Israel, Lebanon agree to ceasefire

BEIRUT, Lebanon) — A 10-day ceasefire announced by U.S. President Donald Trump and agreed on by Lebanon and Israel started early Friday.

Barrages of gunshots rang out across Beirut early Friday as residents fired into the air to celebrate the beginning of the truce. The two neighboring countries had their first direct diplomatic talks in decades on Tuesday in Washington after more than a month of war between Israel and the Iran-backed, Lebanon-based Hezbollah militant group.

The truce, if it holds, could boost attempts to extend the ceasefire between Iran, the United States and Israel after weeks of devastating war that killed thousands of people and upended global markets by disrupting the flow of oil.

US to target Iran-linked ships globally

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military has widened its efforts beyond the blockade of Iran’s ports. It is allowing its forces around the world to stop any ship tied to Tehran or those suspected of carrying supplies that could help its government.

Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Thursday the U.S. will target vessels in other areas, like the Pacific, that had left before the blockade began earlier this week. The military also published a notice detailing an expansive lists of goods that it considers contraband, declaring that it will board, search and seize them from merchant vessels.

Ex-Virginia leader kills wife, self

ANNANDALE, Va. — Court records show that former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax was facing a court-ordered deadline to move out of his family’s home before police say he killed his wife and then himself.

Police say officers found the bodies of Fairfax and his wife, Dr. Cerina Fairfax, at the home early Thursday in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Annandale.

A Virginia judge in March told Justin Fairfax he had to move out by the end of April amid what police say was a messy divorce. Justin Fairfax was a rising star in the Democratic Party several years ago before his chances of becoming Virginia’s second black governor were derailed by sexual assault allegations. He called the encounters consensual.

ICE agent charged with assault in Minn.

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota prosecutors have charged an ICE agent with assault for pointing his gun at the occupants of a car on a Minneapolis highway.

The criminal case announced Thursday is believed to be the first brought against a federal immigration officer involved in the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, part of a broader surge of federal agents to U.S. cities.

Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr. is charged with two counts of second-degree assault in the Feb. 5 incident. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said Morgan illegally drove along the shoulder of the highway and pointed his service weapon at two people in a vehicle.

Trump bets tax cuts will please voters

LAS VEGAS — President Donald Trump is betting that the tax cuts he signed into law last year will resonate with voters in Las Vegas.

He promoted those cuts in remarks there Thursday, as he pushes a focus on economic issues for this year’s elections.

But his effort to highlight the fact that workers who earn tips and overtime will get bigger returns this tax season is getting eclipsed by higher gas prices driven by the Iran war.

The president’s trip includes a stop in Phoenix on Friday for an event with conservative political group Turning Point USA.

New decision blocks Trump’s ballroom

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has railed against a federal judge’s decision that continues to block above-ground construction of a $400 million White House ballroom. The decision on Thursday allows only below-ground work on a bunker and other “national security facilities” at the site. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington issued his latest ruling Thursday in a lawsuit over the ballroom project several days after an appeals court instructed him to reconsider the possible national security implications of stopping construction. Leon said he is ordering a stop only to the above-ground construction of the planned ballroom, apart from any work needed to cover or secure that part of the project.

The Associated Press