Iranian drone

shot down

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says talks between special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian officials are still planned after a Navy fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone that was approaching a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea. U.S. Central Command said Tuesday the drone “aggressively approached” the aircraft carrier and kept flying toward it “despite de-escalatory measures taken by U.S. forces.”

The U.S. military says the shootdown occurred within hours of another incident in which Iranian forces harassed a U.S.-flagged merchant vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s president says he’s instructed his foreign minister to pursue fair negotiations with the U.S. The White House says President Donald Trump wants to “pursue diplomacy first.”

Guthrie’s items

still at home

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Investigators have found signs of forced entry at the Arizona home of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie’s mother. That’s according to a person familiar with the investigation who spoke Tuesday to The Associated Press.

Meanwhile, the host asked for prayers to help bring back the missing 84-year-old. Authorities believe she was taken against her will. The sheriff said Nancy Guthrie must be found soon because she could die without her medication. Investigators also found evidence showing there was a nighttime kidnapping.

Several of Guthrie’s personal items, including her cellphone, wallet and her car, were still at the home.

Trump calls

Petro ‘terrific’

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump met on Tuesday with Colombian President Gustavo Petro at the White House for two hours. Trump said afterward that he’d previously clashed with Petro because he didn’t know him, but during the talks “I thought he was terrific.”

Petro said the pair emerged “with a positive and optimistic view.” The mutual good feelings were an abrupt change from mere weeks ago, when Trump had accused the Colombian leader of pumping cocaine into the U.S. and threatened military action after a U.S. operation that captured Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro. The leaders said they discussed drug trafficking, and Petro invited his U.S. counterpart to visit Colombia.

Jill Biden’s first

husband charged

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — The first husband of former first lady Jill Biden has been charged with killing his wife at their Delaware home in late December. William Stevenson was married to Jill Biden from 1970 to 1975. The 77-year-old remains in jail after failing to post $500,000 bail after his arrest Monday on first-degree murder charges.

He is charged with killing 64-year-old Linda Stevenson on Dec. 28. Police were called to the home for a reported domestic dispute incident after 11 p.m. and found the victim unresponsive in the living room, according to a prior news release. It is not clear if William Stevenson has a lawyer.