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

Iran’s state broadcaster confirmed the launches, and Iran closed its western airspace to brace for a possible response. Tehran had warned of retaliation after Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs without warning earlier Sunday in defiance of Washington’s request days ago to stand down. Israel said the Iranian-backed Hezbollah fired at northern Israel earlier in the day.

"Should these acts of aggression be repeated, the responses will be broader in scope and will encompass all American and Zionist targets throughout the region,” Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said in a statement that referenced attacks in Lebanon and on Iran’s coast and vessels around the Strait of Hormuz.

Sirens sounded in several areas of Israel, sending millions running for shelter. Israel’s military said it intercepted the missiles, and multiple explosions were heard in the north. Less than an hour later, the military said people could leave areas reinforced against missile attacks.

“Iran has made a grave mistake,” Israel military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said. The military's chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, said it will “strike the enemy with determination as soon as the order is given.”

Trump dismisses idea that Iran betrays his 'no new wars' campaign message

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. (AP) — President Donald Trump is dismissing the idea that launching the war with Iran this year betrayed his refrain of “No new wars” that he made repeatedly as he campaigned again for the White House.

Trump, in an interview that aired Sunday on NBC's “Meet the Press,” said he “didn't guarantee” there would be no wars if he were back in office.

"First of all, I didn’t guarantee no war. Why would I have built the strongest military in the world?" Trump said.

Trump also defended plans for a now-scrapped $1.8 billion fund that would have compensated allies of the Republican president and he repeated his baseless claims of mass fraud in California’s drawn-out vote count from Tuesday’s primary. He ended the interview abruptly when he became frustrated with pushback from NBC's Kristen Welker.

In his 2024 campaign, Trump repeatedly cast his Democratic opponents as warmongers and said he was a president who started “no new wars" and would bring an era of peace.

Police search for suspects in Ohio shooting that wounded 12 near a street festival

A search in Ohio for suspects who opened fire near a busy street festival stretched into Sunday after 12 people were wounded in the weekend shooting that sent crowds scrambling for cover in a historic Toledo neighborhood.

Each of the dozen victims — who authorities say ranged from teenagers to people in their 60s — were in stable condition, the Toledo Police Department said Sunday. No arrests have been made and authorities have not identified any potential suspects.

The gunfire erupted Saturday near the Old West End Festival, a popular annual summer gathering along streets dotted with Victorian homes. Videos posted to social media showed people running at the sound of gunfire and medics tending to the wounded in a park filled with event tents and food trucks.

Toledo Deputy Police Chief Joe Heffernan has said it appeared that at least two people fired weapons and were “probably shooting at each other.”

As the search for the shooters wore on, Lucas County Prosecutor Julia Bates vowed “justice will be swift and strong.”

Graham Platner to take questions from Maine voters as he looks to stabilize Senate campaign

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Graham Platner is set to take questions from voters Sunday at a town hall-style event in Maine as the Democrat moves to stabilize his Senate campaign after new reports about his past treatment of women.

The evening event in Portland is taking place two days before a Democratic primary that is still seen as Platner's to win, but which could provide clues as to whether enthusiasm for his iconoclastic candidacy has softened.

The New York Times on Thursday reported an ex-girlfriend's allegations that Platner repeatedly grabbed her by the shoulders during arguments and once twisted her arm behind her back and locked her in a room. Platner has repeatedly called those allegations of violence untrue.

Other Platner ex-girlfriends interviewed by the Times described positive experiences, while some said he was volatile and insulting. That story came days after news reports revealing that Platner had exchanged sexually explicit messages with several women while married.

Despite the allegations, no major Democrats who had previously endorsed Platner have rescinded their support. Platner is running to oust Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November.

Maverick Republican Sen. Bob Packwood of Oregon, who resigned after sexual harassment scandal, dies

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Former Sen. Bob Packwood, a moderate Oregon Republican whose reputation as a champion of abortion and women's rights was spoiled at the end of his career by allegations of sexual harassment, has died. He was 93.

Packwood's death on Saturday was announced in an obituary sent to media outlets by his family. The release didn't include additional details.

Packwood was a political scrapper who first refused to quit the chamber in which he had served for 27 years, saying he didn't want to be remembered only for that controversy.

Before the #MeToo era, Packwood stood out as an example of private behavior undermining a man’s public image. He had been praised by Planned Parenthood and others.

The great-grandson of a member of the 1857 Oregon Constitutional Convention, Packwood established himself as a social moderate and fiscal conservative who often voted across party lines. He considered running for president in 1980.

Pope Leo XIV draws 1.2 million to Mass and challenges Europe to acknowledge its Christian roots

MADRID (AP) — Pope Leo XIV challenged Europe to acknowledge Christianity’s contributions to its cultural identity Sunday, as he presided over a Mass in Madrid attended by more than a million people and honored Spain’s centuries-old traditions of religious devotion and culture.

Leo celebrated Spain's Christian roots and culture with the huge morning Mass in downtown Madrid and an evening spectacle that featured flamenco dancers, classical guitar and a moving meditation by Spanish actor Antonio Banderas on art, faith and beauty.

