ADVERTISEMENT

AP Afternoon Wire

Advancing the Power of Facts

Policy changes, but facts endure. AP delivers accurate, fact-based journalism to keep the world informed in every administration. Support independent reporting today. Donate.

Good afternoon and welcome to your afternoon news update from AP. Today, a top U.S. counterterrorism official resigns over President Trump’s Iran war; U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is calling for "new people in charge" of Cuba; and migrants trying to reach Europe are vanishing in droves in what are known as “invisible shipwrecks.”

UP FIRST

From left, Joseph Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and Michael Glasheen, operations director of the National Security Branch of the FBI, raise their arms before the House Committee on Homeland Security on Capitol Hill in Washington on Dec. 11. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Top counterterrorism official Kent resigns over Trump’s Iran war, says Iran posed no imminent threat

Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced his resignation on Tuesday, citing his concerns about the justification for military strikes in Iran and saying he “cannot in good conscience” back the Trump administration’s war. Read more.

TOP STORIES

People walk outside during a blackout in Havana, Cuba on Monday. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Cuba’s latest blackout underscores its deepening economic crisis as Rubio calls for new leadership

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is calling for "new people in charge" of Cuba as the Caribbean nation experienced its third islandwide blackout in four months. U.S. President Donald Trump, who has called Cuba a “very weakened nation,” said on Monday he believes he’ll have the “honor of taking Cuba.” On Tuesday, Rubio, who is of Cuban heritage, said the current government is incapable of addressing the problems. The island's government blames its woes on a U.S. energy blockade after Trump in January warned of tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to Cuba. The country's aging grid has drastically eroded in recent years, leading to daily outages. Read more.

Hundreds of migrants are vanishing in the Mediterranean. Authorities are withholding information

Migrants trying to reach Europe are vanishing in droves in what are known as “invisible shipwrecks” but governments responsible for search and rescue are withholding information about what they know. The beginning of 2026 ranks as the deadliest start to any year for people trying to cross the Mediterranean. Read more.

ADVERTISEMENT

IN OTHER NEWS

Revolutionary War reenactors line up outside St. Augustine Chapel and Cemetery in South Boston, Tuesday, before firing muskets during Evacuation Day commemorations marking the 250th anniversary of the British withdrawal from Boston. (AP Photo/Leah Willingham)

Evacuation Day: Muskets crack, drums echo as Boston marks 250 years since British departure 

Epstein fallout: Bank of America settles claims over lawsuits by Jeffrey Epstein victims

Nigeria: 23 killed, 108 wounded in suspected suicide bombings

Escalating tensions: Ecuador’s president rejects allegations that his government is bombing targets inside Colombia

Financial case: Vatican appeals court declares mistrial in ‘trial of the century’ against cardinal

France: Far right makes gains in first-round municipal elections

Ant smuggling allegations: 2 men found with hundreds of ants are charged with illegally dealing in wildlife in Kenya

Shigeaki Mori: Hiroshima atomic bomb survivor and historian embraced by Obama di