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The allegation sounded like the stuff of spy movies: A Pakistani businessman trying to hire hit men, even handing them $5,000 in cash, to kill a U.S. politician on behalf of Iran 's powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

It was true, and potential targets of the 2024 scheme included now-President Donald Trump, then-President Joe Biden and former presidential candidate and ex-U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, the man told jurors at his attempted terrorism trial in New York on Wednesday. But he insisted his actions were driven by fear for loved ones in Iran, and he figured he'd be apprehended before anything came of the scheme.

"My family was under threat, and I had to do this," the defendant,Asif Merchant, testified through an Urdu interpreter. "I was not wanting to do this so willingly."

Merchant said he had anticipated getting arrested before anyone was killed, intended to cooperate with the U.S. government and had hoped that would help him get a green card.

U.S. authorities were, indeed, on to him - the supposed hit men he paid were actually undercover FBI agents - and he wasarrested on July 12, 2024, a day before an unrelatedattempt on Trump's lifein Butler, Pennsylvania.  During a search, investigators said they found a handwritten note that contained the codewords for the various aspects of the plot, CBS Newspreviously reported.

Merchant did sit for voluntary FBI interviews, but he ultimately ended up with a trial, not a cooperation deal.

"You traveled to the United States for the purpose of hiring Mafia members to kill a politician, correct?" Assistant U.S. Attorney Nina Gupta asked during her turn questioning Merchant Wednesday in a Brooklyn federal court.

"That's right," Merchant replied, his demeanor as matter-of-fact as his testimony was unusual.

The trial is unfolding amid the less than week-oldIran war, which killed Iranian Supreme LeaderAyatollah Ali Khameneiin a strike that Trump summed up as "I got him before he got me." Jurors are instructed to ignore news pertaining to the case.

The Iranian government has denied plotting to kill Trump or other U.S. officials.

Merchant, 47, had a roughly 20-year banking career in Pakistan before getting involved in an array of businesses: clothing, car sales, banana exports, insulation imports. He openly has two families, one in Pakistan and the other in Iran - where, he said, he was introduced around the end of 2022 to a Revolutionary Guard intelligence operative. They initially spoke about getting involved in a hawala, an informal money transfer system, Merchant said.

Merchant testified that his periodic visits to the U.S. for his garment business piqued the interest of his Revolutionary Guard contact, who trained him on countersurveillance techniques.

The U.S. deems the Revolutionary Guard a "foreign terrorist organization." Formally called the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the force has been prominent in Iran under Khamenei.

Merchant said the handler told him to seek U.S. residents interested in working for Iran. Then came another assignment: Look for a criminal to arrange protests, steal things, do some money laundering, "and maybe have somebody murdered," Merchant recalled.

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"He did not tell me exactly who it is, but he told me - he named three people: Donald Trump, Joe Biden and Nikki Haley," he added.

In 2024, multiple sources familiar with the investigationtold CBS NewsMerchant planned to assassinate current and former government officials across the political spectrum.

Merchant allegedly sketched out the plot on a napkin inside his New York hotel room, prosecutors said, and told the individual "that there would be 'security all around' the person" they were planning to kill.

"No other option"

After U.S. immigration agents pulled Merchant aside at the Houston airport in April 2024, searched his possessions and asked about his travels to Iran, he concluded that he was under surveillance. But still he researched Trump rally locations, sketched out a plot for a shooting at a political rally, lined up the supposed hit men and scrambled together $5,000 from a cousin to pay them a "token of appreciation."

He even reported back to his Revolutionary Guard contact, sending observations - fake, Merchant said - tucked into a book that he shipped to Iran through a series of intermediaries.

Merchant said he "had no other option" than to play along because the handler had indicated that he knew who Merchant's Iranian relatives were and where they lived.

In a court filing this week, prosecutors noted that Merchant didn't seek out law enforcement to help with his purported predicament before he was arrested. He testified that he couldn't turn to authorities because his handler had people watching him.

