CAIRO (AP) — Saudi Arabia accused Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels overnight of trying to attack Islam's holiest city, prompting condemnation from countries in the region but no sign of military support. The kingdom, a key U.S. ally, declared Mecca a "red line" as it slid deeper into the new front of the Iran war.
With the world's biggest oil exporter under fire from the rebels backed by the Saudis' regional adversary, Tehran, the kingdom needs a safe outlet for its crude as well as military ******* istance. A path to either one remains unclear.
A crucial Saudi pipeline has reportedly been shut down for weeks after an attack by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq. The Yemen-based Houthis have been targeting infrastructure in the kingdom as well as its shipping on the Red Sea, where they have seized several islands on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. And Iran is still targeting ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices remain above $100 a barrel.
The Houthis denied firing drones toward Mecca, about 1,100 kilometers (680 miles) from Yemen's border. The Saudis said they intercepted and destroyed the drone before it entered the airspace over the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad.
The attacks are the first test of a new defense pact among Saudi Arabia, NATO member Turkey and nuclear power Pakistan. But officials from Turkey and Pakistan told The ******* ociated Press they have not received a Saudi request for support in response to the Houthis' escalation.

#arabia #saudis #turkey

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries and other infrastructure used to produce and distribute diesel, saying the attacks are causing a global shortage. He spoke after diesel prices in the U.S. hit a record on Friday, soaring past $6 a gallon on average.
Ukraine has for months been targeting Russia's oil and gas industry with long-range strikes, prompting fuel rationing across the country and causing Moscow to ban diesel exports in July, removing supplies from the already tight global market.
But the global crunch also came after the war on Iran curtailed oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
Fuel prices are weighing on Americans as they prepare to vote in midterm elections in November.
Trump was asked by a reporter if he had spoken with Zelenskyy following his recent conversation with Russia's Vladimir Putin. He responded by calling on Zelenskyy to halt strikes against Russia.

#zelenskyy #global #Trump

By Sahana Bajracharya
CHITWAN, Nepal, Sept 1 (Reuters) - For four agonising days after floodwaters tore through Nepal's Rasuwa district, Ayush Khadka's family searched desperately for any sign that the 21-year-old civil servant was still alive.
The Khadkas were among thousands of families clinging to hope amid ‌the chaos wrought by a glacial collapse that sent an unprecedented deluge of ice, rock, mud and debris crashing through valley towns and villages ‌in Nepal and across the border in China.
Ayush had spoken to relatives the night before the flood, and his social media account even appeared to show him as online the following morning, a small sign that gave the family hope he had survived.
As reports of widespread destruction emerged on August 26, family members immediately began what would turn out to be a futile search.

#nepal #ayush #hope #bajracharya

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for President Donald Trump to move ahead with his executive order restricting mail-in voting, though it remains unclear how much his administration can implement before the fast-approaching midterm elections.
The decision appears to leave room for additional court challenges that could further slow Trump's order. The U.S. Postal Service laid out how it would implement the order last week, but time is running short to impose major changes with some states beginning to send mail ballots to voters in just a few weeks.
The Supreme Court's three liberal-leaning justices dissented from the unsigned order.
Mail balloting has long been a favorite target for Trump, who has claimed that it breeds fraud despite strong evidence to the contrary and his own use of the voting method.
The case could be one of multiple voting-related challenges before the justices. The Justice Department had filed an emergency appeal asking the high court to allow work on implementing the changes before the midterms.

#order #implement #justices

By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON, July 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. military said late on Monday its forces have ‌completed their latest wave of strikes on Iran ‌that the U.S. Central Command began earlier in the day at the direction of President Donald Trump.
• "During the five-hour mission, U.S. forces successfully struck military targets across Iran including Bushehr, Chah Bahar, Jask, Konarak, Abu Musa, and Bandar Abbas," the ‌Central Command said ⁠in a statement on X.
• It marked a third consecutive night of strikes against Iran ⁠as Trump said he was reinstating a blockade of Iranian shipping while proposing to charge a 20% fee to guard the Strait of Hormuz.
• Iran's top joint military command ‌said the U.S. had no role in determining the future of the waterway and would not be allowed to intervene.

