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UAE tankers
attacked
(AP) -- The United Arab Emirates has blamed Iran for firing drones at two tankers operated by a state-owned oil company in the Strait of Hormuz. The attacks, described as acts of piracy, caused no casualties but highlighted the dangers in this critical waterway.
The UAE’s Foreign Ministry called on Friday the attacks a violation of the United Nations’ principles of freedom of navigation.
Meanwhile, activists marched through the occupied West Bank to bring food and water to Palestinians under siege by Israeli settlers. In Yemen, the military claimed to have thwarted Houthi attacks amid ongoing fighting.
Diplomatic
efforts expand
WASHINGTON (AP) -- While talks to end the Iran war have stalled, the Trump administration appears to be reaching out to a broader swath of countries that might be able to help pressure Tehran or ease its hardline position where traditional mediators haven’t succeeded so far.
While discussions between Iran and Oman, as well as Iran and Pakistan, Turkey and Qatar, continue, the administration has been quietly expanding its outreach to include perhaps unlikely interlocutors in Europe.
Within days of talks this week with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the foreign ministers of Austria and Greece both held calls with Iran’s foreign minister. The State Department said Rubio made no direct asks on Iran in either call.
Trump touts
crime record
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (AP) -- President Donald Trump has highlighted his record on crime and safety during a visit to New York, pivoting to one of his strongest issues as he looks to boost Republicans in battleground races ahead of the November midterms.
Trump was visiting the Nassau County police academy on Friday in suburban Long Island. But despite the setting and an array of uniformed local police officers behind him on stage, the event was overwhelmingly a political one, with Trump lashing Democrats and promoting his record and his party’s candidates.
The new FBI statistics released Friday showed the homicide rate in the United States dropped to the lowest it’s been in 75 years. The report on 2025 crime statistics also showed that overall violent crime dropped 9.3% last year.
WWII Memorial
vandalized
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A suspect has been arrested and will be charged in connection with the vandalism of the World War II Memorial on the National Mall. Melissa L. Farris will be charged with “Depredation Against Property of the United States and Destruction of Veterans’ Memorials,” according to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, who announced the arrest on Friday on her X account.
The offenses carry penalties of up to ten years in prison. The Memorial, one of the most popular in Washington, was vandalized with bubbles filling a fountain and “Clean hands dirty $” written in red paint.
The vandalism comes weeks after President Donald Trump said the nearby Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was deliberately damaged.