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

The sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil, as well as dozens of subsidiaries, followed months of bipartisan pressure on President Donald Trump to hit Russia with harder sanctions on its oil industry.

“Now is the time to stop the killing and for an immediate ceasefire,” Bessent said in a statement. Given Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “refusal to end this senseless war, Treasury is sanctioning Russia’s two largest oil companies that fund the Kremlin’s war machine.”

Bessent said the Treasury Department was prepared to take further action if necessary to support Trump’s effort to end the war. "We encourage our allies to join us in and adhere to these sanctions.”

Bessent made the comments as NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte was in Washington for talks with Trump. The military alliance has been coordinating deliveries of weapons to Ukraine, many of them purchased from the United States by Canada and European countries.

US strikes eighth alleged drug-carrying boat, this time in the Pacific Ocean

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military launched its eighth strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel, killing two people in the waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday, marking an expansion of the Trump administration's campaign against drug trafficking in South America.

The attack Tuesday night was a departure from the seven previous U.S. strikes that had targeted vessels in the Caribbean. Hegseth said on social media that the latest strike killed two people, bringing the death toll to at least 34 from attacks that began last month.

The strike represents an expansion of the military's targeting area as well as a shift to the waters off South America where much of the cocaine from the world’s largest producers is smuggled. Hegseth’s post also draws a direct comparison between the war on terrorism that the U.S. declared after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the Trump administration's crackdown.

“Just as Al Qaeda waged war on our homeland, these cartels are waging war on our border and our people,” Hegseth said, adding “there will be no refuge or forgiveness — only justice.”

Republican President Donald Trump has justified the strikes by asserting that the United States is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels and proclaiming the criminal organizations unlawful combatants, relying on the same legal authority used by President George W. Bush's administration when it declared a war on terrorism.

Vance denies the US dictates to Israel as he meets with Netanyahu over Gaza ceasefire

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — U.S. Vice President JD Vance sought Wednesday to ease concerns in Israel that the Trump administration was dictating terms to its closest ally in the Middle East, as he and other top U.S. envoys visit Israel this week to support the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

“We don’t want in Israel a vassal state, and that’s not what Israel is. We want a partnership, we want an ally,” Vance said beside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in response to a reporter’s question about whether Israel was becoming a “protectorate” of the U.S.

Netanyahu — who will meet with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday — expressed similar sentiments while acknowledging differences of opinion as they push forward the U.S.-proposed ceasefire agreement.

“One week they say that Israel controls the United States. A week later they say the United States controls Israel. This is hogwash. We have a partnership, an alliance of partners who share common values, common goals,” Netanyahu said.

One concern in Israel is that an international security force in Gaza — envisioned in the ceasefire's second phase — could limit the Israeli military’s ability to take action in the Palestinian territory if it perceives a threat to its own security.

Maine Senate candidate Platner says tattoo recognized as Nazi symbol has been covered

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — His U.S. Senate campaign under fire, Maine Democrat Graham Platner said Wednesday that a tattoo on his chest has been covered to no longer reflect an image widely recognized as a Nazi symbol.

The first-time political candidate said he got the skull and crossbones tattoo in 2007, when he was in his 20s and in the Marine Corps. It happened during a night of drinking while he was on leave in Croatia, he said, adding he was unaware until recently that the image has been associated with Nazi police.

The revelation that the tattoo had been hastily covered up is just the latest bizarre twist that the high-stakes Senate race had taken in just the past 10 days. The unfolding drama has so far included a sweep of old internet posts, a drunken video of Platner in his underwear, and now the urgently edited tattoo.

Amid the frenzy, another Democratic candidate released his own shirtless photo to show off his arm tattoo of former President Barack Obama's presidential campaign logo.

Platner launched his campaign in August, but the intensity of the race ratcheted up last Monday when Gov. Janet Mills announced her entry into a race Democrats feel they must have if they are going to reclaim a Senate majority. Her entry had the backing of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who is looking to unseat longtime incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

After others departed, Pentagon announces 'new' press corps filled with conservative news outlets

Several conservative news outlets said Wednesday they had agreed to a new press policy rejected by virtually all legacy media organizations and will take their place in the Pentagon to cover Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the U.S. military.

The new Pentagon press corps will include the Gateway Pundit, the National Pulse, Human Events, podcaster Tim Pool, the Just the News website founded by journalist John Solomon, Frontlines by Turning Point USA and LindellTV, run by “MyPillow” CEO Mike Lindell.

The Pentagon's announcement came less than a week after dozens of reporters from outlets like The New York Times, The Associated Press, CNN and the Washington Post turned in their access badges rather than agree to a policy the journalists say will restrict them to covering news approved by Hegseth.

Hegseth's spokesman, Sean Parnell, announced the “next generation” of the Pentagon press corps with more than 60 journalists who had agreed to the new policy. He said 26 journalists who had previously been part of the press corps were among the signees. The department wouldn't say who any of them were, but several outlets reposted his message on X saying they had signed on.

There isn't even unanimity among organizations that appeal to conservative consumers. Fox News Channel, by far the most popular news source for fans of President Donald Trump, was among the walkouts, as was Newsmax.

