AP News Summary at 12:12 a.m. EDT

United Arab Emirates briefly closes airspace as Israel strikes Lebanon and Tehran

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Explosions are sounding in Dubai after the United Arab Emirates reopened its airspace following a brief closure amid incoming attacks from Iran. The UAE's military was working early Tuesday to intercept incoming Iranian fire. Meanwhile, Israel launched new strikes on Tehran and against Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. The Israel military also faced new salvos of incoming missiles from Iran. Fears of a global energy crisis continue as the war rages on. Tehran has regularly fired on Israel, American bases in the region, and Gulf Arab countries’ energy infrastructure. It has also effectively stopped shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump side-stepped diplomacy on his way to war in Iran. Now, he's asking China and others for help

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump relied on his gut and largely side-stepped diplomatic coordination as he made the decision to launch strikes on Iran with Israel. But now with the Iran war’s economic and geopolitical consequences unfurling rapidly, the Republican president is cajoling allies and other global powers to help mop up the mess. Trump says he’s asked roughly a half-dozen other countries to send warships to reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz to oil traffic. So far, none has committed. Trump even indicated he'd use his long-planned trip to China to pressure Beijing to help with the coalition — a notion his Treasury secretary later downplayed.

Winds, blizzards and triple-digit heat put over half of the US in the path of extreme weather

WASHINGTON (AP) — Extreme weather conditions from coast to coast put more than half the U.S. in the path of rough conditions. Airport delays and cancellations piled up Monday in some of the nation’s largest airports, with more than 4,700 canceled across the U.S. Many schools closed early in the mid-Atlantic states, where high winds were in the forecast. Blizzards buried parts of Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota while torrential rains flooded homes and washed out roads in Hawaii. California and Arizona are dealing with unusually high temperatures for this time of year that are likely stretch throughout the rest of the week. Phoenix is expected to have five straight days of triple digit temperatures this week.

Some flight cancellations and delays continue after US storms dump snow in the Midwest and head east

ATLANTA (AP) — Hundreds of flights are canceled or delayed one day after powerful storms swept across the eastern half of the country and disrupted thousands of others. The flight-tracking site FlightAware says more than 550 flights scheduled to fly into, out of or within the U.S. have been called off as of early Tuesday, It says over 460 have been delayed. Travelers have been facing additional jams at airport security checkpoints as a partial government shutdown strains screener staffing. The disruptions come at an already challenging time for air travel, in part because the shutdown that began Feb. 14 has pressured staffing at some security checkpoints.

A Utah woman who wrote a book on grief after husband's death found guilty of murdering him

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — A Utah woman has been convicted of aggravated murder after poisoning her husband with fentanyl and then self-publishing a children’s book about coping with grief. Jurors on Monday also found Kouri Richins guilty of fraudulently claiming insurance benefits after the death of Eric Richins in March 2022 at their home outside the ski town of Park City. Prosecutors say Kouri Richins slipped five times the lethal dose of the synthetic opioid into a cocktail that he drank. After her husband’s death, Richins self-published a children’s book about grief to help her sons and other kids cope with the loss of a parent.

Storms cancel more US flights as TSA remains under pressure from partial government shutdown

ATLANTA (AP) — Storms sweeping across the eastern half of the country are disrupting air travel across the United States. FlightAware reported more than 4,200 U.S. flights canceled Monday and about 9,600 others delayed. The storms already dumped heavy snow across parts of the Midwest and were moving toward the East Coast with strong winds and the threat of tornadoes. The travel disruptions come during a busy period for airports, with spring break vacations and fans traveling for March Madness games. Meanwhile, a partial government shutdown affecting the Transportation Security Administration has stretched staffing at some airport security checkpoints, leading to longer lines in some places.

Islandwide blackout hits Cuba as it struggles with deepening energy crisis

HAVANA (AP) — Officials in Cuba report an islandwide blackout in the country of some 11 million people as its energy and economic crises deepen. The Ministry of Energy and Mines notes a “complete disconnection” of the country’s electrical system and says it is investigating. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel on Friday warned that the island had not received oil shipments in more than three months and that it was operating on solar power, natural gas and thermoelectric plants. Cuba has blamed its woes on a U.S. energy blockade. U.S. President Donald Trump warned in January of tariffs on any country that would sell or provide oil to the island.

Judge blocks US government from slimming down vaccine recommendations

A federal judge in Boston has blocked federal health officials from cutting the number of vaccines recommended for every child, and says U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. likely violated federal procedures in revamping a key vaccine advisory committee. The decision Monday halts an order by Kennedy to end broad recommendations for all children to be vaccinated against flu, rotavirus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, some forms of meningitis and RSV. It also stopped a meeting of a Kennedy-appointed vaccine advisory committee, which was set to convene this week in Atlanta. Federal health officials indicated they planned to appeal.

Afghanistan says 400 people killed in Pakistan strike on Kabul hospital

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan has accused Pakistan of targeting a drug rehabilitation hospital in the Afghan capital with an airstrike. Afghanistan's deputy government spokesperson says the strike has killed 400 people, while about 250 more have been wounded. The strike late Monday marks a dramatic escalation of a conflict that began late last month and has seen repeated cross-border clashes as well as airstrikes inside Afghanistan. Pakistan has dismissed the accusation, saying strikes which were also conducted in eastern Afghanistan did not hit any civilian sites. The strikes came hours after Afghan officials said the two sides exchanged fire along their common border, killing four people in Afghanistan.

Last protester in immigration detention after Trump’s campus crackdown has been released

ALVARADO, Texas (AP) — A Palestinian woman who was the last person still in immigration detention after the Trump administration’s 2025 crackdown on pro-Palestinian activists has been released. Leqaa Kordia is a 33-year-old from the West Bank who has lived in New Jersey since 2016. She had been held in a U.S. immigration detention center in Texas since last March. Kordia was among roughly 100 people arrested outside Columbia University during protests at the school in 2024. She had twice been ordered released on bond by an immigration judge but the government has challenged those rulings. She was freed Monday after a judge earlier ordered her released on bond.