Trump tells Saudis they must

normalize relations with Israel

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has added a condition to the newly signed agreement with Saudi Arabia for a civilian nuclear program, saying the deal would require the kingdom to normalize its relations with Israel through the Abraham Accords.

Trump made the comments Thursday in a social media post. When the deal was announced Wednesday, neither the U.S. Energy Department nor the Saudi government made any mention of it being contingent on the kingdom’s relations with Israel.

Trump’s assertion is almost certain to make finalizing the deal complicated.

The accords expanded the number of Arab and Muslim-majority nations with diplomatic ties with Israel.

Man who killed Minn. lawmaker

is sentenced to life in prison

MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota man who killed Democratic state lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband has been sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison.

Vance Boelter was sentenced Thursday after survivors of the attack and family and friends of the victims spoke about the enduring trauma of that night and the loss.

Boelter pleaded guilty last month in the June 2025 fatal shooting of the former house speaker and her husband, Mark.

The 59-year-old also pleaded guilty to attacking Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette. Boelter avoids the death penalty with his plea.

Gas, groceries, back-to-school

items may soon see price hikes

NEW YORK — Consumers already feeling pinched since the Iran war started may feel more pain after oil prices pushed past $100 a barrel.

The elevated price reached on Thursday marked a turn from falling oil prices when hostilities between the U.S. and Iran waned in June. The last time international standard Brent crude hit $100 a barrel was in May.

Companies that produce and sell fresh food, school supplies and anything that gets shipped using fuel reported cost impacts from an earlier spike in energy prices. They’re likely to continue passing some of their increased expenses to consumers.

Grocery prices generally rise with oil because farmers use diesel fuel to power equipment, while many food products are transported by trucks that require fuel. Back-to-school supplies also will likely see inflated prices this year.

“Oil at $100 doesn’t make food prices jump right away, but it does put upward pressure across the food supply chains, especially for categories that depend heavily on trucking, cold storage and packaging,” said Miguel Gomez, a Cornell University professor who directs the school’s Food Industry Management Program. Fresh produce and dairy could feel a larger impact because they require refrigeration during delivery.

US health officials investigate new

outbreak of diarrhea-causing parasite

U.S. health officials are investigating a new outbreak involving the diarrhea-causing parasite cyclospora. The outbreak included 72 people as of Wednesday. The Food and Drug Administration has not yet identified which products are linked to the illnesses.

Officials also have not said where the cases are located. The FDA earlier this week said it remained focused on lettuce from Taylor Farms as the source of a separate, multistate cyclospora outbreak.

The parasite infects food that has come into contact with human feces.

‘Satanic Verses’ author testifies in court after being stabbed 4 years ago

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Salman Rushdie has testified for the second time about being stabbed nearly to death four years ago in a western New York amphitheater.

The prize-winning author took the witness stand Thursday at Hadi Matar’s federal terrorism trial.

The 28-year-old Matar already was convicted of a state-level attempted murder charge in the 2022 attack at a cultural institution where Rushdie was poised to speak about threats to writers and artists. Prosecutors claim Matar was motivated by an Iranian leader’s 1989 call for Rushdie’s death because of his novel “The Satanic Verses.”

The Associated Press