Prosecutors also said that in his FBI interviews, Merchant "neglected to mention any facts that could have supported" an argument that he acted under duress.

Merchant told jurors Wednesday that he didn't think agents would believe his story, because their questions suggested "they think that I'm some type of super-spy."

"And are you a super-spy?" defense lawyer Avraham Moskowitz asked.

"No," Merchant said. "Absolutely not."

Watch: Lawmaker plays videos of harsh Minnesota ICE arrests at Noem hearing

Watch: Kristi Noem's opening statement at Senate Judiciary Committee on DHS

Key details on Iran war on Day 4 of conflict

HAVANA (AP) — Swaths of Cuba remained without power on Thursday nearly a day aftera massive blackout hit the western part of the islandin the latest outage blamed on a fragile electric grid and a lack of fuel.

Cuba Blackout

Crews worked overnight to repair a broken boiler at one of Cuba's largest thermoelectric plants, but officials have warned that it could take three to four days for power to be fully restored.

State media reported that nearly 297,000 customers in Havana, or 34%, had power, as well as 37 hospitals and five water supply stations.

Cuba's Electric Union wrote on X that the electrical system is operating "in a limited capacity, prioritizing basic services, primarily health and water supply."

State media reported that two power plants are offline due to a lack of petroleum.

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Cuba has long struggled with an aging electric grid and intermittent fuel supplies, but the crisis has deepened in recent months.

Key oil shipments from Venezuela were halted after the United States attacked the South American country in early January. Then later that month, U.S. President Donald Trumpwarned he would impose tariffson any country that sells or supplies oil to Cuba.

Last month, Cuba's government implemented austere fuel-saving measures and warned thatjet fuel wouldn't be availableat nine airports until mid-March.

Wednesday's outage is the second one to hit western Cuba in three months.

Theoutage in early Decemberlasted nearly 12 hours. Officials said a fault in a transmission line linking two power plants caused an overload and led to the collapse of the energy system's western sector.

Some of Cuba's thermoelectric plants have been operating for over 30 years and receive little maintenance because of the high cost. U.S. sanctions also have prevented the government from buying new equipment and specialized parts, officials say.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The United States and its allies in the Middle East are seeking Ukraine's expertise incountering Iran's Shahed drones,according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

APTOPIX Russia Ukraine War

Various countries, including the United States, have approached Ukraine for help in defending against the Iranian drones, Zelenskyy said late Wednesday. He said he has spoken in recent days with the leaders of the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait about possible cooperation.

Russia has fired tens of thousands of Shaheds at Ukraine since itinvaded its neighborjust over four years ago, launching a swarm of more than 800 drones and decoys in itsbiggest nighttime barrage. Iran has responded to joint U.S.-Israeli strikes by launching the same type of drones at countries in the Middle East.

Ukrainian assistance in countering Iranian drones will be provided only if it does not weaken Ukraine's own defenses, and if it adds leverage to Kyiv's diplomatic efforts to stop the Russian invasion, according to the Ukrainian leader.

"We help to defend from war those who help us, Ukraine, bring a just end to the war" with Russia, Zelenskyy said.

Ukraine has battle-tested drone defenses

Ukraine has pioneered the development ofcut-price drone killersthat cost as little as $1,000, rewriting the air defense rule book and making other countries take notice.

European countries gota wake-up calllast September on the changed nature of air defense when Poland scrambled multimillion-dollar military assets, including F-35 and F-16 fighter jets and Black Hawk helicopters, in response to airspace violations by cheap drones.

Ukrainian manufacturers have developed low-cost interceptor drones specifically designed to hunt and destroy Shaheds, and its rapidly expanding drone industry is producing excess capacity.

Zelenskyy announced earlier this year that Ukraine would begin exporting the battle-tested systems.

The European Union's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said before chairing a meeting of EU and Gulf foreign ministers via video link Thursday that the talks would look at how Ukraine's experience can help countries counter Iranian drones.

