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

Now, with Israel and the U.S. in a joint war against Iran’s leadership, those two strategic paths risk clashing with each other. By enlisting the U.S. in what he views as Israel’s existential battle against Iran, Netanyahu is taking a gamble that could open up the relationship to the strain of a war with far-reaching consequences.

To be sure, persuading U.S. President Donald Trump to join the war was a coup for Netanyahu and highlights the strong ties between the two leaders. If they are successful, they could quickly realize their shared goal of toppling the Iranian government and spare the region a protracted conflict.

But if the war drags on, the two allies' ties could again be tested.

“A large part of the American public will view it as the Israeli tail wagging the American dog and that it is dragging the United States to a war in the Middle East that isn’t theirs,” said Ofer Shelah, a research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based think tank. The drop in public support that might unleash “will be very harmful for Israel in the medium and long term,” he said.

Iranian drones hit the US Embassy in Saudi Arabia, while hundreds are reported dead in Iran

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran struck the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia’s capital with a drone early Tuesday as it kept hitting targets around the region, while the United States and Israel pounded Iran with airstrikes in what U.S. President Donald Trump suggested was just the start of a relentless campaign that could last more than a month.

The attack from two drones on the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh caused a “limited fire” and minor damage, according to Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry, and the embassy urged Americans to avoid the compound. It followed an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait, which announced Tuesday it had been closed until further notice. The U.S. State Department also ordered the evacuation of non-emergency personnel and family in Kuwait, as well as Bahrain, Iraq, Qatar, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates as a precaution.

The expanding conflict has so far killed hundreds of people, the vast majority in Iran.

Across Iran’s capital, explosions rang out throughout the night into Tuesday, with aircraft heard overhead. It was not immediately clear what had been hit. The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Iran’s Natanz nuclear enrichment site had sustained “some recent damage,” though there was “no radiological consequence expected.” Natanz earlier came under attack by the U.S. in the 12-day Iran-Israel war in June.

In Lebanon, Israel launched more strikes on Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militia group. Explosions could be heard and smoke seen in a southern suburb of Beirut. Israel also said its soldiers were “operating in southern Lebanon.” Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said the Lebanese army was evacuating some of its positions along the border.

Lawmakers finally questioned the Clintons about Epstein. They also asked about pizzagate and UFOs

WASHINGTON (AP) — A House committee investigating Jeffrey Epstein labored for six months to question former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, but once they finally had a chance to sit down with some of the highest-ranked officials to ever be deposed by Congress, the sessions veered off track with a leaked photo, talk of the pizzagate conspiracy theory and questions about disclosing government information on UFOs.

Videos released Monday by the House Oversight Committee of depositions for both Bill and Hillary Clinton from last week showed how overall the former Democratic president distanced himself from Epstein, even as he said it was important for anyone with information about Epstein's abuse to come forward. Hillary Clinton repeatedly told the committee she never even recalled meeting Epstein during hours of questioning that at times became heated.

Lawmakers are trying to meet demands for a reckoning over Epstein, who killed himself in 2019 in New York while facing charges for sex trafficking and abusing underage girls. High-status men around the world have been forced into resignations because of revelations about their relationships with Epstein, but so far there are few signs in the U.S. of serious legal consequences coming.

After the depositions last week, Republicans seem to be moving on from scrutinizing the Clintons for their decades-old connections to Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell.

The closed-door depositions showed how Republican lawmakers at times seemed not able to resist the spectacle of questioning a couple who for decades led the Democratic Party.

Minnesota sues to block Trump administration's withholding of Medicaid funds

Minnesota on Monday sued President Donald Trump's administration in an attempt to stop it from withholding $243 million in Medicaid spending, warning it may have to cut health care for low-income families if the funding is held back.

The lawsuit asked a U.S. court in Minneapolis to issue a temporary restraining order to block the withholding for Medicaid, which is the health care safety net for low-income Americans.

The move came after Vice President JD Vance said last week the administration would “temporarily halt” some Medicaid funding to Minnesota over fraud concerns, as part of what he described as an aggressive crackdown on misuse of public funds.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said his office has a strong track record of fighting Medicaid fraud and has won more than 300 convictions and $80 million in judgments and restitutions during his time in office.

“Trump’s attempts to look like he’s fighting fraud only punish the people and families who most need the high-quality, affordable healthcare that all Minnesotans deserve,” Ellison said in a statement. "As long as I am attorney general, I will do everything in my power to defend our tax dollars, both from fraudsters and from the Trump administration’s cruelty.”

Iran attacks threaten US economy with more uncertainty around inflation, growth

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran add yet more question marks around a U.S. economy already buffeted by on-and-off tariffs, weak hiring, and lingering inflationary pressures.

The war has already raised oil prices and could lift prices at the pump as early as this week, but the ultimate impact on the economy and inflation will depend on the length and severity of the conflict, economists say. Should it wind down in a week or two, its economic effects would be minor and short-lived.

