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Good afternoon and welcome to your afternoon news update from AP. Today, the Pentagon is seeking $200 billion in additional funds for the Iran war, an AP source says; trade with Cuba collapses as President Trump escalates pressure on the Communist Party; and some people are now calling for Dolores Huerta’s name to replace César Chavez’s on the plethora of buildings, monuments and streets that bear his name across the country.

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Thursday. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Pentagon seeks $200 billion in additional funds for the Iran war, AP source says

The Pentagon is seeking $200 billion in additional funds for the Iran war, a sizable amount that is certain to be met with questions from Congress, which would need to approve any new money. The department sent the request to the White House, according to a senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private information. Asked about the figure at a press conference Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not directly confirm the amount, saying it could change. “It takes money to kill bad guys,” Hegseth said. Read more.

TOP STORIES

Trade with Cuba collapses as Trump escalates pressure on Communist Party leadership

The Cuban Communist Party has shown astonishing resilience over six decades in power. Whether it’s the United States trade embargo to counter Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution, or the widespread starvation of the “special period” that followed the breakup of its Cold War patron, the Soviet Union, both U.S. hostilities and calamities of its own making have proven no match for the country’s leadership. But perhaps none of those crises pose as grave a threat as the one triggered by an all-but-declared naval siege by the Trump administration as it seeks to force regime change. Read more.

Dolores Huerta ends her silence, champions decades of advocacy for marginalized groups

Dolores Huerta has dedicated her life to breaking down barriers and cemented her place in history as one of the nation’s most influential labor leaders, civil rights icons and feminist activists. It was Dolores Huerta who coined the slogan “Si, se puede” in 1972 when bringing together farmworkers in Arizona to fight a law that prohibited boycotts and strikes. Now she has shocked the world by revealing she was among the women and girls who say they were sexually abused by César Chavez while he led the United Farm Workers union. Huerta says she was fearful of speaking out because she didn’t want the movement to be tarnished. While Chavez and Huerta's names were once inseparable, elected leaders and community members are initiating efforts to rename some buildings, schools and streets after Huerta alone. Read more. 

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