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

All of that comes as Iran has insisted it actually controls the critical waterway, and as the new exchange of fire threatened a return to all-out war.

U.S. Central Command announced on social media that the U.S. military had begun another round of strikes against Iran.

“These strikes will continue imposing a heavy cost on Iranian forces and degrade their ability to attack innocent civilians and commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” the U.S. military said.

The new round of attacks followed Trump telling conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, “We’re going to hit them very hard tonight and we’re going to hit them hard tomorrow — and there’s not a damn thing they can do about it.”

Darline Graham Nordone, sister of Lindsey Graham, chosen to fulfill remainder of his US Senate term

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Lindsey Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, has been named as her late brother's temporary replacement in the U.S. Senate after his unexpected death over the weekend.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster announced at a news conference at the Statehouse on Monday that Nordone would serve the remaining months on Graham's current term, which expires in January. She's expected to be sworn in this week, making her the first woman to represent the state in the Senate.

“It is such an honor,” Nordone said, as dozens of Graham staffers and campaign advisers stood behind her, some with eyes glassy from welling tears. “Lindsey has always been there for me. And now, I will be there for him.”

Graham died on Saturday night at age 71. He never married or had a family of his own, but Nordone was often by her brother's side for the political touch points of his career, speaking at events and appearing in some of his campaign ads.

After their parents died at a young age, Graham was left to raise his sister, for whom he later became legal guardian. They were very close, and she was there as he filed reelection paperwork earlier this year, along with her children and grandchildren.

Man shot and killed by ICE in Maine was not the target of warrant, Sen. Angus King says

BIDDEFORD, Maine (AP) — The motorist killed by ICE officers in a Maine shooting Monday was not the target of the warrant the officers were executing, Sen. Angus King said Homeland Security Secretary Mullin told him.

It's the second time in a week that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have used deadly force and at least the ninth since President Donald Trump began his immigration crackdown.

Immigrant rights groups identified the man who was killed as a 26-year-old native of Colombia.

King, an independent senator from Maine, said Mullin told him the officer opened fire after the man tried to use his vehicle as a weapon against officers in Biddeford, a coastal city roughly 15 miles (24 kilometers) southwest of Portland.

“He was in a vehicle — pulled out in the vehicle, and the term the secretary used was ‘weaponized’ the vehicle and was shot by an ICE agent,” King said.

Minnesota prosecutors obtain long withheld evidence in investigation into protest shooting deaths

The Trump administration has turned over evidence long sought by Minnesota investigators in their ongoing probe into the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti during pitched protests against an immigration enforcement crackdown earlier this year, state prosecutors announced Monday.

The progress came as a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed a motorist in Maine on Monday, and Houston prosecutors complained the administration was still withholding critical information in their investigation into a fatal shooting by an ICE officer last week.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said the evidence turned over by federal investigators included previously withheld hard drives containing statements, police body camera video and other materials in the Minnesota killings. They also turned over Good’s badly damaged SUV, she said.

“The wonderful thing now is we have all the evidence,” Moriarty said. “Any time the government is responsible in whatever way of taking the life of a community member we need to have a full and thorough investigation.”

Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was shot and killed in her vehicle while leaving an anti-immigration enforcement protest in Minneapolis on Jan. 7.

Judge says Trump IRS lawsuit was filed for 'improper purpose,' refers lawyer for possible discipline

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over his leaked tax returns was filed for an “improper purpose,” a judge said Monday in a scathing decision that referred one of his lawyers for potential disciplinary action and characterized the $10 billion complaint as an exercise in self-dealing.

U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams accused Trump and his lawyers of having manipulated the court system when he sued a federal agency under his control, bypassing a requirement that parties in a lawsuit must have adverse interests and laying the groundwork for a settlement that granted him immunity from tax audits and created a fund to compensate allies of the president who say they were unjustly persecuted.

The judge stopped short of explicitly voiding the deal shielding Trump from tax scrutiny but said the government cannot claim that the agreement was the result of a legitimate legal process.

“Whether Executive Branch actors can privately agree to give themselves and their former clients blanket immunities and billions of dollars in tax monies for legally undefined grievances was never an issue advanced to this Court,” said Williams, an appointee of President Barack Obama. “The question is whether the Parties could do so by claiming to be adverse and engaging the legitimacy of a court proceeding. The answer is a resounding ‘no.’”

Though the practical impacts of the ruling may be limited since the lawsuit was withdrawn months ago and the administration had already abandoned the $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” that came out of it, the order nonetheless amounts to a scathing rebuke and tees up a politically uncomfortable line of questioning for Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche as faces the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing on Wednesday.

