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

The announcement came as last-minute ceasefire talks between the U.S. and Iran looked uncertain and a two-week truce was set to expire Wednesday.

Earlier, the White House put on hold Vice President JD Vance’s expected trip to Islamabad for a second round of talks as Tehran — at least for the time-being — has balked at further talks.

In a Truth Social post announcing the ceasefire extension, Trump said the U.S. military would “remain ready and able, and will therefore extend the Ceasefire until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other.” He said the U.S. would continue it’s blockade of Iranian ports.

Both countries have warned that, without a deal, they were prepared to resume fighting.

Warsh says he got no pressure from Trump to cut rates even as president publicly pushes for them

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s nominee to chair the Federal Reserve said Tuesday that he never promised the White House that he would cut interest rates, even as the president renewed his calls for the central bank to do so.

“The president never once asked me to commit to any particular interest rate decision, period,” Kevin Warsh, a former top Fed official, said under questioning by the Senate Banking Committee. “Nor would I ever agree to do so if he had. ... I will be an independent actor if confirmed as chair of the Federal Reserve.”

Warsh’s comments came just hours after Trump, in an interview on CNBC, was asked if he would be disappointed if Warsh didn’t immediately cut rates and responded, “I would.”

The comments underscore the challenge faced by Warsh, 56, a financier and former member of the Fed's board of governors whom Trump named in January to replace the current Fed chair, Jerome Powell. Democrats on the committee accused Warsh of flip-flopping on interest rates over the years, supporting higher interest rates under Democratic presidents and advocating rate cuts during Trump's time in office. Investors are watching the hearing closely to see how Warsh balances Trump’s demands with worsening inflation, as the war in Iran pushes up the price of gasoline.

Higher inflation typically leads the Fed to raise rates, or at least keep them unchanged, rather than cut them. When the Fed changes its key rate, it can affect mortgages, auto loans, and business borrowing.

Democrat Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida resigns before the House can sanction her in ethics case

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida resigned from office on Tuesday moments before the start of a hearing that could have led to a recommendation that she be expelled from Congress.

Cherfilus-McCormick was the subject of a more than two-year investigation by the House Ethics Committee, which had determined recently that she had violated multiple federal laws and House rules. Support from her own party was increasingly in doubt.

It's the third resignation in a little more than a week from a House lawmaker. Reps. Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, and Tony Gonzales, a Texas Republican, announced within hours of each other that they were leaving Congress. Both men were facing sexual misconduct allegations and possible expulsion.

In a statement, Cherfilus-McCormick said the House committee denied her new attorney's request for more time to prepare a defense. She also said she would not pretend that the investigation had been anything other than a “witch hunt,” and rather than play political games, she would resign, effective immediately.

“But let me say this plainly: we should be very careful about the precedent we are setting in this country, we do not punish people before due process is complete," she said. "We do not allow allegations alone to override the will of the people. That is a dangerous patch, and one that should concern every American, regardless of party.”

Trump's approval on economy falls in AP-NORC poll, showing new warning signs for president

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s approval rating on the economy has slumped over the past month as the Iran war drives prices higher, according to a new AP-NORC poll, with even Republicans showing less faith in his leadership.

The findings from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research show a president who is struggling with unfulfilled promises to tame inflation and testing Americans’ patience with a conflict in the Middle East that has dragged on longer than expected.

Trump’s approval rating on the economy dropped to 30% in April from 38% in a March AP-NORC poll. A similarly low share of U.S. adults, 32%, approve of the president’s leadership on Iran, which is unchanged since last month.

The poll was conducted April 16-20, during which time the Strait of Hormuz was reopened by Iran, then closed again, an example of the whiplash that has characterized the conflict.

The president’s policies and pronouncements have often been at odds with each other. Gasoline prices — which he promised to slash — jumped after the U.S. attacked Iran in February. His tariffs have kept much of the economy in limbo and hiring has slowed despite his boasts of a “golden age.”

What to know about the Southern Poverty Law Center

The Southern Poverty Law Center is in the spotlight after the civil rights group announced Tuesday that it is the subject of a U.S. Justice Department criminal investigation because of its past use of paid informants.

The center previously used the informants to infiltrate extremist groups, and now faces possible charges over that practice, its CEO Bryan Fair said. The organization has faced credible threats of violence, Fair said, and the information gathered by informants helped saved lives. That information was also frequently shared with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies, he said.

The Justice Department had no immediate comment.

Here are some things to know about the Southern Poverty Law Center's history and controversies:

Alabama lawyer Morris Dees founded the organization in 1971, starting a civil rights-focused law practice for people who were poor or disenfranchised. At the time, federal laws and U.S. Supreme Court rulings designed to end Jim Crow-era segregation were still fairly new, and widespread resistance to desegregation persisted in the South.

Virginia voters deciding on redistricting plan that could boost Democrats' seats in Congress

Virginia voters on Tuesday are deciding whether to ratify an unusual mid-decade redrawing of U.S. House districts that could boost Democrats’ chances of flipping control of the closely divided chamber, as the state becomes the latest front in a national redistricting battle.

A proposed constitutional amendment backed by Democratic officials would bypass the state's bipartisan redistricting commission to allow use of new congressional districts approved by state lawmakers in this year's midterm elections.