Middle East war delays Russia-Ukraine talks

The Iran war,now in its sixth day, has drawn international attention away from Europe's biggest conflict since World War II, and forced the postponement of a new round ofU. S-brokered talksbetween Russia and Ukraine planned for this week, Zelenskyy said.

Western governments and analysts say the Russia-Ukraine war has killed hundreds of thousands of people, while there is no sign that yearlongU.S.-led peace effortswill stop the fighting any time soon.

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"Right now, because of the situation around Iran, there are not yet the necessary signals for a trilateral meeting," Zelenskyy said. "But as soon as the security situation and the overall political context allow us to resume that trilateral diplomatic work, it will be done."

Zelenskyy thanked the United States for the return from Russia on Thursday of 200 Ukrainian prisoners of war. Russia's Defense Ministry also said it received the same number of prisoners from Ukraine and thanked the U.S. and United Arab Emirates for mediating.

Prisoner swaps have been one of the few tangible results of the talks. Vladimir Medinsky, a Russian negotiator, said on social media that a total of 500 prisoners from each side would be exchanged between Thursday and Friday.

Oleksandr Merezhko, the head of Ukraine's parliamentary foreign affairs committee, said Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to drag out the negotiations so that he can press on with Russia's invasion while escaping further U.S. sanctions.

He urged the U.S. administration to look at the Russia-Ukraine war and the war in the Middle East as linked.

"In reality, Russia and Iran are close allies that act in concert — Iran supplies weapons and Russia helps Iran develop its defense industry. These are interconnected conflicts," Merezhko told The Associated Press.

Ukraine's army has recently pushed back Russian forces at some points along the roughly 1,250-kilometer (750-mile) front line, according to the Institute for the Study of War.

Localized Ukrainian counterattacks liberated more territory than Ukrainian forces lost in the last two weeks of February, the Washington-based think tank said this week, estimating the recovered land at about 257 square kilometers (100 square miles) since Jan. 1.

Associated Press writer Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.

Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine athttps://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Kim Kardashian and Will Ferrell were pictured filming their Netflix comedy movie The Fifth Wheel on Wednesday, March 4

NEED TO KNOW

• Kardashian sported a feather headpiece and bejeweled bodysuit for the scenes, while Ferrell was nearly unrecognizable in a long blonde wig and beard

• The Fifth Wheel also stars the likes of Nikki Glaser, Brenda Song and Fortune Feimster

Kim Kardashianis in her leading lady era!

On Wednesday, March 4,The Kardashiansstar, 45, was pictured on the set of her upcoming Netflix comedy —The Fifth Wheel— alongside her costarWill Ferrell.

The SKIMS founder sported a bejweled bodysuit and feather headpiece as she transformed into a Las Vegas showgirl for her role in the movie, while Ferrell, 58, was nearly unrecognizable in a long blonde wig and beard.

The duo could be seen filming outside a venue and on a sidewalk, with Kardashian appearing to hand something to Ferrell.

A purple car featuring Ferrell's character with the name "Brad" printed across it was also nearby.

Kardashian teamed her red and black corseted bodysuit with long red gloves, a red and black glittery cape and a pair of sparkly black heels. Meanwhile, Ferrell's look consisted of black leather pants and a shirt with sheer sleeves and silver rings on each of his fingers.

According to the movie's official logline,The Fifth Wheelfollows a group of high school best friends as they "attempt to reconnect during a weekend jaunt to Vegas. When a hot outsider (played by Kim Kardashian) crashes the weekend, they're forced to face their messy lives, bad decisions, and unraveling friendships."

Kardashian and Ferrell are also producing the movie, which is being directed by Eva Longoria, while the likes of Nikki Glaser, Fortune Feimster, Brenda Song, Jack Whitehall, Casey Wilson and Scott MacArthur make up the cast. Back in January, Netflix shared a first look image at the film with a photo of Kardashian, Glaser, Feimster and Song all posing on the back of a truck.

