US inserts itself into Israel's war with Iran, striking 3 Iranian nuclear sites
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Iran’s top diplomat warned Sunday that the U.S. attacks on its nuclear sites “will have everlasting consequences” and that Tehran “reserves all options” to retaliate. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who posted on the social platform X, was the first ranking official to comment on the strikes on Isfahan, Fordo and Natanz by the Americans. “The events this morning are outrageous and will have everlasting consequences,” Araghchi wrote. He added: “In accordance with the U.N. Charter and its provisions allowing a legitimate response in self-defense, Iran reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interests and people.” Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations called for an emergency Security Council meeting.
The Latest: US joins Israeli air campaign and strikes 3 nuclear sites in Iran
President Donald Trump says the U.S. military struck three sites in Iran, inserting itself into Israel’s effort to decapitate the country’s nuclear program in a risky gambit to weaken a longtime foe amid Tehran’s threat of reprisals that could spark a wider regional conflict. The decision to directly involve the U.S. comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel on Iran that have moved to systematically eradicate the country’s air defenses and offensive missile capabilities, while damaging its nuclear enrichment facilities. But U.S. and Israeli officials have said that American stealth bombers and a 30,000-lb. bunker buster bomb they alone can carry offered the best chance of destroying heavily-fortified sites connected to the Iranian nuclear program.
A tornado that swept through a rural town in North Dakota left at least 3 people dead
ENDERLIN, N.D. (AP) — Three people are dead and a regional airport has been heavily damaged after powerful winds including a tornado swept across the upper U.S. Midwest. Cass County Sheriff Jesse Jahner said at a news conference Saturday that two men and a woman were killed late Friday at two locations in the town of Enderlin, North Dakota. Enderlin is about 40 miles southwest of Fargo. The National Weather Service in Grand Forks said a tornado hit a home just east of Enderlin. It also reported wind gusts of up to 106 mph at Bemidji Regional Airport overnight in Minnesota.
Mahmoud Khalil vows to continue protesting Israel and the war in Gaza after release from detention
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Former Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil has returned to the U.S. Northeast after 104 days in custody for protesting against Israel and the war in Gaza. Khalil greeted supporters at New Jersey's Newark International Airport on Saturday. He pushed his infant son's stroller with one hand and pumped the other in the air. Khalil told reporters he will continue to speak up for Palestine even if threatened with death. Khalil is a legal U.S. resident. He was not accused of breaking any laws during protests at Columbia. But the administration has said noncitizens who participate in such demonstrations should be expelled for what it deems antisemitic views. It is appealing Khalil's release.
Hot-air balloon in Brazil catches fire and falls from the sky, killing 8 and injuring 13
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A hot-air balloon has caught fire and tumbled from the sky in Brazil’s southern state of Santa Catarina, killing eight people. Thirteen people survived and were taken to hospitals on Saturday. Santa Catarina’s military fire brigade said that 21 people were on board including the pilot. Footage shared by local news outlet G1 showed billows of smoke coming from the balloon in flames as it hurtled toward the ground in the municipality of Praia Grande.
Sunrise at Stonehenge draws druids, pagans and revelers to celebrate the summer solstice
LONDON (AP) — As the sun rose on the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, a crowd erupted in cheers at Stonehenge where the ancient monument in southern England has clocked the summer solstice over thousands of years. The orange ball crested the northeast horizon Saturday and shone its light into the center of one of the world’s most famous prehistoric monuments. The crowd gathered at the World Heritage Site before dawn, beating the sweltering conditions of the U.K.’s first amber heat-health alert issued since September 2023. Temperatures later hit 91 degrees Fahrenheit in Surrey, the hottest temperature recorded this year.
Sunken Bayesian superyacht lifted from waters off Sicily as salvage operation completed
PORTICELLO, Italy (AP) — A British-flagged luxury superyacht that sank off Sicily last year, killing U.K. tech magnate Mike Lynch and six others, has been lifted out of the water as salvage recovery crews completed the operation to bring it ashore for further investigation. The white top and blue hull of the 56-meter Bayesian, covered with algae and mud, was visibly clear of the sea on Saturday in a holding area of a yellow floating crane barge. The Bayesian sank Aug. 19 during a violent storm as Lynch was treating friends to a cruise to celebrate his acquittal two months earlier in the U.S. on fraud charges.
Man arrested after Utah 'No Kings' rally shooting is released as investigation continues
A man who brought a rifle to a “No Kings” rally in Utah — prompting an armed safety volunteer to open fire and accidentally kill a protester — has been released from jail while the investigation continues. Salt Lake District Attorney Sim Gill’s office said Friday that it was unable to make a decision on criminal charges against 24-year-old Arturo Gamboa. He had been jailed on suspicion of murder following the June 14 shooting. Gamboa never fired a shot during the rally and it is generally legal to carry firearms in public in Utah. His lawyer said Gamboa was lawfully in possession of the rifle at the rally and was walking with it unloaded pointed at the ground before he was shot in the back by the volunteer.
Belarus frees dissident Siarhei Tsikhanouski and 13 others after a rare visit from top US envoy
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarus has freed Siarhei Tsikhanouski, a key dissident figure and the husband of exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, following a rare visit by a senior U.S. official. Tsikhanouski, a popular blogger and activist who was jailed in 2020, arrived in Vilnius, Lithuania, alongside 13 other political prisoners. The release came just hours after Belarusian authorities announced that authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko met with U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, in Minsk. U.S. has imposed sanctions on Belarus over a brutal 2020 crackdown on protests and Lukashenko’s support of Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine.
Ukraine received at least 20 bodies of Russian soldiers in recent exchanges, Zelenskyy says
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine's president says Russia repatriated at least 20 of its own dead soldiers in recent exchanges with Ukraine, describing it as a result of Moscow’s disorganization. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that an Israeli citizen was also among the dead Ukraine received in recent exchanges. He said the Russian side insisted the dead were all Ukrainians. The exchanges of the dead and wounded soldiers are the only tangible result of direct peace talks in Istanbul in June. Zelenskyy told reporters on Friday that he wasn't sure if Ukraine would attend the next round of talks.