The referendum, which needs a simple majority to pass, tests Democrats' ability to push back against President Donald Trump, who started the gerrymandering competition between states after successfully urging Texas Republicans to redraw congressional districts in their favor last year. Virginia is the second state, after California last fall, to put the question to voters.

It also tests voters' willingness to accept districts gerrymandered for political advantage — coming just six years after Virginia voters approved an amendment meant to diminish such partisan gamesmanship by shifting redistricting away from the legislature.

Even if Democrats are successful Tuesday, the public vote may not be the final word. The state Supreme Court is considering whether the redistricting plan is illegal in a case that could make the referendum results meaningless.

2 US officials killed in Mexico crash after anti-drug operation worked for CIA, AP sources say

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two U.S. officials killed in a vehicle crash as they returned from destroying a clandestine drug lab in northern Mexico over the weekend were working for the CIA, according to a U.S. official and two other people familiar with the matter.

Two Mexican investigators also were killed in the crash, which Mexican authorities said occurred while the convoy was returning from an operation to destroy drug labs of criminal groups. There have been discrepancies in the public accounts of what happened from U.S. and Mexican officials, which experts say underscores heightened American involvement in security operations in Mexico and across the region.

The CIA's involvement was confirmed Tuesday by the three with knowledge of the crash, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence matters. That the U.S. officials worked for the CIA was reported earlier by The Washington Post.

It comes after days of contradictions from Mexican and U.S. authorities about the role that American officials played in an operation to bust a narco-laboratory in northern Chihuahua state.

The lack of clarity from authorities reignited a debate over the extent of U.S. involvement in Mexico's security operations as Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum faces extreme pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to crack down on cartels. Trump has taken a more aggressive stance toward Latin America than any leader in recent U.S. history, capturing Venezuela's president, blockading oil shipments to Cuba and launching joint military operations in Ecuador, a country also marked by criminal violence.

In reversal, Justice Department withdraws subpoenas in John Brennan investigation, AP sources say

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has withdrawn subpoenas issued in the investigation of former CIA Director John Brennan, with officials asking for voluntary interviews instead of testimony before a grand jury, two people familiar with the matter said Tuesday.

A small handful of subpoenas were known to have been issued over the weekend for witnesses to appear before a grand jury in Washington. But investigators on Monday evening informed lawyers that the subpoenas were being withdrawn in favor of requests for voluntary interviews, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press to discuss developments in an ongoing investigation.

The reason for the reversal in course was not immediately known.

The months-old Brennan investigation is one of several criminal probes the Justice Department has opened over the last year against President Donald Trump’s perceived adversaries. It centers on one of the Republican president’s chief grievances — a U.S. intelligence community finding that Russia interfered on his behalf during his successful 2016 presidential campaign.

The subpoenas were issued after a shakeup in the Justice Department team leading the investigation. A career national security prosecutor in Florida who’d been handling the inquiry left the case after expressing doubt about the legal viability of a potential criminal case, according to a person familiar with the matter. The Justice Department on Monday installed a Trump loyalist, Joe diGenova, who served as U.S. attorney in Washington during the Reagan administration, as a counselor to the attorney general who will now work on the Brennan investigation.

Florida's attorney general launches criminal probe into ChatGPT over FSU shooting

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Florida's attorney general on Tuesday opened a rare criminal investigation into OpenAI's ChatGPT over whether the artificial intelligence app offered advice to a gunman who killed two people and wounded six others last year at Florida State University.

Attorney General James Uthmeier said that prosecutors had done an initial review of chat logs between ChatGPT and the gunman, Phoenix Ikner, to determine if the AI app aided, abetted or advised the commission of a crime.

Prosecutors believe the chatbot advised Ikner on what type of gun and ammunition to use, whether a gun would be useful at short range, and what time of day and at which location would allow for the most potential victims, Uthmeier said.

“My prosecutors have looked at this, and they've told me if it was a person at the other end of that screen, we would be charging them with murder,” Uthmeier said at a news conference in Tampa. “Now, of course, ChatGPT is not a person, but that does not absolve our office and my prosecution team from our duty to investigate whether there is criminal culpability here.”

Florida's Office of Statewide Prosecution has subpoenaed OpenAI for records of its policies and training materials regarding threats to harm others, and for its policies on reporting “possible past, present, or future crime,” according to the attorney general's office.

Alan Osmond, the eldest member of the Osmonds, has died at 76

NEW YORK (AP) — Alan Osmond, the eldest member of the chart-topping family act The Osmonds, died Monday after decades with multiple sclerosis. He was 76.

According to a family spokesperson, Alan's wife, Suzanne Osmond, and their eight sons were with him at his home in Lehi, Utah, at the time of his death. Prior to his passing, Alan used a wheelchair and spent a week in intensive care before returning home Thursday on hospice.

A talented songwriter and performer, Alan Osmond helped write some of the Osmond Brothers' biggest hits, including “One Bad Apple,” “Crazy Horses” and “Are You Up There?”

Born in Ogden, Utah, on June 22, 1949 and raised in a Mormon household, Alan Osmond's storied musical career began in the 1950s, when he and his brothers Wayne, Merrill and Jay formed a barbershop quartet. He was the oldest of the performing group and the third oldest of his siblings.

The brothers worked the state fair circuit in Utah until a visit to Disneyland led to a television debut on “Disney After Dark” in 1962.