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

The strikes, in retaliation for an Israeli attack on a key Iranian gas field, sent fuel prices soaring and risked drawing Iran’s Arab neighbors directly into the conflict. Global fuel supplies were already under pressure because of Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil is transported.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late Thursday that, at the request of President Donald Trump, Israel will hold off on any further attacks on Iran's South Pars gas field.

Since the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28, Iran’s top leaders have been killed in airstrikes and the country’s military capabilities have been severely degraded. Netanyahu said in a televised address that Iran no longer has the ability to enrich uranium or make ballistic missiles, although he did not provide evidence.

Still, Iran — now led by the son of the supreme leader killed in the war’s opening salvo — remains capable of missile and drone attacks targeting its Gulf Arab neighbors and unnerving the global economy dependent on the energy they produce.

Pentagon seeks $200 billion in additional funds for the Iran war, AP source says

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon is seeking $200 billion in additional funds for the Iran war, a sizable amount that is certain to be met with questions from Congress, which would need to approve any new money.

The department sent the request to the White House, according to a senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private information. Asked about the figure at a press conference Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not directly confirm the amount, saying it could change.

“It takes money to kill bad guys,” Hegseth said.

But he said “we’re going back to Congress and our folks there to ensure that we’re properly funded.”

It’s an extraordinarily high number and comes on top of extra funding the Defense Department already received last year in President Donald Trump’s big tax cuts bill. Such a request would need to be approved by Congress, and it is not at all clear such spending would have political support. The nation's debt has surged past a record $39 trillion.

Brent crude briefly tops $119 per barrel, before receding, and shakes stock markets worldwide

NEW YORK (AP) — A roller-coaster day for oil prices showed how they’re dictating where financial markets and maybe even the global economy are heading. Stocks tumbled in Europe and Asia when oil prices shot higher early on Thursday, but U.S. stocks pared their sharp losses as the day progressed and oil prices fell back.

The morning began with the shock of Brent crude, the international standard, briefly rising above $119 per barrel, up from roughly $70 before the war with Iran began.

The jump followed intensified attacks by Iran on oil and gas facilities around the Persian Gulf in response to an Israeli attack on an important Iranian natural gas field. They worsened fears that the war could knock out oil and gas production in the Middle East for a long time, which would mean high prices could last a while and cause inflation to rip higher around the world.

Stock indexes dropped 3.4% in Japan, 2.8% in Germany and 2.7% in South Korea. But oil prices pared their big gains as the day progressed, the latest in their hour-to-hour swings since the war began.

Brent oil settled at $108.65, up only 1.2% from the day before, and then eased further as trading continued. After briefly topping $101, a barrel of benchmark of benchmark U.S. crude settled at $96.14 and then fell toward $94.

California's Gov. Newsom supports move to rename César Chavez Day over alleged sexual abuse

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he supports a proposal to rename César Chavez Day as Farmworkers Day following stunning allegations of abuse against the revered labor leader.

Political leaders in states and cities are considering similar moves after the allegations became public, accusing Chavez of sexually abusing girls and the co-founder of the United Farm Workers of America union, Dolores Huerta, decades ago.

There also have been calls to alter memorials honoring the man who in the 1960s helped secure better wages and working conditions for farmworkers and had been admired by many Democratic leaders.

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson's office said Thursday that he won’t issue a proclamation honoring César Chavez Day this year while Denver officials plan to rename their annual celebration. Events in Texas and in his home state of Arizona have been canceled at the request of the César Chavez Foundation.

In 2000, California became the first state to designate Chavez’s birthday as a holiday. Schools were required to teach students about his involvement in the labor movement in California. Chavez died in California in 1993 at age 66.

Japan's Takaichi tries to reaffirm alliance with Trump as he seeks help securing Strait of Hormuz

WASHINGTON (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sought to reaffirm her alliance with President Donald Trump on Thursday after the president this week seemed to complain that Japan was among the nations that did not quickly join his call to help protect the Strait of Hormuz.

Takaichi, who met with Trump at the White House, told the Republican president that Japan has opposed Iran's development of its nuclear program and appealed to his desire to be seen as a peacemaker, despite his launching a war of choice with Iran. She told the U.S. president through an interpreter that in the Middle East and around the world now, there was “a very severe security environment,” but said, “Even against that backdrop, I firmly believe that it is only you, Donald, who can achieve peace across the world.”

The two leaders had warm words for each other, including Trump calling the prime minister a “popular, powerful woman,” but there appeared to be some tension as they faced repeated questions from reporters about Japan's support for the Iran war.

As Trump took questions from reporters during the roughly 30-minute public appearance with the prime minister in the Oval Office before their closed-door meeting, Taikaichi could be seen checking her watch. And then Trump made a particularly uncomfortable remark — invoking Japan’s 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor — when he was asked why the U.S. didn’t notify allies like Japan ahead of the strikes on Iran.

