Good evening. Here’s the latest at the end of Wednesday.
White House dismisses outline of ‘unofficial’ Iran dealThrowing cold water on an Iranian state broadcaster’s report about a preliminary peace deal, President Trump signaled during a cabinet meeting today that he was open to lengthy negotiations with Iran, despite domestic pressure. Iranian officials “thought they were going to outwait me,” he said, adding, “I don’t care about the midterms.” The reported draft deal, which the White House dismissed as a “complete fabrication,” had terms including:
The report focused on the waterway, whose closure has strained global oil and gas supplies, but included no reference to Iran’s uranium stockpile or its frozen assets — important sticking points that remain largely unresolved. In today’s cabinet meeting, Trump said of the strait: “Nobody’s going to control it; we’re going to watch over it.” He also warned Oman not to enter into any agreement with Iran to share control the strait, or else face an American bombing campaign. Meanwhile, fighting continues on another front:
Administration is overpaying reflecting-pool renovatorsTo paint Washington’s reflecting pool “American flag blue,” Trump gave out a $13.1 million no-bid government contract to a firm he said had worked on his swimming pools. Now, the National Park Service’s own analysis has found that the president’s handpicked firm is being paid an excessive amount, according to federal documents first reported today by The Times. The typical profit margin for such projects is 6 to 12 percent, internal records show; the firm is collecting 20 percent. Other documents indicate that the same contractor — at least initially — was not able to perform one of the most important parts of its job: sealing the gaps between concrete slabs on the pool’s floor. Read more about the renovation issues. Related: The Park Service is using at least $67 million in park entrance fees to fund Trump’s beautification projects, including $7 million for the reflecting pool.
Republicans seethe after Cornyn’s lossThe Trump-backed, scandal-racked Texas attorney general Ken Paxton handily defeated the four-term senator John Cornyn in Texas last night. That puts Cornyn’s colleagues, already angry with Trump, in a weird spot. Senate Republicans spent nearly $100 million to defend Cornyn, who is popular in the chamber, and now fear they will need to divert millions from other tough races to prop up Paxton, who has faced investigation, indictment, impeachment and a messy public divorce. That may give them more reasons to defy Trump in the critical months before the midterm elections. They already have resisted disbursing money for the president’s ballroom and for a $1.8 billion fund likely to benefit his allies. More on the Texas Senate race:
Matthew Perry’s assistant is sentencedMatthew Perry’s personal assistant, who injected the “Friends” star with the ketamine that killed him in 2023, was sentenced this afternoon to more than three years in prison. The assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, is the last of the five people charged in connection with Perry’s death to be sentenced, seemingly ending the yearslong legal saga. More top news
For sale: the last surviving ‘bubble house’Dome homes, bubble homes, shell houses … whatever you call them, they were meant to be cheap. In a housing pinch following World War II, the architect Wallace Neff pioneered a fast and affordable construction technique: Inflate a giant balloon and spray it with concrete, sort of like humongous papier-mâché. The technique later was abandoned, and the houses were demolished. Well, except for one, which now is up for sale in Pasadena, Calif. The asking price is $1.95 million — call it inflation!
Basque cheesecake inventor prefers chocolateIt’s hard to imagine that some foods haven’t existed forever. But the inventor of the scorched-top confection known as Burnt Basque Cheesecake is not only still with us — he’s still working. At least for a few more days. Santiago Rivera, 65, brought his creamy concoction into the world nearly 40 years ago. Its spinoffs have conquered much of the world, but next week, Rivera will hang up his springform pan and retire. He’s celebrating with a party and, of course, a cake. Chocolate cake, not cheesecake. “I really like chocolate,” he said. Dinner table topics
Cook: This delicious za’atar chickpea and tuna salad can be ready in 15 minutes. Take our quiz to see how well you can identify the world’s most important flora. Learn to live with two phones. It’s a pain, but more companies are requiring it. Dine at one of the 25 best restaurants in San Franc |