12 states challenge Paramount's takeover of Warner, say merger would 'extinguish competition'

NEW YORK (AP) — Twelve states sued to block Paramount’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery on Monday, arguing that the $81 billion merger would “extinguish competition” in Hollywood and lead to fewer choices for consumers across the U.S.

“Audiences on every sofa and in every movie (theater) seat would feel the impact of this unlawful merger,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who is leading the case, said in a news conference from Los Angeles. He said the deal would result in higher prices, fewer movies and TV shows and lower quality of content overall.

A Paramount-Warner combo would bring together two of Hollywood's last five legacy studios. It would also mean putting Warner's HBO Max, libraries filled with fan favorites like “Harry Potter” and even CNN under the same roof of Paramount-owned CBS and the Paramount+ streaming service.

In Monday's complaint, the states said such a tie-up would also “inflict substantial harm” on movie theatres and basic cable distributors. Bonta's office said the states are asking Warner and Paramount to not close this merger “until after the judicial process concludes." And if the companies do not agree, the coalition would then file a temporary restraining order.

Paramount said Monday's lawsuit “distorts settled antitrust law" and maintained that its merger would instead create a "stronger competitor against dominant streaming and technology platforms who have harmed the market for theatrical exhibition and jobs in the entertainment industry.”

No relief from the heat as many US cities will see record overnight temperatures

Another week of blistering heat will bring even more health risks in the coming days, as overnight temperatures won't provide much relief.

The National Weather Service is predicting that more than 90 temperature records across the U.S. will be tied or broken this week through Wednesday — and most of those will be overnight heat records.

Health experts say overnight temperatures that fail to cool down are even more dangerous than daytime temperatures that soar.

It has already been a sweltering start to the summer across much of the U.S. due to the long-lasting heat dome expected to blanket much of the country this week. The blistering temperatures over the past few weeks have caused heat-related deaths in New Jersey and helped fuel wildfires in the West.

Temperatures were not forecast to drop below 80 F (27 C) at night in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Miami; Tampa, Florida; Galveston, Texas; and Charleston, South Carolina, the National Weather Service said.

Oil prices jump following the latest fighting in the Middle East, while AI stocks sink

NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices jumped Monday following a weekend of attacks in the Middle East, while more losses for computer chip companies and other winners of the artificial-intelligence boom dragged stock markets lower.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, climbed 9.6% to $83.30 after the United States and Iran each said the Strait of Hormuz is under its control. Fighting in the region has kept oil tankers from using the strait to deliver crude to customers from the Persian Gulf, which drives up fuel prices worldwide.

The gains for oil prices accelerated immediately after President Donald Trump said he’s reinstating a blockade to prevent tankers carrying Iranian oil from using the strait. He also called for 20% payments on all cargo shipped through it to reimburse the United States for providing protection in the area.

Brent’s price, though, remains well below its wartime peak of nearly $120 per barrel for its most actively traded contract.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell 0.8%, coming off its fourth winning week in the last five. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 138 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 1.6%.

Neither France nor Spain has trailed at this year's World Cup, but only one can reach the final

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Kylian Mbappé and France haven’t trailed at all at this year's World Cup. Neither has Spain with teenage sensation Lamine Yamal and clutch goal-scoring substitute Mikel Merino.

Only one of those teams can make it to the final.

France and Spain are both playing at their 17th World Cup, but have met only once previously on soccer’s biggest stage. They play Tuesday at the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys in the first of two powerhouse semifinal matches.

After entering this tournament as FIFA’s top-ranked team, France has outscored its opponents 14-2. Mbappé, the 2022 Golden Boot winner, has eight goals to match Lionel Messi for the scoring lead this time, and is one behind the Argentina captain’s career record of 21 at the World Cup.

“We are focused,” France midfielder Adrien Rabiot said. “We are confident, of course, with the course we have done so far, and we have to be, but always with this humility that has characterized us since the beginning of the competition.”

Sam Neill, New Zealand actor who starred in 'Jurassic Park' and 'The Piano,' dies at 78

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Sam Neill, the smoothly elegant and versatile actor whose prolific career moved from art films to blockbusters as he dodged velociraptors in “Jurassic Park” and played Holly Hunter’s cruel husband in “The Piano,” has died. He was 78.

In 2023, Neill disclosed he had been diagnosed with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He died on Monday in Sydney, according to a statement posted to the actor’s social media page.

His death was “sudden and unexpected,” the statement said, adding that he “remained cancer free” when he died. A cause of death wasn’t specified. “Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterized his whole life,” his family wrote.

Tributes were paid by fellow actors and directors, including Steven Spielberg, who helmed the first “Jurassic Park” movie.

“I adored making all the ‘Jurassic’ movies with him. Along with Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, we will always have our Jurassic family and Sam will never be forgotten by us or his many millions of fans around the world,” Spielberg said in a statement.