“We didn’t tell anybody about it because we wanted surprise. Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor, OK?” Trump joked.

Treasury Department begins taking over student loans as the Education Department gets dismantled

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Education Department is handing off a portion of its student loan portfolio to the Treasury Department, a first step toward shedding management of all student loans as Trump administration officials dismantle the federal education agency.

Under an agreement announced Thursday, the Treasury Department will take over management of student loans whose borrowers are in default, meaning they are months behind on payments. Those loans add up to about $180 billion, or 11% of the government’s $1.7 trillion student loan portfolio.

Eventually, the Treasury Department is to take responsibility for all student loans, according to the agreement. A second phase with no timeframe says Treasury will “assume operational responsibility” over non-defaulted loans, “to the extent practicable.”

Breaking off the student loan operation would mark the biggest step yet in closing the department, which President Donald Trump ordered to be dismantled almost exactly a year ago. Many Americans know the department mostly for its role doling out grants and loans for college, and those streams of funding are by far the agency's largest.

Borrowers do not need to do anything as the change goes through, the administration says. They will continue to work with the same loan servicer and repay their loans the same way.

Mullin's DHS nomination advances to full Senate despite opposition from Republican Rand Paul

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Markwayne Mullin moved a step closer to becoming President Donald Trump's next homeland security secretary after a Senate committee Thursday narrowly advanced his nomination.

The 8-7 vote came after a contentious hearing Wednesday and sent the Cabinet nomination to the full Senate, which could act to confirm the Oklahoma Republican next week.

That vote included a “no” from the Republican chairman, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, and a “yes” from a Democrat, Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania. The approval comes as the parties are fighting bitterly over the policies of the Department of Homeland Security, leading to a funding lapse that is now in its 34th day.

During his testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, Mullin tried to make the case that he would be a steady hand after the tumultuous tenure of Kristi Noem, Trump's first DHS secretary. Mullin also signaled support for Trump’s immigration priorities, which are central to the funding standoff after the death of at least three American citizens at the hands of federal agents.

Mullin's hearing was unusually combative and came close to going off the rails as he engaged in heated exchanges with some Democrats as well as Paul.

The body of an American student who went missing in Barcelona has been found, police in Spain say

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — The body of James “Jimmy” Gracey, a college student from Illinois who went missing while in Spain on spring break, was found Thursday in the water off a Barcelona beach, police said.

Gracey's body was found by police divers and positively identified, the press office for Catalonia’s regional police in Barcelona told The Associated Press. The University of Alabama student's body was found near where he was last seen outside a nightclub with his friends early Tuesday. He was visiting friends in Barcelona for spring break.

Catalan police say that their investigation continues into the cause of death.

Gracey, 20, was last seen outside the Shoko nightclub in Barcelona but separated from friends around 3 a.m. on Tuesday. Gracey never returned to the room he was renting with friends, according to family members who live in the suburb of Elmhurst, about 19 miles (31 kilometers) west of Chicago. They realized something was wrong when police contacted them, saying they had recovered his phone.

The Gracey family asked for prayers and privacy.

ABC cancels 'Bachelorette' season with Taylor Frankie Paul, citing 2023 video

LOS ANGELES (AP) — ABC has scrubbed the upcoming season of “The Bachelorette,” starring Taylor Frankie Paul, citing a newly released video from 2023.

Thursday's unprecedented cancellation of the already filmed season of the long-running reality television show comes days before it was to premiere, on Sunday.

“In light of the newly released video just surfaced today, we have made the decision to not move forward with the new season of ‘The Bachelorette’ at this time, and our focus is on supporting the family,” a statement from Disney Entertainment Television said.

The statement appeared to reference a 2023 video of an altercation between Paul and Dakota Mortensen that was published by TMZ on Thursday. Paul was arrested in 2023 and charged with aggravated assault and other offenses, including domestic violence in the presence of a child. She pleaded guilty that August to a misdemeanor charge of aggravated assault; the other charges were dismissed.

A police spokesperson in Draper City, Utah, told People magazine that there was an open domestic violence investigation of Paul and her ex-partner Mortensen, and that allegations have been made in both directions. Mortensen is the father of one of Paul's three children.

High Point's upset of Wisconsin ends the hope of a perfect March Madness bracket for millions

Well, the dream was fun while it lasted ... all two-ish hours of it.

The bid for a perfect NCAA Tournament bracket disappeared for over 25 million people by mid-afternoon on Thursday, fueled by 12th-seeded High Point's first-round stunner over fifth-seeded Wisconsin.

ESPN reported that just under 900,000 blemish-free brackets remained after the opening wave of games. That's just over 3% of the total brackets entered.

TCU, a 9 seed, nicked some brackets in the first game of the tournament by edging eighth-seeded Ohio State. Nebraska, a 4 seed, picked up its first-ever March Madness victory by racing past Troy.

The results also took a toll over at Yahoo, where 83% of the entries included a win by Wisconsin in the first round.