ANKARA - The Organization of Islamic Cooperation said on Sunday it would set up a ministerial contact group to establish regular contact with international and regional parties to support de-escalation efforts after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran's nuclear sites. In a joint declaration following a meeting of the 57-member...
Visalia Police Seek Public’s Help in Sexual Assault Investigation
Police in Visalia are asking for the public’s help identifying a suspect believed to be connected to multiple sexual assaults reported early Saturday morning. Officers were dispatched around dawn to the area of Locust Street and Northwest 1st Avenue for a medical aid call requiring police assistance. They discovered a...
Despite Clashes With US Presidents, Israel’s Netanyahu Usually Gets His Way
JERUSALEM - A little over a month ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to have been shunted to the shadows by U.S. President Donald Trump, who hopscotched the Middle East without visiting Israel, traditionally Washington's closest regional ally. Worse still, from Netanyahu's perspective, Trump lifted sanctions on neighboring Syria -...
Pope Leo Urges International Diplomacy to Prevent ‘Irreparable Abyss’
VATICAN CITY - Pope Leo on Sunday said the international community must strive to avoid war that risks opening an "irreparable abyss", and that diplomacy should take the place of conflict. U.S. forces struck Iran's three main nuclear sites overnight, joining an Israeli assault in a major new escalation of...
Oil to Open Higher as US Strikes on Iran Boost Supply Risk Premium
LONDON - Oil is likely to rise by $3-5 per barrel when trading resumes on Sunday evening after the U.S. attacked Iran at the weekend, market analysts said, with gains expected to accelerate only if Iran retaliates hard and causes a major oil supply disruption. U.S. President Donald Trump said...
US Strikes Against Iran Not Aimed at Regime Change, Pentagon Chief Says
WASHINGTON - The U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear sites were not a preamble to regime change, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Sunday, adding that Washington sent private messages to Tehran encouraging negotiation. Officials kept operation "Midnight Hammer" highly secret, limiting knowledge of the mission to a small number...
US Bombing of Iran Started With a Fake-Out
WASHINGTON - As Operation "Midnight Hammer" got underway on Saturday, a group of B-2 bombers took off from their base in Missouri and were noticed heading out toward the Pacific island of Guam, in what experts saw as possible pre-positioning for any U.S. decision to strike Iran. But they were...
Pakistan Condemns Trump’s Bombing of Iran a Day After Nominating Him for Peace Prize
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan condemned on Sunday the strikes ordered on its neighbor Iran by Donald Trump, a day after Islamabad had said it would nominate the U.S. President for the Nobel Peace Prize. Pakistan on Sunday said Trump's decision to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities violated international law and that diplomacy...
World Awaits Iran’s Response After Trump Says US ‘Obliterates’ Nuclear Sites
ISTANBUL/WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM - The world awaited Iran's response on Sunday after President Donald Trump said the U.S. had "obliterated" Tehran's key nuclear sites, joining Israel in the biggest Western military action against the Islamic Republic since its 1979 revolution. With the damage visible from space after 30,000-pound U.S. bunker-buster bombs crashed...
Mariska Hargitay Comes to Terms With a Lifetime of Family Secrets
Mariska Hargitay was at home, and she was sprinting up the stairs, bounding between the corners of her very full life. I had to hustle to keep pace. She checked in with her oldest son — home from his first year at Princeton University — and supervised the setup of...