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PEOPLEpreviously reportedthat Kardashian was starring in and producing the female-driven comedy in November 2023. According toVariety, the movie is being filmed in L.A.

The film marks Kardashian's first leading film role. Her move into feature film acting comes after she starred in Hulu's legal dramaAll's Fairas lawyerAllura Grant, and the most recent season of FX'sAmerican Horror Story, in which she played a publicist named Siobhan who works forEmma Roberts's actress character Anna Victoria Alcott.

Back in January, Kardashian admitted she was "overwhelmed" amid the harsh criticism of All's Fair, which also stars herAmerican Horror StorycostarSarah Paulson,Glenn Close,Niecy Nash-Betts,Naomi WattsandTeyana Taylor.

"I was like, overwhelmed," Kim told her sisterKhloé Kardashianduring an appearance on herKhloé in Wonder Landpodcast. "I'm a firm believer in addressing something head on and quickly. Whether it'snaming Kimonoand then changing it to SKIMS and acting quickly. I hear you."

"Sometimes I wish I did act more quickly," she added of addressing rumors or backlash. "Sometimes I'm like, 'Oh, I'm not gonna give it attention because I can't sit there all day and shut everything down. And then sometimes I get annoyed enough and I'm like .... Sometimes you just have to give a statement. It depends on my mood."

Kim made her onscreen acting debut in the 2008 spoof movieDisaster Movie. She has also appeared in films likeOcean's Eight,Deep in the Valleyand Tyler Perry's 2013 filmTemptation: Confession of a Marriage Counselor, in addition to a number of television and film appearances as herself.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

She also lent her voice to the character Delores in the two recent animatedPAW Patrolmovies, and in June last year,Varietyreported that the reality star would also be starring in a "Bratz" movie from Amazon MGM.

Read the original article onPeople

Four siblings who were longtime friends of Michael Jackson are accusing the late pop star of being a "serial child predator" who preyed upon then when they were as young as "seven or eight" in a bombshell lawsuit filed last week in California.

Edward, Dominic and Aldo Cascio and their sister Marie-Nicole Porte called Jackson a "serial child predator" who, "over the course of more than a decade drugged, raped and sexually assaulted each of the plaintiffs," according to their complaint in U.S. District Court.

The plaintiffs met Jackson through their father, who worked at a hotel that Jackson often stayed at, the lawsuit says.

The Michael Jackson Co. and people associated with the estate, trust and production companies attached to Jackson were named as defendants.

"Plaintiffs reject the Jackson Estate's morally bankrupt efforts to control and silence them," plaintiffs' attorney Howard King wrote in the federal lawsuit, which was filed Friday.

"Plaintiffs bring this action to hold the Michael Jackson Estate, its affiliates and the persons who control or work on their behalf, accountable for Jackson's conduct and their own wrongdoing," it says.

Veteran entertainment industry attorney Martin Singer, representing the Jackson estate, called the lawsuit a "desperate money grab."

"This new court filing is a transparent forum-shopping tactic in their scheme to obtain hundreds of millions of dollars from Michael's estate and companies," Singer said in statement.

Singer pointed out thatEdward Cascio's 2011 book"My Friend Michael: An Ordinary Friendship with an Extraordinary Man" included family statements that "consistently and repeatedly asserted that Michael never harmed any of them or anyone else."

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Singer also notedin a 2010 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Edward, Frank and Marie-Nicole Cascio all agreed that Jackson never harmed them, Singer said.

"The Cascios spent decades defending and affirming Michael's innocence," Singer said. "Notably, these shakedown attempts come more than 15 years after Michael's death, thus carrying no risk of being sued for defamation. Sadly, in death just as in life, Michael's talents and success continue to make him a target."

"Jackson's years of brainwashing prevented Plaintiffs from seeking help when he was alive and for years afterward," King wrote.

