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Trump threatens Middle East mediatorPresident Trump said today that he was “not in a hurry” to strike a new deal with Iran now that his preliminary truce with the country has reached its official expiration date. He also took aim at Oman, an American ally on the Arabian Peninsula that has been attempting to mediate negotiations between the U.S. and Iran. “If Oman gets in the way,” the president said, “we’ll bomb the shit out of them.” His comments, in an interview with Fox News, underscored how difficult it has been to end a conflict that Trump said would be over months ago. Both sides seem to be betting on a drawn-out campaign of economic attrition: The U.S. has promised to level crushing sanctions against Iran this week. And Iranian leaders have indicated that they are willing to endure the pain, in hopes that Trump will feel pressured into a deal before November’s midterm elections. This month, Iran’s supreme leader overhauled the country’s leadership by appointing hard-line, veteran military commanders to top security roles. Analysts said the moves suggest he is prepared to keep the country on a war footing and to quash domestic dissent. In other Middle East news: Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, met today with Israel’s prime minister in an effort to break the logjam over a plan for the future of Gaza.
Border construction in Big Bend is haltedThe head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection said today that he had ordered a temporary pause in the construction of new border security measures at Big Bend National Park. Contractors had been building a new patrol road and barriers inside the park, along the border with Mexico and through some of the beloved park’s major natural attractions. The work had been met with bipartisan opposition. Local law enforcement officials said that construction was unnecessary in a desolate and undeveloped area where few migrants have ever crossed. The agency’s chief said he was traveling this week to West Texas to assess the project.
Decades after the murder of Tupac Shakur, a trial beginsProsecutors delivered their opening statements in the trial of a man accused supplying the weapon in the fatal 1996 drive-by shooting of the rapper Tupac Shakur. They argued that the defendant, Duane Keith Davis, helped orchestrate the killing. Witnesses are now testifying. A critical piece of evidence is Davis’s self-published memoir, which contains a detailed account of the killing. Davis, who has pleaded not guilty, now disavows the book entirely. Defense lawyers typically aim to prove that their clients are honest. But Davis’s lawyer has instead argued that he often made things up.
Killings plunge in a city long known for violenceHomicides have fallen to record lows in cities across the country. But the decline is perhaps most stunning in Baltimore, a city so famous for its high murder rate that it was sometimes called Bodymore. In 2026, the city has recorded fewer homicides through mid-August than any other year on record. And the police commissioner is aiming for fewer than 100 killings by year’s end, a tally considered unfathomable just a few years ago. We talked to the people who are adjusting to the new reality — a detective, a nurse, a prosecutor and an undertaker. More top news
Hayden Panettiere, a child actress who later won acclaim for her roles on “Heroes” and “Nashville,” died at 36. Police officials in Greenville, S.C., said that an acquaintance of Panettiere’s called 911 on Sunday and that she was found in cardiac arrest. Read our recent profile of her, watch her best performances and look back at her life in photos.
Elizabeth Smart wants to expand true crimeThe 2002 kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart — a 14-year-old from Salt Lake City who was taken from her bedroom and held captive for nine months — is one of the most famous abductions in American history. In the decades since, Smart has become an activist for survivors of similar horrors. Her latest project, out today, is a podcast that seeks to build upon the very popular true-crime genre. She is interviewing survivors and looking beyond what happened to focus on the ongoing process of healing.
How to feed a team of firefightersPete Gonzalez is a firefighter in Jersey City, N.J. He is also a self-taught chef, who often takes on the responsibility of making breakfast for everyone at his station. The other firefighters there chip in — cracking eggs and shopping for groceries — as they wait for alarms. For our series “On the Job,” my colleague Priya Krishna, a food reporter, recently joined the crew for a day of cooking, eating and responding to calls. Watch a video of her visit here. For more: A recipe writer explains how he can feed his family well for $28 a day.
Dinner table topics
Cook salmon wish a blissful lemon-herb marinade. Watch the new season of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” Here’s | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
