, citing disputes over autos, alcohol and cheese

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday imposed 50% tariffs on most Canadian goods, declaring that Canada has unfairly discriminated against American autos, alcohol and dairy products.

The move could unleash a new wave of economic chaos, with risks of higher inflation and further fraying of relations between two nations that had been closely woven together before Trump's return to the White House. The administration official previewing the action said that Canada was one of the only nations other than China that retaliated against Trump's previous tariffs and must be held accountable.

The official insisted on anonymity on a call with reporters to preview the president's actions and said that Trump signed three proclamations to launch the tariffs under Section 338 of the 1930 Trade Act. Several Democratic lawmakers last year proposed repealing the section because they said Trump could use it to destabilize the economy.

The new 50% tariffs would exclude energy products, potash, fish and critical minerals, but they would include goods that had previously been protected from import taxes by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA. That 2020 trade pact was not renewed by the U.S., triggering a new set of negotiations that could run until 2036.

The White House said in a fact sheet that the tariffs would go into effect in 30 days and cover “products ranging from wine to hockey sticks to cement.”

Darline Graham says she will run for a full term in Lindsey Graham’s Senate seat

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Sen. Darline Graham said Monday she's running for a full term to replace her late brother Lindsey Graham's Senate seat.

“I've made a decision," Darline Graham told Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity, according to a clip released of an interview set to air later Monday. “I'm in.”

The entrance of Darline Graham — sworn in last week to fulfill the remaining months of her late brother's term, which expires in January — into the Republican scramble to select a new Senate nominee further complicates an already rushed process following Lindsey Graham 's death earlier this month.

A weeklong filing period opens Tuesday for the special Republican primary, which will be Aug. 11. On Friday, President Donald Trump said that Darline Graham had his “Complete and Total Endorsement” to seek the nomination, adding, “RUN, DARLINE, RUN!”

Last week, Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Darline Graham to serve the remainder of her brother’s term, which ends in January. In his announcement, McMaster made no reference to Darline Graham as a placeholder or symbolic appointment, although a person familiar with McMaster’s thinking but unauthorized to speak publicly said the governor, in selecting Darline Graham, had never contemplated that she would run for the seat herself.

Nolan Wells remembered for his gentle spirit as Rev. Al Sharpton demands truth about his death

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. (AP) — Family members and supporters of Nolan Xavier Wells filled a Mississippi church Monday to mourn and celebrate the 18-year-old, as the Rev. Al Sharpton pleaded for new evidence addressing the "many unanswered questions” around the teenager's July 4 disappearance.

The funeral opened with tearful remarks from Wells’ parents, who described their son as a warm and gentle presence, a role model to his younger siblings and a gifted athlete with NFL ambitions.

“He had a way of making people feel seen, welcomed and valued,” said his mother, Christine Wonsley. “He could lift your confidence with just a few words and make you feel like you belong.”

In a fiery eulogy, Sharpton then promised a $100,000 reward for any new information about the circumstances around Wells’ death, which came following a boat trip with friends to Horn Island, off the Gulf Coast.

Half of the sum will be covered by the actor and producer Tyler Perry, who also paid for the funeral, Sharpton noted.

5 dead in attempt to save a struggling swimmer in an Ohio river, sheriff says

POWELL, Ohio (AP) — Five people have died on a river in Ohio after several of them went into the water to help another person who was struggling to swim, authorities said Monday.

A motorist called 911 after spotting a frightened child with the group who was running along a nearby road to seek help, Delaware County Sheriff Jeffrey Balzer said at a news conference Monday.

The group had gathered Sunday along the Scioto River in the Columbus suburb of Powell when one of them went into the river for a swim. “And that’s when the tragedy started to occur,” Balzer said, adding others who jumped in to help also began struggling.

Rescue crews searching the water later Sunday found two women who were subsequently pronounced dead at a hospital, Balzer said. The bodies of three men were found in the river on Monday, said Tracy Whited, a spokesperson for the Delaware County Sheriff’s Department.

The tragedy occurred two days after five members of a family were killed in southern Utah after a flash flood swept through scenic red rock canyons during a hiking excursion.

Ex-soldier started a fire and fired a pellet gun outside a New York federal building, FBI says

NEW YORK (AP) — A former U.S. Army soldier set off fireworks, lit a fire and fired a pellet gun in front of a New York building housing an immigration court and other government offices Monday morning, an FBI official said.

Andrew Arrabaca, who was a mechanic on Patriot missile systems, is in custody and has been interviewed, said James Barnacle, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York field office. No charges have been announced yet against Arrabaca, and it was not immediately clear if he has a lawyer.

“Mr. Arrabaca was looking to injure people and harm people,” Barnacle said at a news conference.

Arrabaca was tackled by a security officer and taken into custody about 8:20 a.m. as flames erupted outside an entrance to the building at 26 Federal Plaza, which has become a focal point for demonstrations against the immigration policies of President Donald Trump’s administration.

Barnacle said Arrabaca, 43, “came armed with bad intentions” and had various weapons, including a pellet gun, knives, axes, a hammer and a machete. Arrabaca fired five to seven pellets from an airsoft rifle toward the building, he said.

Judge says Paramount and Warner must halt merger for at least two weeks, granting states' request

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge on Monday ordered Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery to halt their $81 billion merger for at least two weeks, allowing states that are challenging the deal more time to see their case through in court.

Twelve states, led by California, sued to block Paramount’s pending buyout of Warner last week — alleging that such a combination would “extinguish competition” in Hollywood and lead to fewer choices for consumers, particularly moviegoers and cable customers across the U.S.

The states’ top prosecutors called on Warner and Paramount to not close the transaction until after a court had time to fully evaluate their claims. And when the companies refused, they filed for a temporary restraining order — which is what District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín granted on Monday. That opens the door to a potential preliminary injunction that the states are also seeking to effectively block the deal.

“This is a critical first win in our case to ensure this megamerger never sees the light of day,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement Monday. “History tells the tale of what happens when a few people have great power over markets that are central to Americans’ lives: fewer opportunities for more people, worse products and services for all people.”

A Warner-Paramount tie-up would bring together two of the five last legacy studios in Hollywood — as well as a host of TV networks, titles filling streaming libraries and news operations. Warner’s HBO Max, fan favorites like “Harry Potter” and even CNN would come under the same roof of Paramount-owned CBS, movies like “Top Gun” and the Paramount+ streaming service.

FDA still focused on lettuce supplier as source of parasite, despite faulty test result

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal health officials said Monday they remain focused on lettuce from Taylor Farms as the source of a multistate outbreak of a diarrhea-causing parasite, despite inaccurate test results that the government briefly publicized over the weekend.

Food and Drug Administration officials on Monday said a laboratory test incorrectly identified a positive result for cyclospora on a sample of lettuce from Taylor Farms. The FDA posted the finding to its website on Saturday but then said Sunday that the result had been a false positive.

Federal and state authorities have been investigating a rise in cases of the parasite, initially linking the outbreak in five states to lettuce served at Taco Bell locations. On Saturday, Taylor Farms announced it was recalling 25 shredded lettuce and salad mix products sold under eight different brand codes. The products are used by a number of U.S. food chains and suppliers.

“FDA’s traceback investigation and the outbreak data continue to converge on shredded iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms’ locations in central Mexico,” FDA's acting food chief, Donald Prater, told reporters on Monday.

In addition to tracing the supply chain of lettuce, FDA staff have begun testing samples of produce coming across the U.S. border.