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

The search began after a mother of one of the teenagers reported her son was suicidal and had run away, according to San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl, who said weapons were missing from the home and her vehicle was gone.

Two hours later, the shooting began at the Islamic Center of San Diego, just blocks away from the home.

The suspects, ages 17 and 18, were found in a vehicle after killing themselves a few blocks from the site of the shooting.

Authorities planned to execute search warrants related to the investigation Tuesday as they piece together how and why the shooting unfolded. There was no specific threat made against the Islamic center, but authorities found evidence that the suspects engaged in “generalized hate rhetoric," Wahl said, noting that the shooting is being investigated as a hate crime.

What to know about a deadly attack by teen gunmen on a San Diego mosque

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Police raced Monday to catch an armed teenage runaway before he and another teen opened fire on a San Diego mosque, killing three men and then themselves.

About two hours after one boy's mother called to warn police that he had run away with her weapons and vehicle, shots rang out at the Islamic Center of San Diego, and a mosque security guard and two others were killed, San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said.

The gunmen, ages 17 and 18, were found dead of apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds, the chief added.

The shooting is being investigated as a hate crime, he added.

Here's what is known about the attack:

Blanche will face questions from lawmakers over a nearly $1.8B fund to compensate Trump allies

WASHINGTON (AP) — Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche will appear on Capitol Hill Tuesday for his first congressional testimony since taking the reins at the Justice Department as the law enforcement agency faces intense scrutiny over its plans to create a $1.776 billion fund to pay allies of the Republican president who believe they were targeted politically.

Blanche's testimony before a Senate appropriations subcommittee follows Monday's announcement about the creation of the “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” which critics decried as an illegal abuse of power designed to line the pockets of Trump supporters with taxpayer dollars.

In the weeks since assuming control of the Justice Department, Blanche has moved aggressively to advance the president's priorities — pushing forward cases against Trump's political foes, cracking down on leaks to media outlets and establishing the new fund to compensate those who believe they were mistreated by the Biden administration Justice Department.

Tuesday’s hearing is meant to address the Trump administration's budget request for the Justice Department but is likely to delve into other controversies that have escalated concerns about the erosion of the law enforcement agency's tradition of independence from the White House.

Blanche is expected to face tough questions from lawmakers about the fund designed to resolve Trump's lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns. Nearly 100 Democrats in the House of Representatives signed onto a legal brief urging a judge to block what they described as an unprecedented resolution that they said would unjustly enrich people close to the president and open the door to meritless claims of political persecution.

Rescuers search for 3 missing after German building collapse possibly caused by gas explosion

GÖRLITZ, Germany (AP) — Rescue teams in eastern Germany searched Tuesday morning for three people who were missing after a building collapsed in the eastern city of Görlitz near the Polish border.

Police said a gas explosion may have been the cause for the collapse of the building, which took place Monday night.

Emergency responders proceeded with great caution at the scene in case of gas leaks, German news agency dpa reported.

After unsuccessful attempts to locate the missing under the rubble with the help of search dogs, rescuers began clearing debris with an excavator and by hand around 2 a.m. Tuesday.

Initial concerns that up to five people may have been buried under rubble turned out to be wrong, police said.

Trump’s tough-talk foreign policy is hitting a wall with Iran as it grips Strait of Hormuz

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has considered himself an effective dealmaker above all else, but he appears to have hit a wall with Iran as his tough talk, threats and even military action have not moved Tehran from its long-established positions.

With shifting goals that make it difficult to judge the status of the U.S. effort, Trump and his top aides have insisted the United States has already won the war and that Iran is ready to reach an agreement in the wake of escalating U.S. threats during a tenuous ceasefire.

But Trump once again backed down, saying Monday that he had put plans for an imminent resumption of attacks on hold at the request of Gulf Arab states because “serious negotiations are now taking place, and that, in their opinion, as Great Leaders and Allies, a Deal will be made, which will be very acceptable to the United States of America, as well as all Countries in the Middle East, and beyond.”

Although he said he had called off strikes planned for Tuesday, Trump kept up the bravado, saying he told military leaders “to be prepared to go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice, in the event that an acceptable Deal is not reached.” Trump has repeatedly set deadlines for Tehran and then backed off.

Despite growing internal unrest, a crippled economy and the deaths of many of its leaders, there is no evidence Iran is set to meet Trump's demands — many of which it has long rejected. In fact, it has dug in. That has left Trump’s stated top objectives unrealized: Iran has yet to agree to abandon its nuclear program or its ballistic missile development, or cease support for its proxies in the region, including those in Gaza, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen.

The UAE's image as a Middle Eastern haven is tested by the Iran war

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United Arab Emirates for decades has advertised itself as a haven for international business in a Middle East awash in violent upheaval. Those waves have now crashed into this nation, testing its economic model like never before.

