DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Suspected U.S. airstrikes struck around Yemen's rebel-held capital overnight into Monday morning, attacks that the Iranian-backed Houthis said killed at least three people.
The full extent of the damage wasn’t immediately clear. The attacks followed a night of airstrikes early Friday that appeared particularly intense compared to other days in the campaign that began March 15.
The strikes around Sanaa, Yemen's capital held by the Houthis since 2014, and Hajjah governorate also wounded 12 others, the rebels said.
Their Al-Masirah satellite news channel aired footage of broken glass littering homes in Sanaa after the concussive blast of the bombs, but continued not to show the targets of the attacks — suggesting the sites had a military or intelligence function. Strikes there killed one person, the rebels said.
Another strike targeting a pickup truck in Hajjah killed two people and wounded a child, the Houthis said. It marked the first, publicly known time the American strikes targeted a vehicle in this campaign.
An Associated Press review has found the new American operation against the Houthis under President Donald Trump appears more extensive than those under former President Joe Biden, as the U.S. moves from solely targeting launch sites to firing at ranking personnel as well as dropping bombs in cities.
The new campaign of airstrikes, which the Houthis now say have killed at least 61 people, started after the rebels threatened to begin targeting “Israeli” ships again over Israel blocking aid entering the Gaza Strip. The rebels in the past loosely defined what constitutes an Israeli ship, meaning other vessels could be targeted.
The Houthis had targeted over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors from November 2023 until January of this year. They also launched attacks targeting American warships, though none has been hit so far.
The attacks greatly raised the Houthis’ profile as they faced economic problems and launched a crackdown targeting any dissent and aid workers at home amid Yemen’s decadelong stalemated war that has torn apart the Arab world’s poorest nation.
Yemenis pray the mass Eid al-Fitr prayers marking the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)
A Yemeni girl visits the graves of Houthis during Eid al-Fitr marking the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)
Smoke rises from a location reportedly struck by U.S. airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo)
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — When North Dakota voters approved term limits for state legislators, they specified that the Legislature couldn’t seek to change the new restrictions.
On Wednesday, the state House opted to propose a big change, anyway.
“You have plain language in the constitution restricting what the Legislature can do,” said Republican Rep. Jared Hendrix, the leader of the term limit ballot initiative in 2022.
The Senate earlier passed the measure. Now it appears set up for the November 2026 election.
The 2022 measure, which amended the state constitution, said the Legislature “shall not have authority to propose an amendment to this constitution to alter or repeal the term limitations established in ... this article.”
Supporting lawmakers said many voters mistakenly thought the 2022 measure was for congressional term limits. Others said the Legislature needs institutional knowledge that is built over years.
“We've got to vote this in, and we've got to convince the people that this is a lot better plan than what we've got on the books right now,” Republican Rep. David Monson said.
Opposing representatives said voters' support for term limits was by a huge margin, and lawmakers can pursue a measure for a ballot initiative if they want changes.
“Do you really, honestly think that the people that voted 60-some percent for this measure that they're going to now all of a sudden turn around and go, ‘Yeah, I’d like to give you guys an extra eight years to stick around,' ” Republican Rep. Steve Vetter said.
The term-limit clock took effect Jan. 1, 2023, restricting lawmakers to eight years in the House and eight years in the Senate. Their previous experience doesn't count. The governor also can't be elected more than twice. No one has been term-limited out of office yet.
The measure set for voters would change the term limits to four complete four-year terms in the Legislature; a term of less than four years would not count toward the limit. The measure also would repeal the prohibition on the Legislature to make changes to term limits.
Republican Senate Majority Leader David Hogue, who supports the measure, said he hasn't formed a firm opinion on whether the Legislature's move is legal.
The measure “just says it's 16 years — doesn't matter whether you're in one chamber or the other — and it's a full 16 years, so I thought it had some fidelity to the measure that the people passed, although it's not exactly what they passed," Hogue said.
Hendrix said the secretary of state, North Dakota's top election official, might seek an attorney general opinion about whether the measure can go on the ballot.
Telephone and text messages seeking comment were left with Secretary of State Michael Howe. A text message also was left with Attorney General Drew Wrigley.
North Dakota's Republican-run Legislature regularly meets every two years, in odd-numbered years.
North Dakota Rep. Jared Hendrix, R-Fargo, talks at his desk Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in the House of Representatives at the state Capitol in Bismarck, N.D. (AP Photo/Jack Dura)
