By MICHELLE CHAPMAN, Associated Press Business Writer

For the first time in almost 20 years, travelers may no longer be required to take off their shoes during security screenings at certain U.S. airports.

The Transportation Security Administration is looking to abandon the additional security step that has for years bedeviled anyone passing through U.S airports, according to media reports.

FILE – In this Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2007, file photo, a belt and shoes sit in a trays with advertising that is being used in the safety screening of travelers done by the Transportation Security Administration, at the Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ann Johansson, File)

If implemented, it would put an end to a security screening mandate put in place almost 20 years ago, several years after “shoe bomber” Richard Reid’s failed attempt to take down a flight from Paris to Miami in late 2001.

The travel newsletter Gate Access was first to report that the security screening change is coming. ABC News reported on an internal memo sent to TSA officers last week that states the new policy lets travelers keep their shoes on during screenings at many U.S. airports beginning this Sunday.

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The plan is for the change to occur at all U.S. airports soon, the memo said.

Travelers were able to skirt extra security requirement if they were part of the TSA PreCheck program, which costs around $80 for five years. The program allows airline passengers to get through the screening process without removing shoes, belts or light jackets.

The TSA has not officially confirmed the reported security screening change yet.

“TSA and DHS are always exploring new and innovative ways to enhance passenger experience and our strong security posture,” a TSA spokesperson said in a statement on Tuesday. “Any potential updates to our security process will be issued through official channels.”

The TSA began in 2001 when President George W. Bush signed legislation for its creation two months after the 9/11 attacks. The agency included federal airport screeners that replaced the private companies airlines had used to handle security.

Over the years the TSA has continued to look for ways to enhance its security measures, including testing facial recognition technology and implementing Real ID requirements.

By JON GAMBRELL, Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on a Liberian-flagged cargo ship in the Red Sea killed three mariners and wounded two others, a European Union naval force said Tuesday.

The attack on the Greek-owned Eternity C follows the Houthis claiming they attacked another vessel on Sunday in the Red Sea, a vital maritime trade route. The twin assaults are the first Houthi attacks on shipping since November 2024 and potentially signal the start of a new campaign threatening the waterway, which had begun to see more ships pass through it in recent weeks.

The bulk carrier had been heading north toward the Suez Canal when it came under fire by men in small boats and by bomb-carrying drones Monday night. The security guards on board also fired their weapons. The European Union Operation Aspides and the private security firm Ambrey both reported those details.

While the Houthis haven’t claimed the attack, Yemen’s exiled government and the EU force blamed the rebels for the attack, as did the U.S. Embassy in Yemen.

“The Houthis are once again showing blatant disregard for human life, undermining freedom of navigation in the Red Sea,” said the embassy, which has operated out of Saudi Arabia for nearly a decade due to Yemen’s wider war.

“The intentional murder of innocent mariners shows us all the Houthis’ true colors and will only further the Houthis’ isolation.”

The EU force offered the casualty information, saying one of the wounded crew lost his leg in the attack. The crew remains stuck on board the vessel, which is now drifting in the Red Sea.

The Houthis separately attacked the Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier Magic Seas on Sunday with drones, missiles, rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire, forcing its crew of 22 to abandon the vessel. The rebels later said it sank in the Red Sea with its cargo of fertilizer and steel billets for Turkey.

The Liberian-flagged bulk carrier Magic Seas is seen in Ambelakia Bay, Salamis Island, Greece, Aug. 9, 2022. (Nektarios Papadakis via AP)

“It is the first such attack against a commercial vessel in 2025, a serious escalation endangering maritime security in a vital waterway for the region and the world,” the EU warned. “These attacks directly threaten regional peace and stability, global commerce and freedom of navigation as a global public good. They can negatively impact the already dire humanitarian situation in Yemen. These attacks must stop.”

The two attacks and a round of Israeli airstrikes early Monday targeting the rebels raised fears of a renewed Houthi campaign against shipping that could again draw in U.S. and Western forces, particularly after U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration targeted the rebels in a major airstrike campaign.

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The attacks come at a sensitive moment in the Middle East, as a possible ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war hangs in the balance, and as Iran weighs whether to restart negotiations over its nuclear program following American airstrikes targeting its most sensitive atomic sites during the Israel-Iran war in June.

The Houthis have been launching missile and drone attacks against commercial and military ships in the region in what the group’s leadership has described as an effort to end Israel’s offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Between November 2023 and January 2025, the Houthis targeted more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two of them and killing four sailors. Their campaign has greatly reduced the flow of trade through the Red Sea corridor, which typically sees $1 trillion of goods move through it annually. Shipping through the Red Sea, while still lower than normal, has increased in recent weeks.