With Supreme Court ruling still pending, judge extends block on Guard in Chicago indefinitely

CHICAGO (AP) — President Donald Trump’s attempts to deploy the military in Democratic-led cities over objections of mayors and governors have brought a head-spinning array of court challenges and overlapping rulings.

As the U.S. Supreme Court ponders whether to clear the way for the National Guard in Chicago, a federal appeals court is hearing arguments in California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s challenge to troop deployment in Los Angeles. Guard troops could also soon be on the ground in Portland, Oregon, pending legal developments there.

Here's what to know about legal efforts to block or deploy the National Guard in various cities.

U.S. District Judge April Perry on Wednesday blocked the deployment of Guard troops to the Chicago area indefinitely, until the case has been decided in her court or the U.S. Supreme Court intervenes. Perry had already blocked the deployment for two weeks.

Attorneys representing the federal government said they would agree to extend the temporary restraining order but emphasized that they would continue pressing for an emergency order from the Supreme Court that would allow for the deployment of Guard troops.

Trump is expected to host Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman next month, AP sources say

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's administration is preparing for a visit to the United States by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman next month, in what could be the first state visit to the U.S. by a foreign leader in Trump's second term, according to several people familiar with the planning.

Work is underway to prepare a package of agreements that Trump and the crown prince could sign or witness during the visit, U.S. officials familiar with the plans for the trip said. The trip is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 17-19, but the timing and status of the visit could change, according to two people familiar with the planning.

Those people and the officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the trip before it has been announced.

The planned trip would be a significant part of the push Trump has made to restore relations with Gulf Arab nations incensed by Israel’s attack on Hamas leaders in Qatar as they discussed a U.S. ceasefire proposal. The first major foreign trip of Trump’s second term was to Saudi Arabia, where he expressed hope that the countries would further cement their commercial and business ties and suggested that increased military cooperation was also in the cards.

It also would be the first visit to the United States by the crown prince since the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul during Trump’s first term in office in 2018. U.S. intelligence agencies have said Prince Mohammed likely directed the killing, resulting in U.S. sanctions against several Saudi officials. He denies his involvement.

COVID-19 vaccines may help some cancer patients fight tumors

WASHINGTON (AP) — The most widely used COVID-19 vaccines may offer a surprise benefit for some cancer patients – revving up their immune systems to help fight tumors.

People with advanced lung or skin cancer who were taking certain immunotherapy drugs lived substantially longer if they also got a Pfizer or Moderna shot within 100 days of starting treatment, according to preliminary research being reported Wednesday in the journal Nature.

And it had nothing to do with virus infections.

Instead, the molecule that powers those specific vaccines, mRNA, appears to help the immune system respond better to the cutting-edge cancer treatment, concluded researchers from MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and the University of Florida.

The vaccine “acts like a siren to activate immune cells throughout the body,” said lead researcher Dr. Adam Grippin of MD Anderson. “We’re sensitizing immune-resistant tumors to immune therapy.”

University of Virginia strikes deal to pause Trump administration investigations

WASHINGTON (AP) — The University of Virginia has agreed to abide by White House guidance forbidding discrimination in admissions and hiring, becoming the latest in a growing list of campuses striking deals with the Trump administration as the college tries to pause months of scrutiny by the U.S. Justice Department.

The agreement was announced by the Justice Department, which began investigating the admissions and financial aid processes at the Charlottesville campus in April. Federal officials accused Virginia's president of failing to end diversity, equity and inclusion practices President Donald Trump has labeled as unlawful discrimination.

The mounting pressure prompted James Ryan to announce his resignation as university president in June, saying the stakes were too high for others on campus if he opted to “fight the federal government in order to save my job.”

Unlike some universities' deals with the Trump administration, the Virginia agreement announced Wednesday does not include a fine or monetary payment, said Paul Mahoney, interim president of the university, in a campus email. Instead, the university agreed to follow the government’s anti-discrimination criteria. Every quarter, the university must provide relevant data showing compliance, personally certified by its president.

The deal, Mahoney wrote, preserves the university's academic freedom and doesn't hurt its attempts to secure federal research funding. And the university won't have external monitoring by the federal government beyond quarterly communications with the Department of Justice.

What to know about redistricting efforts across US at Trump's prodding

President Donald Trump's desire to secure the Republican majority in Congress has prompted an unusual burst of mid-decade redistricting in multiple states.

North Carolina is the latest to take action. The Republican-led General Assembly approved changes Wednesday to U.S. House district designed to help the party unseat a Democratic incumbent.

Texas was the first to answer Trump's call to redraw its congressional districts for the GOP's advantage ahead of next year's elections. Democrats in California countered with their own redistricting effort, followed by Republicans in Missouri. Other states are considering joining the redistricting battle.

U.S. House districts typically are redrawn once a decade, immediately after a census. But some states have no rules against redistricting more frequently than that. And the U.S. Supreme Court has said there is no federal prohibition on political gerrymandering, in which districts are intentionally drawn to favor one party.

The stakes are high, because Democrats need to gain just three seats in the 2026 elections to take control of the House, which would allow them to impede Trump’s agenda. Historically, the president’s party has lost seats in midterm elections, a fate Trump is trying to avoid.