PROVO, Utah (AP) — The defendant in Charlie Kirk's killing told his roommate "he wishes he hadn't done it" the day after the conservative activist was shot in the neck while speaking at Utah Valley University, a recording played in court revealed Thursday.
Lance Twiggs, who was also defendant Tyler Robinson's romantic partner, said in an interview with law enforcement that the teary interaction with Robinson happened in their apartment in southern Utah, more than 200 miles (320 kilometers) from where Kirk was shot.
Later that same day — and only about an hour before turning himself in — Robinson posted "it was me at UVU yesterday," in a chat room on the Discord instant messaging platform, according to investigators and messages shown by prosecutors.
Robinson is charged with aggravated murder and has not entered a plea. He turned himself in a day after the Sept. 10 shooting of Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump credited with helping galvanize young voters for the Republican in the 2024 election.
Ammunition found in the gun used to kill Kirk had engravings that included "Hey Facist! CATCH!" and "If you Read This, You Are GAY," according to prosecutors, who are seeking the death penalty.

Nearly half the country is on alert for dangerous oppressive temperatures with record highs expected. In the West the hot, dry weather is fueling deadly wildfires, while parts of the South are drying out after catastrophic flash flooding where at least four people died. NBC's Shaquille Brewster reports and TODAY's Al Roker tracks the forecast.

A former youth pastor who was set to appear in court Thursday for the decades-old murder of his wife is now dead, a Las Vegas judge announced in court.
"He's not here; he's deceased," the judge said before adjourning the hearing.
David Vander Meer, 49, was charged with murder and insurance fraud in the death of his then-29-year-old wife Bernadette Vander Meer earlier this week. He was accused of killing his wife in 2006 and collecting her $600,000 life insurance policy, according to court records.
The day David Vander Meer was set to appear in court, Las Vegas police announced Thursday that a "49-year-old male inmate" at the Clark County Detention Center with "self-sustained injuries" was transported to a local hospital where he was **** ounced deceased.
Police said the inmate had been at the detention center since June 22, the same day David Vander Meer was arrested.

By Laila Bassam, Pesha Magid and Steve Holland
BEIRUT/JERUSALEM/WASHINGTON, June 19 (Reuters) - Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire on Friday, a U.S. official said, after an escalation in hostilities in Lebanon sorely tested the U.S.-Iranian interim deal to end the wider Middle East conflict.
A senior Israeli official and two Hezbollah sources confirmed ‌the ceasefire to Reuters, which the U.S. official said was due to begin at 4 p.m. (1300 GMT)
"If Hezbollah does not attack us, then for us it is not ‌a time of war," the Israeli official said. Israeli forces would remain in southern Lebanon, the official added.
Two Lebanese security sources said Israel carried out a dozen airstrikes in the first hour after the ceasefire came into effect, but none were recorded after 5 p.m.

Investor Michael Burry—of Big Short fame—considered antagonizing the richest man on the planet over the IPO of his latest company.

Burry said he had been tempted to bet against ***** eX, the rocket company owned by Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

SpaceX went public last week, and its stock has already gained more than 25%. The company's valuation since then has soared close to $3 trillion, even overtaking Jeff Bezos's Amazon at one point.
But for every optimist backing Musk's bid to establish a human colony on Mars is an investor on earth wondering if the plan will ever take off. Burry, in typical form, was open in asking that question.
In a Substack post, the ***** yst best known for predicting the housing crash before the 2008 financial crisis said he had reviewed a number of trading options for betting against Musk's company.
"I am not involved with ***** eX now. Neither short nor, ahem, long," Burry wrote Tuesday, per CNBC. Put options on the shorter end—expiring in June 2027, for example—cost roughly $13 with the stock trading at around $212, Burry reported. A put ending December 2026 was priced at around $6.75, he added.
Burry was "tempted by that one. But no thank you," he wrote of the short option.

The king of fast food has officially been dethroned.
For the first time in more than a decade, Chick-fil-A is no longer the top-rated quick-service restaurant, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), which rates eateries based on thousands of customer surveys reflecting on recent experiences with major chains.
After an 11-year run, results from 16,464 respondents knocked the chicken chain from its coveted spot in favor of sandwich shop Jersey Mike's, which was commended for its freshness, food variety and value. Securing an ACSI score of 84 out of 100, Jersey Mike's edged Chick-fil-A out by one point after adding 238 net new locations in 2025 and clearing $4.2 billion in sales.
"The U.S. restaurant industry faced difficulties in 2025, with total sales struggling to keep pace with inflation," said the report published Tuesday, June 16. "In a market defined by trade-offs, customers are placing greater emphasis on consistency, reliability, and perceived value as opposed to just price. Brands that deliver a consistently enjoyable experience are gaining ground."
Wondering where your favorites ranked in 2026? Read more below.