It wasn'tuntil the documentary "Leaving Neverland"came out in 2019 when the four siblings were "deprogrammed" and forced, "for the first time, to become conscious of the reality" that "Jackson's abuse was wrong and had severely damaged them," the lawsuit says.

That year the Jackson Estate offered the family $690,000 "as compensation for the many years that Jackson abused each of them and that the Jackson Organization enabled and covered up," the lawsuit says.

The plaintiffs signed the agreement without being allowed to have an attorney to review it, King wrote.

"Had Plaintiffs understood the full meaning of the Document, they would not have signed it," he wrote.

Jackson was found not guilty in 2005 of all charges that he molested a 13-year-old cancer survivor at Neverland in 2003.

Jackson was 50when he died on June 25, 2009,of acute propofol intoxication. Heused the powerful anestheticas a sleep aid, and his personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter.

BEIJING, March 5 (Reuters) - China unveiled its 15th five-year plan on Thursday at its annual parliamentary meeting, outlining Beijing's priorities for the economy and sectors slated for policy support and funding.

Here's a ‌summary of what matters for commodity markets:

METALS AND CRITICAL MINERALS

* China singled out its competitive edge in ‌rare earths forthe first time in a five-year plan, pledging to maintain itslead and upgrade the industry. * Beijing also said it would improve ​its export controlsystem, which has caused shortages of critical mineralsoverseas. * For metals more broadly, China's push to expand cleanenergy may boost copper and aluminium demand via the massivegrid build-out, some of which has already been flagged. * China is heavily reliant on imports like copper and ironore, and Beijing said it would push for more domesticexploration and mining, although it gave ‌no examples.

OVERCAPACITY

* China again vowed to tackle ⁠overcapacity in heavy industrylike steel, petrochemicals and copper smelting, although itstopped short of setting goals or calling for cuts to output. * However Beijing did set targets for energy savings ⁠to helpaccelerate restructuring in these carbon-intensive industries.

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CLIMATE, POWER AND COAL

* China will aim to cut carbon intensity, or how much carbonis released in economic activity, by 17%, slightly below the 18%target set the previous year. Actual carbon intensity only fell12% over the ​last ​five years. By focusing only on carbonintensity, emissions can still ​increase as growth does. * China will push for ‌coal consumption to peak in the nextfive years but omitted previous language about phasing down coal— leaving open the possibility that coal consumption may merelyplateau rather than decline. * It did, however, set a target of 25% of all energyconsumed to be generated by non-fossil energy by 2030.

OIL AND GAS

* China will prioritise steady domestic oil output at 200million tons annually but keep growing gas production and itsstrategic oil stockpiles. * China also said it would advance "early work" on ‌the Powerof Siberia 2 gas pipeline, which Moscow has presented ​as all butagreed, but has been long-delayed by disagreements over price. * It ​would also continue to expand the dirty coal-to-liquidssector, ​where coal is turned into oil, gas and petrochemicals.

AGRICULTURE

* China aims to raise annual grain ‌production target to 725million metric tons by 2030 ​and said it would lean ​on newtechnology and higher yields to reach it as new farmland getsscarce. * It again emphasised the push for secure overseas suppliesfor the vast quantity of foodstuffs it still imports. * China said it would regulate overcapacity ​in the hogindustry and support the ‌dairy and beef sectors, both of whichhave recently been put behind tariff walls.

(Reporting by Ella Cao, ​Daphne Zhang, Lewis Jackson, Amy Lv, Sam li, and Colleen Howe in Beijing, Dylan Duan in ​Shanghai and Aizhu Chen in Singapore; editing by Andrei Khalip)

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Imagine dining on "edible plastic" made from algae and collagen from fish skins. While you ingest the dish, ocean-borne plastic pollution seemingly floats above you, projected across the restaurant's huge domed ceiling. It's an experience — and dish — inspired by large garbage patches found in our seas.

Denmark Gastronomy Art

InDenmark, chefRasmus Munkdoes not offer dishes at the Alchemist restaurant. Instead, he whisks guests on an "immersive dining experience" combining performance, music, projections in its planetarium-like domed dining room, and, of course, food.