The Houthis paused attacks until the U.S. launched a broad assault against the rebels in mid-March. That ended weeks later and the Houthis hadn’t attacked a vessel until this past weekend, though they did continue occasional missile attacks targeting Israel.

By SCOTT BAUER, Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Supreme Court cleared the way Tuesday for the state to institute a ban on conversion therapy.

The court ruled that a Republican-controlled legislative committee’s rejection of a state agency rule that would ban the practice of conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ people was unconstitutional.

The 4-3 ruling from the liberal-controlled court comes amid the national battle over LGBTQ+ rights. It is also part of a broader effort by the Democratic governor, who has vetoed Republican bills targeting transgender high school athletes, to rein in the power of the GOP-controlled Legislature.

What is conversion therapy?

What is known as conversion therapy is the scientifically discredited practice of using therapy to “convert” LGBTQ+ people to heterosexuality or traditional gender expectations.

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The practice has been banned in 23 states and the District of Columbia, according to the Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ+ rights think tank. It is also banned in more than a dozen communities across Wisconsin. Since April 2024, the Wisconsin professional licensing board for therapists, counselors and social workers has labeled conversion therapy as unprofessional conduct.

Advocates seeking to ban the practice want to forbid mental health professionals in the state from counseling clients with the goal of changing their sexual orientation or gender identity.

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed in March to hear a Colorado case about whether state and local governments can enforce laws banning conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ children.

What is happening in Wisconsin?

The provision barring conversion therapy in Wisconsin has been blocked twice by the Legislature’s powerful Joint Committee for the Review of Administrative Rules — a Republican-controlled panel in charge of approving state agency regulations.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling means the conversion therapy ban can be enacted. The court ruled that the legislative committee has been overreaching its authority in blocking a variety of other state regulations during Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ administration.

The lawsuit brought by Evers targeted two votes by the joint committee. One deals with the Department of Safety and Professional Services’ conversion therapy ban. The other vote blocked an update to the state’s commercial building standards.

Republicans who supported suspending the conversion therapy ban have insisted the issue isn’t the policy itself, but whether the licensing board had the authority to take the action it did.

Evers has been trying since 2020 to get the ban enacted, but the Legislature has stopped it from going into effect.

Legislative power at stake

The Legislature’s attorney argued that decades of precedent backed up their argument, including a 1992 Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling upholding the Legislature’s right to suspend state agency rules. Overturning that ruling would be deeply disruptive, attorney Misha Tseytlin argued.

Evers argued that by blocking the rule, the legislative committee is taking over powers that the state constitution assigns to the governor. The 1992 ruling conflicts with the constitution and has “proved unworkable,” Evers said.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed with Evers.

The issue goes beyond conversion therapy

The conversion therapy ban is one of several rules that have been blocked by the legislative committee. Others pertain to environmental regulations, vaccine requirements and public health protections.

Evers argued in the lawsuit that the panel has effectively been exercising an unconstitutional “legislative veto.”

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO, Associated Press Retail Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon is extending its annual Prime Day sales and offering new membership perks to Gen Z shoppers amid tariff-related price worries and possibly some consumer boredom with an event marking its 11th year.

The e-commerce giant’s promised blitz of summer deals for Prime members starts at 3:01 a.m. Eastern time on Tuesday. For the first time, Seattle-based Amazon is holding the now-misnamed Prime Day over four days; the company launched the event in 2015 and expanded it to two days in 2019.

Before wrapping up Prime Day 2025 early Friday, Amazon said it would have deals dropping as often as every 5 minutes during certain periods. Prime members ages 18-24, who pay $7.49 per month instead of the $14.99 that older customers not eligible for discounted rates pay for free shipping and other benefits, will receive 5% cash back on their purchases for a limited time.

Amazon executives declined to comment on the potential impact of tariffs on Prime Day deals. The event is taking place two and a half months after an online news report sparked speculation that Amazon planned to display added tariff costs next to product prices on its website.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt denounced the purported change as a “hostile and political act” before Amazon clarified the idea had been floated for its low-cost Haul storefront but never approved.

Amazon’s past success with using Prime Day to drive sales and attract new members spurred other major retail chains to schedule competing sales in July. Best Buy, Target and Walmart are repeating the practice this year.

Like Amazon, Walmart is adding two more days to its promotional period, which starts Tuesday and runs through July 13. The nation’s largest retailer is making its summer deals available in stores as well as online for the first time.

Here’s what to expect:

More days might not mean more spending

Amazon expanded Prime Day this year because shoppers “wanted more time to shop and save,” Amazon Prime Vice President Jamil Ghani recently told The Associated Press.

FILE – Amazon employees load packages on carts before being put on to trucks for distribution for Amazon’s annual Prime Day event at an Amazon’s DAX7 delivery station, July 16, 2024, in South Gate, Calif. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)

Analysts are unsure the extra days will translate into more purchases given that renewed inflation worries and potential price increases from tariffs may make consumers less willing to spend. Amazon doesn’t disclose Prime Day sales figures but said last year that the event achieved record global sales.

Adobe Digital Insights predicts that the sales event will drive $23.8 billion in overall online spending from July 8 to July 11, 28.4% more than the similar period last year. In 2024 and 2023, online sales increased 11% and 6.1% during the comparable four days of July.

Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, noted that Amazon’s move to stretch the sales event to four days is a big opportunity to “really amplify and accelerate the spending velocity.”

Caila Schwartz, director of consumer insights and strategy at software company Salesforce, noted that July sales in general have lost some momentum in recent years. Amazon is not a Salesforce customer, so the business software company is not privy to Prime Day figures.

“What we saw last year was that (shoppers) bought and then they were done, ” Schwartz said. “We know that the consumer is still really cautious. So it’s likely we could see a similar pattern where they come out early, they’re ready to buy and then they take a step back.”

Tariffs don’t seem to be impacting costs much (so far)

Amazon executives reported in May that the company and many of its third-party sellers tried to beat big import tax bills by stocking up on foreign goods before President Donald Trump’s tariffs took effect. And because of that move, a fair number of third-party sellers hadn’t changed their pricing at that time, Amazon said.

Adobe Digital Insights’ Pandya expects discounts to remain on par with last year and for other U.S. retail companies to mark 10% to 24% off the manufacturers’ suggested retail price between Tuesday and Friday.

Salesforce’s Schwartz said she’s noticed retailers becoming more precise with their discounts, such as offering promotion codes that apply to selected products instead of their entire websites.

Shoppers might focus on necessities

Amazon Prime and other July sales have historically helped jump-start back-to-school spending and encouraged advance planners to buy other seasonal merchandise earlier. Analysts said they expected U.S. consumers to make purchases this week out of fear that tariffs will make items more expensive later.

Brett Rose, CEO of United National Consumer Supplies, a wholesale distributor of overstocked goods like toys and beauty products, thinks shoppers will go for items like beauty essentials.

“They’re going to buy more everyday items,” he said.

A look at the discounts

As in past years, Amazon offered early deals leading up to Prime Day. For the big event, Amazon said it would have special discounts on Alexa-enabled products like Echo, Fire TV and Fire tablets.

Walmart said its July sale would include a 32-inch Samsung smart monitor priced at $199 instead of $299.99; and $50 off a 50-Inch Vizio Smart TV with a standard retail price of $298.00. Target said it was maintaining its 2024 prices on key back-to-school items, including a $5 backpack and a selection of 20 school supplies totaling less than $20.

Some third-party sellers will sit out Prime Day

Independent businesses that sell goods through Amazon account for more than 60% of the company’s retail sales. Some third-party sellers are expected to sit out Prime Day and not offer discounts to preserve their profit margins during the ongoing tariff uncertainty, analysts said.

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Rose, of United National Consumer Supplies, said he spoke with third-party sellers who said they would rather take a sales hit this week than use up a lot of their pre-tariffs inventory now and risk seeing their profit margins suffer later.

However, some independent businesses that market their products on Amazon are looking to Prime Day to make a dent in the inventory they built up earlier in the year to avoid tariffs.

Home fragrance company Outdoor Fellow, which makes about 30% of its sales through Amazon’s marketplace, gets most of its candle lids, labels, jars, reed diffusers and other items from China, founder Patrick Jones said. Fearing high costs from tariffs, Jones stocked up at the beginning of the year, roughly doubling his inventory.

For Prime Day, he plans to offer bigger discounts, such as 32% off the price of a candle normally priced at $34, Jones said.

“All the product that we have on Amazon right now is still from the inventory that we got before the tariffs went into effect,” he said. “So we’re still able to offer the discount that we’re planning on doing.”

Jones said he was waiting to find out if the order he placed in June will incur large customs duties when the goods arrive from China in a few weeks.

AP Business Writer Mae Anderson contributed to this report.