By STELLA MARTANY

IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — Officials with one of the armed Kurdish Iranian dissident groups based in northern Iraq told The Associated Press that they are not planning an imminent cross-border attack on Iran but would join a ground invasion if the U.S. were to launch one.

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The comments appeared to be aimed at reassuring Iraqi Kurdish officials, who have said they do not want attacks to be launched against Iran from their territory, fearing that they will be further dragged into the war in the Middle East sparked by the U.S. and Israel’s strikes on Iran.

In the event of a U.S. ground operation, “then we would enter alongside the coalition forces,” said Khalil Nadiri, an official with the Kurdistan Freedom Party PAK, in an interview with the AP Thursday. But he said, “The Kurds must not place themselves as the spearhead of the attack.”

He added that his group also has armed members already present inside of Iran and that they would not necessarily require cross-border support if they were to stage an uprising.

Nadiri said the Kurdish groups have been in contact with the U.S. and Israel but denied having received any material aid from them.

The comments came after Kurdish officials said earlier this week that the Kurdish Iranian dissident groups based in northern Iraq are preparing for a potential cross-border military operation in Iran, and the U.S. had asked Iraqi Kurds to support them

A member of the Kurdistan Freedom Party PAK, stand guard in Irbil, Iraq, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Rashid Yahya)

Rebaz Sharifi, a military commander with the PAK, said it would be “a very positive development” if the U.S. and its allies were to arm the Kurdish groups, but also denied that they have received any such support so far.

Sharifi said he expects that at some point, U.S. President Donald Trump “might want the peshmerga forces of Eastern Kurdistan to participate in the conflict during a ground invasion” and “if it reaches that point, we, for our part, would be pleased with it.”

However, the two officials sought to dispel the fears of Iraqi Kurdish officials that Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdish region would be used as a launching pad.

Peshawa Hawramani, spokesperson for the Kurdistan Regional Government, said in a statement earlier this week that “allegations claiming that we are part of a plan to arm and send Kurdish opposition parties into Iranian territory are completely unfounded” and that the Iraqi Kurdish parties do not want to “expand the war and tensions in the region.”

Already Iran and allied Iraqi militias have launched dozens of missiles and drone attacks into northern Iraq, targeting the U.S. bases and consulate in Irbil as well as bases of the Iranian Kurdish dissident groups.

Members of the Kurdistan Freedom Party PAK stand guard in Irbil, Iraq, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Rashid Yahya)

Sharifi said PAK’s bases have been attacked twice with ballistic missiles and four times with drones since the start of the war, killing one of their fighters and wounding three others.

Nadiri said that “since the (Iraqi) Kurdistan region has adopted a policy of not becoming a part of this conflict and because we do not want to disrupt the stability and security here and we respect the laws of this region, consequently, the environment has not yet been established for us to move our forces back into Eastern Kurdistan.”

He was using the term used by Kurdish groups to refer to the Kurdish region of Iran.

The potential military involvement of the Kurds has raised tensions with other Iranian opposition groups – notably the faction led by the former shah’s son, Reza Pahlavi, who has accused the Kurds of being separatists aiming to carve up Iran.

Sharifi said that his group’s “ultimate goal is the statehood of the Kurds in all four regions and the reunification of Kurdistan,” referring to the Kurdish areas that are currently split among Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Syria.

Nadiri said that a confederal system could be a “viable solution” that would allow the Kurdish area to remain part of Iran while maintaining its “own sovereignty, identity, and unique characteristics.”

By MAE ANDERSON, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Government officials are getting closer to ironing out a refund process for the hundreds of thousands of companies that paid tariffs now deemed illegal.

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In a filing with the Court of International Trade on Friday, Brandon Lord, executive director of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s trade policy and programs directorate, said the CBP is working on a new system that will simplify the process. He said it should be ready in 45 days and require “minimal submission from importers.”

The filing comes after a judge on Wednesday ordered the government to start paying back all importers the illegal tariffs they paid — with interest. Judge Richard Eaton of the U.S. Court of International Trade wrote that “all importers of record’’ were “entitled to benefit’’ from the Supreme Court ruling that struck down sweeping double-digit import taxes President Donald Trump imposed last year under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

Eaton would have to approve the process before it proceeds.

In the filing, Lord said as of March 4, over 330,000 importers have made a total of over 53 million entries with CBP and paid about $166 billion in tariffs that now have to be refunded.

Lord estimated that under the current system, refunds would take more than 4.4 million man hours to complete, and it isn’t feasible to divert all employees to the refund process full time, because “CBP’s other functions and responsibilities would be severely disrupted and the agency would not be able to continue to adequately perform its mission, including its revenue protection mandate and its vital national security functions.”

But he said the agency is confident they can develop and implement a new process that will streamline and consolidate refunds and interest payments. The system should be ready in 45 days, he said.