Opened in 2019 at the site of a former industrial harbor area in the Danish capital, Copenhagen, Alchemist was named the world's fifth-best restaurant in 2025. It has two Michelin stars, signifying excellence in cuisine, out of a maximum three possible for one establishment.

Guests at this restaurant can experience 50 "impressions," most of them edible. Dining there means trying various foods — a large eyeball dish featuring caviar and codfish eye gel, nettle butterflies served atop cheese and artichoke leaves — over many hours, in a slow process that invites reflection on the food and surrounding projections.

"We convey messages through our food, our food is our medium of expressing ourselves," said Munk, whose dishes also explore issues such as state surveillance and animal welfare.

Parliament will decide if gastronomy can be an art form

Once known for bacon, herring, and rye bread, the Scandinavian country's cuisine has been in ascendancy since 2003 when René Redzepi's world-beating Noma first burst onto the scene, preaching a "New Nordic" philosophy that celebrated foraging, fermenting and Scandinavia's seasonal larder.

Emboldened by the success of the New Nordic movement, Denmark's Michelin-starred restaurants are now asking a new question: Can gastronomy be art?

Culture Minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt said in January that Denmark would explore whether gastronomy could be formally recognized as an art form. If realized, it could become the first nation to legally place cooking — or at least the highest versions of it — on a similar pedestal to painting.

It is not clear how the culture ministry's plans will be impacted by the country's March 24general election.

Munk, 34, who says he spent almost a decade honing his "artistic practices," has been a driving force behind the move and described it as a "big milestone."

"I don't think all food is art… I think the craftsmanship needs to be on the highest level," he said, adding that ultimately it is a political decision what gets called art and what not and that, for now, "this is a closed society for chefs."

The change, still in its exploratory phase, would eventually require a vote in Denmark's 179-seat parliament to reclassify gastronomy from craft to art.

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It could also make the country's chefs eligible for state subsidies and funding from private foundations — like writers and musicians — to get their projects off the ground.

A dining destination

Other nations with famed food cultures, including France and Japan, haven't made similar moves. Last year, UNESCO grantedItalian cookingcultural heritage status.

Denmark has previously expanded what constitutes art and culture, for example by awarding a lifetime national arts honor to heavy metal act King Diamond. Last year, the Sonning Prize, Denmark's largest cultural award, was awarded to French gastronomic artist and chemist Hervé This.

The Nordic nation of six million people has become a dining destination, home to 37 Michelin-starred restaurants, including Copenhagen's two-star Kadeau, which was opened in 2011 by head chef and creative director Nicolai Nørregaard.

"I approach it like I would approach making a piece of art, like an artwork or a piece of writing," said Nørregaard. "It's about getting sort of an experience."

The 46-year-old head chef, whose recipes reference the seasonal flavors of Danish island Bornholm, said such recognition would be a "big step."

"To acknowledge that this can also be looked upon as art… that's what's important for me," he added.

'It doesn't make any sense'

But not everyone, even some within the industry, are toasting the idea.

Nick Curtin, the American executive chef and owner of Copenhagen's Michelin-starred Alouette restaurant, argues art and gastronomy are fundamentally different.

"Art's sole purpose is expression. It's to evoke emotion. Food must be consumed," he said. "(Art) can evoke disgust or disappointment or pain or sorrow or joy or longing. Food actually can't express all of those things. It can, but it shouldn't."

Some in Denmark's art scene have also expressed concern such a change might see greater competition for funding between chefs and more traditional artists like painters.

Holger Dahl, the architecture and art critic at Denmark's 277-year-old Berlingske newspaper, is more blunt: "I think it's quite silly, there's no use, it doesn't make any sense."

He added: "It's a little bit like a bicycle and a car — they have round wheels, they'll take you from one point to another point, but it's not like a very good bicycle all of a sudden turns into a car. It doesn't happen."