The UAE, a close ally of the United States and Israel, faced more missile and drone attacks from Iran during the war than any other country. The attacks — and Iran's chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz — have more than halved the Emirates' exports of crude oil and natural gas. Its tourism and conference sectors have also suffered.

The country, which sits just across the Persian Gulf from Iran, has portrayed itself as unfazed, even as it makes significant changes. It recently announced plans to build another pipeline to reduce its reliance on the strait, and it dropped out of the OPEC oil cartel so it can boost energy production longer-term, something that had been under consideration since before the war.

While the U.S. and Israel started the war, the UAE is firmly entangled. A drone attack Sunday on its Barakah nuclear power plant underlines the continued risks — even if a shaky ceasefire holds.

Because the Emirates boasts a large surplus of cash, the war’s economic disruptions so far do not appear to have caused major job losses or an exodus of foreign business. The longer the standoff drags on and prevents business as usual in the Emirates, the greater the risk to its image that has been key to drawing international business and investment.

Putin visits China to reaffirm Russia ties as Xi also seeks stable US relations after Trump summit

BEIJING (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin is traveling to China to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping less than a week after U.S. President Donald Trump wrapped up his own trip to Beijing.

Putin is scheduled to be in China on Tuesday and Wednesday in a visit likely to be closely watched as Beijing seeks to maintain stable relations with the United States while also preserving strong ties with Russia.

The Kremlin has said Putin and Xi plan to discuss economic cooperation between the two countries, but also “key international and regional issues.” The visit coincides with the 25th anniversary of the Sino-Russian Treaty of Friendship signed in 2001.

Putin said in a video address released before his visit that bilateral ties are at “a truly unprecedented level” and the relationship plays an important role globally, China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday.

There is “no connection” between Trump’s visit to China and Putin’s, presidential aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters Monday, noting the trip by the Russian leader was agreed in advance, several days after Putin and Xi spoke via videoconference on Feb. 4.

What to watch in Tuesday's primaries as Trump's endorsement is put to the test

WASHINGTON (AP) — Is there a future in politics for Republicans who cross President Donald Trump?

The signs this year suggest no, and Trump has convinced his voters to defeat his adversaries again and again. The next test of the president's power to extract retribution is on Tuesday, when Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky faces a Trump-backed primary challenger.

Massie has been a thorn in the president's side for pushing for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, opposing the war with Iran and voting against Trump's signature tax legislation last year.

Here are some things to watch as voters in Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Oregon and Pennsylvania cast ballots on Tuesday.

Trump has repeatedly shown that Republican primary voters will follow his lead, even as his popularity wanes with the broader electorate.

Congo reports more Ebola cases as WHO expresses concern over scale and speed of the outbreak

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — At least 131 deaths and over 500 suspected cases have been reported in the latest Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo, the Congolese health ministry said Tuesday as the World Health Organization's head expressed concern over the “scale and speed of the epidemic.”

The virus spread undetected for at least a few weeks since the first person died of the virus, health experts and aid workers said, and the delayed response is now complicating efforts to curb the outbreak.

Congo’s health minister, Samuel Roger Kamba, said 513 suspected cases and 131 deaths have been recorded, though he added “these are suspected deaths, and investigations are underway to determine which ones are actually linked to the disease.” The numbers mark a sharp increase from Monday, when officials said there were 300 suspected cases, and highlight the largely unknown scale of the outbreak.

The World Health Organization’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said he is “deeply concerned about the scale and speed of the epidemic” and the U.N. health agency will convene its emergency committee later Tuesday.

He said the emergence of cases in urban areas, the deaths of healthcare workers, significant population movement in the area and a lack of vaccines and therapeutics are the main reasons for concern “for further spread and further deaths.”

Congo opens more centers to treat rare type of Ebola that has killed nearly 120

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Congo will open three Ebola treatment centers in the eastern Ituri province, and the World Health Organization is sending a team of experts to the country, following an outbreak of a rare type of the virus that has killed nearly 120 people.

An American doctor in Congo is among the newly confirmed cases of the virus with no approved vaccines or medicines, Congolese officials said Monday, as details emerged about the government's delayed response to the outbreak.

The WHO on Sunday declared the Ebola outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. As of Monday, there were over 118 deaths and 300 suspected cases in Ituri and North Kivu provinces, and one death and one suspected case in neighboring Uganda. Experts say the number of cases is likely to rise as health officials conduct more surveillance.

The Bundibugyo virus spread undetected for at least a few weeks, health experts and aid workers said. Cases have now been confirmed in Bunia, North Kivu’s rebel-held capital of Goma, Mongbwalu, Butembo and Nyakunde.

“Because early tests looked for the wrong strain of Ebola, we got false negatives and lost weeks of response time,” said Matthew M. Kavanagh, director of the Georgetown University Center for Global Health Policy and Politics. “We are playing catch-up against a very dangerous pathogen.”