“This new process will require minimal submission from importers,” he wrote. “It will also minimize errors by ensuring accurate IEEPA refund calculations through system validations and allowing for a review period for CBP to resolve any discrepancies with the importer and to confirm no other outstanding enforcement issues or no revenue is owed.”

Lord also noted that as of Feb. 6 the CBP only issues refunds electronically, but most importers haven’t completed signing up for the electronic system. Of the 330,566 importers who paid tariffs, only 21,423 have completed the setup process to receive their refunds electronically.

“Until importers complete the process to receive refunds electronically, the refunds will be rejected,” he said.

By LAURAN NEERGAARD

WASHINGTON (AP) — Most of America “springs forward” Sunday for daylight saving time. Losing that hour of sleep can do more than leave you tired and cranky the next day; it also could harm your health.

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Darker mornings and more evening light knock your body clock out of whack — which means daylight saving time can usher in sleep trouble for weeks or longer. Studies have even found an uptick in heart attacks and strokes right after the March time change.

There are ways to ease the adjustment, including getting more sunshine to help reset your circadian rhythm for healthful sleep.

When does daylight saving time start?

Daylight saving time begins Sunday at 2 a.m., an hour of sleep vanishing in most of the U.S. The ritual will reverse on Nov. 1 when clocks “fall back” as daylight saving time ends.

Hawaii and most of Arizona don’t make the spring switch, sticking to standard time year-round — along with Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Worldwide, dozens of countries also observe daylight saving time, starting and ending at different dates.

Some people try to prepare for daylight saving time by going to bed a little earlier two or three nights ahead. While getting back on schedule after an hour’s change may not be that difficult for some people, it’s an added challenge for the third of U.S. adults who already don’t get the recommended seven hours of nightly shuteye.

What happens to your brain when it’s lighter later?

The brain has a master clock that is set by exposure to sunlight and darkness. This circadian rhythm is a roughly 24-hour cycle that determines when we become sleepy and when we’re more alert. The patterns change with age, one reason that early-to-rise youngsters evolve into hard-to-wake teens.

Morning light resets the rhythm. By evening, levels of a hormone called melatonin begin to surge, triggering drowsiness. Too much light in the evening — that extra hour from daylight saving time — delays that surge and the cycle gets out of sync.

Sleep deprivation is linked to heart disease, cognitive decline, obesity and numerous other problems. And that circadian clock affects more than sleep, also influencing things like heart rate, blood pressure, stress hormones and metabolism.

How does the time change affect your health?

Fatal car crashes temporarily jump the first few days after the spring time change, according to a study of U.S. traffic fatalities. The risk was highest in the morning, and researchers attributed it to sleep deprivation.

Then there’s the cardiac connection. The American Heart Association points to studies that suggest an uptick in heart attacks on the Monday after daylight saving time begins, and in strokes for two days afterward.

Doctors already know that heart attacks, especially severe ones, are a bit more common on Mondays generally — and in the morning, when blood is more clot-prone.

Researchers don’t know why the time change would add to that Monday connection but it’s possible the abrupt circadian disruption exacerbates factors such as high blood pressure in people already at risk.

How to adjust to daylight saving time

Go outside for early morning sunshine that first week of daylight saving time, which can help reset your body’s internal clock. Moving up daily routines, like dinner time or when you exercise, also may help cue your body to start adapting, sleep experts advise.

Afternoon naps and caffeine as well as evening light from phones and other electronic devices can make adjusting to an earlier bedtime even harder.

Will the U.S. ever eliminate the time change?

Every year there’s talk about ending the time change. Before starting his second term, President Donald Trump promised to eliminate daylight saving time. A bipartisan bill named the Sunshine Protection Act to make daylight saving time permanent has repeatedly stalled in Congress.

But that’s the opposite of what some health groups recommend. The American Medical Association and American Academy of Sleep Medicine agree it’s time to do away with time switches but say sticking with standard time year-round aligns better with the sun — and human biology — for more consistent sleep.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

By COLLIN BINKLEY and NICKY FORSTER

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration’s campaign to end “wokeness” in the military is reshaping its relationship with U.S. higher education, breaking off longstanding ties with prestigious universities that have trained generals and admirals while building new bonds with Christian schools and public universities.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth forged ahead last week with his realignment, expelling more than a dozen elite colleges from a military fellowship that serves as a pipeline to the upper ranks of leadership. It’s a small but symbolic fracture that has left college leaders bracing for additional cuts that could pull service members from their classrooms.

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Hegseth made sweeping statements about canceling all military attendance at schools he denounces as anti-American, yet his cuts have been more targeted. So far he has homed in on graduate degrees and certificates while preserving a much broader program that helps cover tuition for roughly 200,000 active-duty or reserve service members.

