WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s expansive new tariff regime reverses a decades-long global trend of lower trade barriers that will likely raise prices for U.S. consumers and threatens to sharply slow the economy this year. The White House is gambling that other countries will also suffer enough pain that they will open up their economies to more American exports. Or, the White House hopes, more companies will bring more production to the United States. But a key question will be how Americans react to the tariffs. If voters turn against the duties, that could make it harder to keep them for the length of time needed to encourage companies to return to the U.S.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has moved to fire several White House National Security Council officials after he was urged by far-right activist Laura Loomer to purge staffers she deemed insufficiently committed to his agenda. That’s according to several people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity Thursday to discuss sensitive personnel matters. The people say Loomer made her case for the firings in an Oval Office meeting attended by Trump and other top officials Wednesday. Trump has a long history of elevating and associating with people who trade in falsehoods and conspiracy theories. Loomer has promoted 9/11 conspiracy theories as well as QAnon.

DEIR AL BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Gaza’s Health Ministry says an Israeli airstrike has killed at least 27 Palestinians sheltering at a school in northern Gaza and wounded 70 more. Health Ministry spokesman Zaher al-Wahidi said the bodies of 14 children and five women were recovered from the school in the Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City. He said the death toll from Thursday’s strike could still rise because some of the wounded had critical injuries. The Israeli military said it struck a “Hamas command and control center” in the Gaza City area, and said it took steps to lessen harm to civilians. Israeli forces have been expanding their strikes and evacuation orders across the war-torn territory in recent days.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Commissioners in a rural New Mexico county say pets are being snatched from front yards and livestock are being killed by endangered Mexican gray wolves, prompting them to consider declaring a state of emergency. In the latest flash point over efforts to reintroduce wolves in the western U.S., the commissioners in Catron County are meeting Thursday to consider steps to hire more people to investigate damage reports and help haze the wolves. Ranchers angered by livestock losses have been at odds with the Mexican gray wolf reintroduction program since the late 1990s when the first captive wolves were released into the wild. Environmentalists argue the wolves have a rightful place on the landscape.

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Creating and sharing deceptive media made with artificial intelligence is now a crime in New Jersey and open to lawsuits under a new state law. Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation Wednesday making the creation and dissemination of so-called deceptive deepfake media a crime punishable by up to five years in prison. The measure also establishes a basis for lawsuits against perpetrators. New Jersey joins a growing list of states enacting measures taking aim at media created using generative AI. At least 20 states have passed similar legislation that targets such media involving elections.

NEW YORK (AP) — Bodega cats in New York City are widely loved feline workers in the Big Apple’s convenience stores. Most store owners keep them for companionship, and as little salesmen that bring customers in and build rapport. Some say they keep the mice and rats at bay. But the cats lounging on convenience store shelves and basking in the warmth of sun-soaked storefronts don’t always get the respect of city and state health officials. Under state law, shop owners can be fined for having cats in any building where food is sold. Despite the legal hurdles, a petition movement driven by social media influencers is calling for social support like vet care to make sure bodega cats and bodega owners can thrive.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA’s Webb telescope has captured pictures of the asteroid that caused a stir earlier this year when it topped Earth’s hit list. Discovered late last year, the asteroid 2024 YR4 was predicted at one point to have a 3% chance of smacking Earth in 2032. Additional observations prompted scientists to reduce the threat to virtually zero. But there’s a slight chance it could hit the moon. NASA and the European Space Agency said Wednesday that Webb has confirmed the asteroid is 200 feet across, or about the height of a 15-story building.

VIENNA (AP) — Construction crews in Vienna last year made an unprecedented discovery. They found intertwined skeletal remains in a mass grave dating to the 1st-century Roman Empire. Now experts at the Vienna Museum on Wednesday have given a first public presentation of their findings. Archaeologists say the discovery is unparalleled in Central Europe. The bodies of 129 people have been confirmed at the site. “It is truly a battlefield,” one archaeologist says.

Fred Costello could swing a bat about as well as he could perform a melody as a kid growing up in Syracuse, New York. He wanted to play at ballparks, and figured the best way to reach that dream was through his arm and a sweet swing. His baseball career ended after a few years in semi-pro ball but that goal of getting to play in a ballpark lived on — only as the person widely believed to now serve as the longest-reigning sports organist in history, playing since 1977 for a minor league baseball team in Rochester. Costello is 89.

on Saturday and plans to keep going.