The wait for an Iranian deal with Oman on the Strait of Hormuz dragged on, as the Islamic Republic’s top envoy ruled out direct talks with the U.S. for now.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who has said a pact to establish a temporary shipping route through the global energy choke point was “very close,” on Sunday criticized what ...Read more

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a proposal by U.S.-backed mediators for disarming Hamas, hardening his position after earlier voicing misgivings at the suggestion that Israel reciprocate with phased pullouts from Gaza.

“Israel does not accept the 15-point document,” Netanyahu told his weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, ...Read more

The U.S. Supreme Court has a reputation problem. And Donald Trump’s attacks are making it worse.

In the weeks since an ideologically divisive term ended, polls show the court getting poor approval ratings, with one survey finding record low support. The president’s tirades after losing cases have fueled a slide among Republicans, ...Read more

The Pentagon’s No. 2 official asked major U.S. defense companies to accelerate efforts to produce and deliver key weapons systems amid new concerns about shortages and gaps exacerbated by the Iran war.

Steve Feinberg, the deputy secretary of defense, said the department is targeting accelerated or increased procurement for critical programs ...Read more

After weeks of silence, the Atlantic is showing signs of life days ahead of the usual peak of hurricane season.

On Friday, the National Hurricane Center flagged two potential systems in the eastern Atlantic to watch over the next few days. One has a low chance (20%) of strengthening into a tropical depression or storm in the next week and the ...Read more

The National Hurricane Center on Sunday continued to forecast chances that two Atlantic systems could develop into the season’s next tropical depression or storm.

As of the NHC’s 8 a.m. tropical outlook, the more likely of the two was a tropical wave expected to move off the west coast of Africa into the eastern tropical Atlantic early this...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A blockbuster battle in federal court is set to open in Oakland this month, pitting Silicon Valley against attorneys for the state of California in a $1.4 trillion contest with existential stakes and potentially eye-watering payouts.

In true Hollywood fashion, the record-smashing, celebrity-studded legal drama is also a sequel. ...Read more

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Clement Marcel sells a little bit of everything in his neighborhood convenience store: $29.99 colognes, plantain chips, press-on nails and immigration services.

But in the days since Haitians suffered one of the biggest losses of immigration protections in recent memory, few customers have stopped by his Fort ...Read more

As another spell of intense heat gripped New York City last month, two floating power stations off Brooklyn’s Sunset Park heaved into life.

The Narrows and Gowanus plants on the East River are a last line of defense against blackouts, which risk upending daily life for millions of New Yorkers. But with power demand surging, they’re now ...Read more

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a landmark first visit on Saturday to Serbia to expand cooperation with the Balkan country whose leader has been scaling back once-close ties with Russia.

Serbia and Ukraine will work together on the common goal of joining the European Union, and intend to finalize a mutual free trade agreement by ...Read more

In the early morning hours of Saturday, the U.S. Senate passed a budget with a provision, led by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, to temporarily delay a nationwide hemp ban that has alarmed Minnesota’s booming industry of home-grown hemp products and THC seltzers.

The bill still needs House approval in the fall to become law and thwart a government ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — The National Hurricane Center on Saturday began forecasting chances that two Atlantic systems could develop into the season’s next tropical depression or storm.

As of the NHC’s 8 p.m. tropical outlook, the more likely of the two was a tropical wave expected to move off the west coast of Africa on Tuesday into the eastern ...Read more

CHICAGO — Booming drumlines echoed through Bronzeville Saturday as thousands of spectators packed miles of sidewalk, staking out spots for a glimpse of what organizers call the largest Black parade in the country.

But Corey Tyiska stood a few feet behind the crowd, quietly waiting for his daughter’s cheerleading troupe to tumble by. He had ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Newly released body-camera videos show a man armed with a handgun breaking free from sheriff’s deputies during a Sacramento County traffic stop and reaching for the weapon as he ran before two deputies opened fire.

The Sheriff’s Office released the footage Friday afternoon, providing the first detailed look at the Feb...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon’s No. 2 official asked major U.S. defense companies to accelerate efforts to produce and deliver key weapons systems amid new concerns about shortages and gaps exacerbated by the Iran war.

Steve Feinberg, the deputy secretary of defense, said the department is targeting accelerated or increased procurement for ...Read more

Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley said goodbye on Saturday to his longtime friend and recent internet celebrity, a nearly 50-year-old vacuum cleaner named Beth.

“U willl see Beth no more,” Grassley wrote in a eulogy to the Hoover appliance on X, where the vacuum and his signature abbreviated and un-punctuated style are well known among the 92-...Read more

WASHINGTON — The U.S. accused China on Saturday of using “dubious” pretexts to press its disputed territorial claims in the South China Sea by enforcing a nature reserve at Scarborough Shoal and barring Filipino fishermen from entering the contested waters.

Violent clashes between China’s coast guard and Philippine fishing vessels had ...Read more

NEW YORK — FDNY firefighters have recovered a third body from a demolished Bronx apartment building that caught fire following a massive explosion, officials said Saturday.

The body was found inside the rubble of the fire-ravaged E. 209th St. apartment building in Norwood just before 12 p.m., FDNY officials said.

The deceased is an adult, ...Read more

The person who set up the botched renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington is the manager at President Donald Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, according to an investigation by The New York Times.

The Times found that David Schutzenhofer, who has run the Trump Organization’s golf club in North Jersey since...Read more

Key members of President Donald Trump’s foreign policy team — special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner — may visit Kyiv and Moscow within the next seven to 10 days, Russian state-run Tass news agency reported, citing an official who wasn’t identified.

The possible trip would mark a renewed push by Trump’s two main ...Read more