That program, known as Tuition Assistance, allows service members to get financial help pursuing studies at nearly any U.S. college. The funding flows to hundreds of campuses, including the highly selective ones Hegseth says have “gorged themselves” on taxpayer money. Yet an Associated Press analysis finds that schools beyond the Ivy League are far more likely to benefit from the Pentagon aid, including big online universities and some for-profit colleges that have been dogged by fraud accusations.

About 350 members of the military used Tuition Assistance to attend Harvard, Johns Hopkins University, George Washington University and the other schools targeted by Hegseth’s cuts, according to the AP analysis of 2024 data. By contrast, more than 50,000 studied at the American Public University System, a for-profit education company that offers online degrees and has a graduation rate of just 22%.

More than a third of students using the benefit attended for-profit colleges, surpassing the number who attended any type of private, nonprofit college. Public universities take in the most military students under the program, with about 4 in 10 choosing those campuses. The benefit pays out a maximum of $4,500 a year.

Hegseth takes aim at a prestigious military fellowship

That the Pentagon is taking any stance on where service members should enroll is a radical shift from the past and an “incredible overreach,” said Lindsey Tepe, who advises on military learning at the American Council on Education, a group that represents college presidents.

“This is clearly the start of a broader effort to reshape military education, and I do think that this is a bad precedent to set,” Tepe said.

The shake-up has aroused concern about further cuts, with some wondering whether it poses a risk to Tuition Assistance, the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps or other military programs that pay for schooling in fields like law, medicine and engineering.

Hegseth made no mention of those programs in a memo detailing his cuts last week. Instead, he targeted the Senior Service College Fellowship, a prestigious program that lets military members pursue advanced studies at universities, think tanks and federal agencies. It’s often granted to mid-career personnel on their way to leadership or highly specialized roles in the military.

The program is small, with fewer than 80 students across the 15 universities being carved out this fall, according to the Pentagon memo. Along with several Ivy League campuses, the Pentagon said it will ban schools including Georgetown University, Carnegie Mellon University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The ranks of graduates from those campuses includes a host of current and retired commanders. James McConville, a retired Army general who led the army from 2019 to 2023, did a fellowship at Harvard, according to his military biography. Lt. Gen. William Graham Jr., current chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, did one at MIT.

Military will lose out on Ivy League expertise, some say

By carving out those campuses, some believe the Trump administration is sacrificing technical expertise in the name of ideology. Those campuses tend to employ top experts in areas like artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and quantum computing, said William Hubbard, a vice president at Veterans Education Success, a bipartisan nonprofit.

“I’m not sure our enemies would be too upset about this,” said Hubbard, a Marine Corps veteran. “If I were waking up in Beijing and heard this news, I would be pleased.”

Harvard, a favorite target of President Donald Trump, is being hit with deeper sanctions. The Pentagon said it’s barring all graduate-level professional military education at Harvard, along with fellowships and certificates.

In response, Harvard’s school of government this week said it’s allowing active-duty service members to defer their admission for up to four years. It also arranged to get them “expedited consideration” at other colleges, including the University of Chicago and Tufts University.

Hegseth himself earned a master’s degree from Harvard but symbolically returned his diploma in a 2022 Fox News segment.

Hegseth wants to reroute leaders to Liberty, Hillsdale and others

In his memo last week, Hegseth blasted elite colleges that he says have become “factories of anti-American resentment” and undermine military values. He suggested 15 colleges to replace those being cut from the fellowship. They were chosen for promoting intellectual freedom and having “minimal public expressions in opposition of the Department,” the memo said.

At the top of the list is Liberty University, a Christian school that enrolls 16,000 students at its Virginia campus and another 120,000 in online programs. It already has a strong military presence, enrolling more than 7,000 students using Tuition Assistance, according to the AP analysis. A series of scandals have shaken the campus in recent years, leading to the 2020 departure of its longtime president, Jerry Falwell Jr.

A statement from Liberty said it has not yet coordinated with the Pentagon regarding a potential partnership, but it’s grateful for Hegseth’s leadership. “We love this country and fully support the men and women in uniform who devote their lives in service to our nation,” the statement said.

Also on the list is Hillsdale College, a conservative Christian school that’s separately partnering with the White House on a campaign celebrating the nation’s 250th anniversary. In a statement, Hillsdale President Larry Arnn said too many other colleges have abandoned the nation’s founding principles.

“If officers want serious education in the principles they swear to defend, Hillsdale is exactly where they should be,” Arnn said.

The list of replacements includes several flagship state universities, including top-tier research institutions like the University of Michigan, which last year rolled back diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, and the University of North Carolina. Hegseth said routing the fellowship elsewhere will ensure “a more rigorous and relevant education to better prepare them for the complexities of modern warfare.”

Forster reported from New York.

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.