Yet a longer war that pushed oil past $100 a barrel for an extended period would worsen inflation, at least temporarily, while slowing growth and intensifying Americans' unhappiness with the cost of essentials. After nearly five years of rising prices, concerns around affordability have undercut President Donald Trump's support in polls and bolstered Democrats in recent elections.

For now, the price of a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude rose 6.3% Monday to settle at $71.23. Brent crude, the international standard, climbed 6.7% to $77.74 per barrel. An increase at that level, even if sustained, would barely lift inflation, economists said.

"While cost-conscious Americans who are dealing with an affordability crisis will not take this increase lightly, such an increase will not materially affect economic growth," Joe Brusuelas, an economist at RSM, a consulting firm, said.

The Latest: Trump says Iran war could last weeks as Netanyahu defends decision to attack

As the war in the Middle East intensifies, U.S. President Donald Trump said that the U.S. has “the capability to go far longer" than its projected four-to-five-week time frame for its military operations against Iran.

Across Tehran, the sound of explosions rang out through the night and into the early morning hours Tuesday, as the U.S. and Israel have continued to pound Iran since killing its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday.

Tehran and its allies have hit back against Israel, neighboring Gulf states, and targets critical to the world’s production of oil and natural gas.

The intensity of the attacks and the lack of any apparent exit plan set the stage for a prolonged conflict with far-reaching consequences. Israel and the U.S. have given conflicting answers about what exactly the war’s objectives are or what the endgame might be.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu late Monday defended the decision to go to war, contending in an interview on Fox News Channel’s "Hannity" that Iran was rebuilding “new sites, new places” that would make “their ballistic missile program and their atomic bomb program immune within months,” without providing evidence.

Global shares are mostly lower as investors focus on the Iran war's impact on energy supplies

TOKYO (AP) — Global shares mostly declined and oil prices surged Tuesday as investors eyed threats to world energy supplies from the Iran war.

U.S. futures also declined, with the contract for the S&P 500 down 1.5% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.6%.

In early European trading, France's CAC 40 dropped 2.2% to 8,207.10, while in Germany the DAX sank 2.9% to 23,935.62. Britain's FTSE 100 declined 2.2% to 10,546.30.

In South Korea, a big energy importer, the Kospi plunged 7.2% as markets reopened after a holiday on Monday, closing at 5,791.91.

Benchmark U.S. crude rose $3.24 to $74.47 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added $3.56 to $81.30 a barrel. Oil prices jumped Monday over worries that the war could clog the global flow of crude.

A mess in Texas? What to watch in Tuesday's primaries

NEW YORK (AP) — The 2026 midterm season begins in earnest on Tuesday with two of the nation's most consequential Senate primaries playing out in Texas, a political behemoth that Democrats have been fighting to flip for decades.

Is this the year? Republican leaders in Washington openly fret that a victory by conservative firebrand Ken Paxton over four-term incumbent Sen. John Cornyn would give Democrats a rare shot of winning the seat come November. The contest has already cost Republicans tens of millions of dollars, and there will be much more spent ahead of a May 26 runoff if no one gets 50% in the three-way primary that also includes Rep. Wesley Hunt.

Democrats, meanwhile, are picking between two rising stars with conflicting styles. There's U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who made a name for herself through confrontation, and state Rep. James Talarico, a former middle school teacher who is working toward a divinity degree.

Primaries are also taking place in North Carolina and Arkansas. Voting comes just days after President Donald Trump launched a major military campaign against Iran, injecting an urgent foreign policy component in races otherwise focused on domestic issues.

Here's what to watch for on Tuesday.

What to know about the deadly shooting at a Texas bar and the gunman

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A gunman in Texas opened fire on a crowded bar in Austin's busy nightlife district over the weekend before being fatally shot by police in an attack that authorities were investigating as a potential act of terrorism.

The shooting early Sunday killed three people and wounded more than a dozen others. The suspect was wearing clothes with an Iranian flag design and the words “Property of Allah," a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.

The mass shooting happened after the U.S. and Israel launched an attack on Iran. The FBI and Austin police said they were still looking into the motive behind the shooting, which sent people in the bar and surrounding streets scrambling for cover.

Here's what to know about the shooting:

Police said the gunman drove past Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden before circling back and firing the first shots from his SUV at people on the sidewalk and inside the bar early Sunday.

Minnesota launches investigation that could bring charges against federal immigration officers

A Minnesota prosecutor announced an investigation Monday that may lead to charges against federal officers, including Border Patrol official Greg Bovino, for misconduct during an immigration enforcement crackdown.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a news conference that her office is already looking into 17 cases, including one where Bovino threw a smoke canister at protesters on Jan. 21. Another on Jan. 7 involved federal officers making an arrest outside a high school and deploying chemical irritants while students and staff were in the area.

“Make no mistake, we are not afraid of the legal fight, and we are committed to doing this correctly,” Moriarty said. “Operation Metro Surge caused immeasurable harm to our community.”

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees immigration enforcement, responded in a statement Monday night that such enforcement is a federal responsibility and states cannot prosecute federal officers.

“What these States are trying to do is unlawful, and they know it," the statement said. “Federal officials acting in the course of their duties are immune from liability under state law.”