In his remarks, Leo challenged Europe to consider what the continent's identity would be without the influence of Christianity. He cited its art, culture and the role played by Christians — “motivated by their faith” — to build its schools, hospitals and other institutions.

“Is it seriously possible to believe that Europe — which we deeply love — would be the same without the influence of faith?” Leo asked, in demanding that religious expression be allowed to keep its place in the public sphere.

Leo, who arrived in Spain on Saturday at the start of his weeklong visit, has been keen to highlight the long tradition of Christian culture and devotion here to encourage especially young generations to find their faith. It’s a tall order in a once-staunchly Catholic country where religious observance has largely been on the wane.

Health workers at the epicenter of Congo's Ebola outbreak labor with little pay or rest

MONGBWALU, Congo (AP) — Dr. Richard Lokudu, the medical director of Mongbwalu General Referral Hospital, has received barely any compensation for his work on the front line of one of Congo's deadliest Ebola virus outbreaks.

Lokudu and several of his colleagues work all day at the hospital treating an influx of patients. Notifications of suspected cases come even late at night.

“I have not received my allowance (and) what happened to others could happen to me as well,” Lokudu told The Associated Press. “Despite all the infection prevention and control measures we are implementing, we do not know what may happen.”

Health authorities believe the outbreak, which took the eastern region of Congo by surprise after spreading silently for weeks without detection, started in the bustling mining area of Mongbwalu in Ituri province.

Mongbwalu has emerged as the epicenter of the rare Bundibugyo type. The town attracts large numbers of laborers who work in large gold mines with muddy pools of gold deposits, narrow pits and caves. They live in low-income areas including crowded camps and have little access to proper health protocols.

Years of pent-up emotions came flooding out of Alexander Zverev when he finally won the French Open

PARIS (AP) — It all came rushing back to Alexander Zverev when he was lying on his back on the French Open's center court, his hands covering his face, and sobbing on Sunday as he realized that he had — finally — become a Grand Slam champion.

It was the same court where he twisted his right ankle and crumpled to the ground, wailing in agony before being pushed off on a wheelchair during a semifinal match against Rafael Nadal in 2022.

The same court where he wasted a lead of two sets to one against Carlos Alcaraz in the 2024 championship match.

“All the emotions came out, because this court is very, very special to me. It’s special in a very positive way, but also special on the negative way, because I had some of the toughest moments of my life here," Zverev said.

"I was laying on this court with an injury that I didn’t know if I would ever come back from. I lost a Grand Slam final here, so all of those memories for me, they’re not wiped out. They're still with me, but this one will beat all of them.”

Vampires, literary monsters and a cake: The Tony Awards offer a number of intriguing, possible wins

NEW YORK (AP) — Flying vampires. A musical spoof of the megahit movie “Titanic.” Another spoof, this time of golden-age Broadway musicals. And a new “Death of Salesman,” one of America's most decorated and mournful plays. It's Tony Awards time.

Twenty-four Broadway shows will hope to nab at least one win Sunday across the 26 Tony categories, which can mean the difference between keeping the doors open and pulling down the curtain.

Grammy Award-winner Pink is the host of the show, which will be broadcast live on CBS and streaming for Paramount+ subscribers in the U.S. to both coasts on Sunday from 8-11 p.m. Eastern/5-8 p.m. Pacific.

Pink promises a big, honking opening number — written by Benj Pasek, Justin Paul and Mark Sonnenblick that ends with some 170 people on stage — with lots of costume changes and some wire work, which she is familiar with from her acrobatic concerts. She has tapped Amber Ruffin, a writer and performer for “Late Night with Seth Meyers” for help with jokes.

In the audience will be Pink's mother — who took her to shows growing up in Philadelphia, instilling a love of musicals — and Pink's two children, a passing of the musical theater baton. Pink's 15-year-old daughter, Willow, is an aspiring theater actor and urged her to host the Tonys.

Lawsuit seeks to stop the UFC fight on the White House South Lawn for Trump's birthday

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal lawsuit seeks to halt the upcoming UFC fight card on the White House South Lawn in a mixed martial arts show timed for President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday and part of the celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary.

The filing Saturday by the Public Integrity Project on behalf of two Virginia residents contends the Trump administration’s authorization of the June 14 event was unlawful. The lawsuit says such approval violated National Park Service regulations prohibiting sporting events on federal parklands, Congress did not consent to the towering arch overlooking the event space and no environmental review was conducted before the construction.

“This is fundamentally a private, commercial, corrupt use of our most sacred national monuments for private gain,” said Brendan Ballou, a lawyer for the plaintiffs. “And that is what is motivating this lawsuit.”

The White House said in a statement that the legal challenge was “an obstructionist, baseless, and dilatory” attempt to prevent Trump from hosting the fight and that the event was “no different than the various other White House-hosted events on the South Lawn and properly permitted events on the Ellipse and National Mall throughout the year.”

UFC did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday.