By MICHAEL LIEDTKE

The popular video game Fortnite has returned to the iPhone app store in the U.S., ending a prolonged exile that was triggered by a legal showdown over the lucrative fees that Apple had been collecting for years through a payment system that it has been forced to change.

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Fortnite hailed its app’s long-awaited restoration to the iPhone and iPad in a Tuesday post, marking the first time it will be available on those devices since it was ousted in 2020 for trying to avoid the 15% to 30% commissions that Apple collects on in-app transactions.

The video game featuring a virtual fight on a digital island is coming back to the iPhone just a few days after its parent company, Epic Games, filed a motion asking a federal judge to order its return as part of a civil contempt of court finding issued against Apple late last month.

In a brief statement filed in court late Tuesday, Apple said the dispute that had been keeping Fortnite off its iOS software for the iPhone had been resolved. The Cupertino, California, company didn’t immediately respond to a request for further comment.

The legal wrangling is all part of a bitter feud that is still boiling.

Epic filed a lawsuit alleging Apple had turned its app store into an illegal monopoly — a claim that it lost under a 2021 ruling made by a federal judge after a month-long trial.

Although she decided Apple wasn’t breaking antitrust laws, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ordered the company to loosen control over in-app payments and allow links to other options that might offer lower prices.

After exhausting an appeal that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, Apple last year introduced a new system that opened the door for links to alternative payment options while still imposing a 27% commission on in-app transactions executed outside its own system.

Epic fired back by alleging Apple was thumbing its nose at the legal system, reviving another round of court hearings that lasted nearly a year before Gonzalez Rogers delivered her stinging rebuke that included a ban on collecting any kind of commission on alternative payment options.

That appeared to clear the way for Fortnite’s return to the iPhone and iPad, but Epic last week said the video game was still being blocked by Apple. After Apple contended that keeping Fortnite was still permissible while it pursues an appeal of Gonzalez Rogers’ contempt ruling, Epic forced the issue by asking the judge for another order that would make clear the video game should be allowed back on the iPhone and iPad.

Gonzalez Rogers on Monday asked why Apple was still blocking Fortnite without an order from the appeals court authorizing that action. She scheduled a May 27 hearing in Oakland, California, to hear Epic’s latest motion while noting “Apple is fully capable of resolving this issue without further briefing or a hearing.”

When the economy feels uncertain, it’s easy to let that sense of unease slip into your personal finances.

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But there are strategies that can help you maintain a sense of control over your own money — even when the financial news headlines are unsettling.

Here are six techniques to consider:

1. Explore the source of stress

If you notice yourself feeling tension around money, Denver-based financial therapist Wendy Wright suggests first considering what is stirring up those feelings.

“Is it connected to fears, sadness, feeling pressed to look at something you’re trying to avoid?” asks Wright.

Sometimes, she says, people avoid thinking about their personal finances until something in the news forces them to confront the topic, which feels uncomfortable.

If clients tell her that the news is a big source of stress, Wright reminds them that news is a form of entertainment and often designed to hook people into watching more “whether or not it has any bearing on their life.”

In some cases, she says, it’s best to just limit your intake.

2. Ground yourself in the moment

A sensory activity can help you connect with the present moment instead of focusing on what can go wrong in the future, says Nathan Astle, a certified financial therapist and founder of the Financial Therapy Clinical Institute in Kansas City.

He suggests this one: Name five things you see, four colors you see, three things you hear, two things you can smell or taste and one thing you can touch. Next, touch that item and describe it. Then, reflect on how the exercise made you feel — hopefully calmer than you did before.

Deep breathing and scanning your body for different sensations can have similar soothing effects, he adds.

3. Focus on your own numbers

A closer look at your own finances can also help you regain a sense of control, Wright says. She suggests starting with a handful of the most important numbers in your financial life, such as your income, expenses and savings.

From there, she suggests building a financial plan that includes goals and room for adjustments when circumstances change. For example, you might make a plan to turn to short-term savings while job hunting if you were to lose your job.

“If your plan is in place, then you know what adjustments to make and you can breathe through it,” she says.

4. Align your intentions with action

Naming your goals, or intentions, can help you firm up a plan, Wright says.

“My intention might be, ‘I don’t want to run out of money,’” she says. The related action might be, ‘Let me get to know my numbers.’

“It helps give you clarity on what your next steps will be,” Wright says.

As you work through these steps, it’s important to approach the process with zero judgement.

“Money stuff is typically not solved in an afternoon, so having compassion around that is super important,” Wright says

5. Make big decisions when you’re calm

It’s generally best to wait until you feel calm before making any big financial decisions, Astle says.

“Give yourself time between the emotional stimulus and the actual decision-making,” he says, whether it’s deciding to rebalance your retirement accounts or order a new product online.

“Most financial decisions are emotional, so we want to make them in a somewhat calm or calmer state,” he adds.

6. Aim to pay down debt while growing savings and income

Paying down debt, saving for an emergency fund and having insurance policies can help protect you and your family during times of economic uncertainty, says Nicole B. Simpson, certified financial planner and founder of Harvest Wealth Financial in Piscataway, N.J.

Simpson suggests considering starting your own business or taking on a side gig if you find you need to increase your income.

When it comes to wealth accumulation, a slow and steady pace can help you get closer to your goals, as well as weather any financial storms that come your way.

Kimberly Palmer writes for NerdWallet. Email: kpalmer@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @kimberlypalmer.

The article 6 Ways to Reduce Financial Stress During Uncertain Times originally appeared on NerdWallet.

By MIKE CATALINI

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A federal judge in New Jersey on Wednesday ordered Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver released on her own recognizance during the congresswoman’s first court appearance on assault charges stemming from immigration officials’ attempt to arrest Newark’s mayor at a detention facility.

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McIver appeared remotely from Washington as Congress is in session for the initial hearing, where she was officially notified of the two counts of assaulting, resisting and impeding an officer from the May 9 skirmish outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement-run facility called Delaney Hall.

The prosecutor’s complaint says McIver attempted to stop the arrest of Democratic Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who is running in this year’s primary for New Jersey governor, and pushed into and grabbed agents for Homeland Security Investigations and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Magistrate Judge Stacey Adams presided over the roughly 15-minute hearing, at which both McIver, her attorneys, and federal prosecutors appeared through a video call in the Newark courtroom.

McIver denied the charges and said she was carrying out her duty as a member of Congress to oversee a federal facility. The only words she spoke during the proceeding were “Yes, your honor,” responding to the judges questions, including if she had recieved the complaint against her.

Each charge carries a maximum penalty of up to eight years in prison, prosecutors said.

Habba had charged Baraka with trespassing after his arrest but dismissed the allegation on Monday when she said in a social media post that she was instead charging the congresswoman. Baraka is a Democratic candidate for governor in next month’s primary election.

Prosecuting McIver is a rare federal criminal case against a sitting member of Congress for allegations other than fraud or corruption.

The case instantly taps into a broader and more consequential struggle between a Trump administration engaged in overhauling immigration policy and a Democratic Party scrambling to respond.

McIver’s Democratic colleagues cast the prosecution as an infringement on lawmakers’ official duties to serve their constituents and an effort to silence their opposition to an immigration policy that helped propel the president back into power but now has emerged as divisive fault line in American political discourse.

Under the law, members of Congress are authorized to go into federal immigration facilities as part of their oversight powers, even without notice. Congress passed a 2019 appropriations bill that spelled out the authority.

A nearly two-minute clip released by the Homeland Security Department shows McIver on the facility side of a chain-link fence just before the arrest of the mayor on the street side of the fence. She and uniformed officials go through the gate, and she joins others shouting that they should circle the mayor. The video shows McIver in a tightly packed group of people and officers. At one point, her left elbow and then her right elbow push into an officer wearing a dark face covering and an olive green uniform emblazoned with the word “Police” on it.

It isn’t clear from police bodycam video whether that contact was intentional, incidental or a result of jostling in the chaotic scene.

The complaint says she “slammed” her forearm into an agent then tried to restrain the agent by grabbing him.

Wednesday’s court appearance included a brief disagreement over whether McIver would be able to travel oversees for personal reasons. Adams had said an agreement before her noted she could travel only for official business, but McIver’s attorney, former United States Attorney for New Jersey Paul Fishman, said she had a vacation planned.

“There is zero chance a congresswoman is a flight risk,” he said. The judge said she would be OK with such travel but asked prosecutors and defense to discuss and send her an agreement if they could reach one.

New Jersey Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, who, along with Rep. Rob Menendez, had joined McIver at the detention center, told reporters Tuesday that her and Menendez’s attorneys are scheduled to meet Wednesday with Habba’s office.

“That’s the first contact that we’ve actually had from her, so we don’t know what she has intended, but we’re ready for whenever it might be,” she said.

Watson Coleman added that Habba’s office has indicated that charges are still on the table.

“It’s a possibility and it may be a probability,” she said. “We shall see.”

A message seeking comment on Tuesday was left with Habba’s office.

McIver, 38, first came to Congress in September in a special election after the death of Rep. Donald Payne Jr. left a vacancy in the 10th District. She was then elected to a full term in November. A Newark native, she served as the president of the Newark City Council from 2022 to 2024 and worked in the city’s public schools before that.

A preliminary hearing, which the judge stressed would occur in person, was scheduled for June 11.

Associated Press writers Matt Brown, Joey Cappelletti and Rebecca Santana in Washington contributed.

By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has accepted a gifted Boeing 747 aircraft from Qatar for President Donald Trump to use as Air Force One, the Pentagon said Wednesday.

The Defense Department will “work to ensure proper security measures” on the aircraft to make it safe for use by the president, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said. He added that the plane was accepted “in accordance with all federal rules and regulations.”

Trump has defended the gift, which came up during his recent Middle East trip, as a way to save tax dollars.

“Why should our military, and therefore our taxpayers, be forced to pay hundreds of millions of Dollars when they can get it for FREE,” Trump posted on his social media site during the trip.

Others, however, have raised concerns about the aircraft being a violation of the Constitution’s prohibition on foreign gifts. They also have noted the need to retrofit the plane to meet security requirements, which would be costly and take time.

Trump was asked about the move Wednesday while he was meeting in the Oval Office with South Africa’s president. “They are giving the United States Air Force a jet,” Trump said.

The Republican president has presented no national security imperative for a swift upgrade rather than waiting for Boeing to finish new Air Force One jets that have been in the works for years.

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