The U.S. and Israel’s war on Iran is forcing world governments to intervene to shore up energy supplies, with ongoing missile fire from both sides disrupting flows through a key waterway.

The International Energy Agency is proposing a release of emergency oil reserves that would be the largest in its history, with a decision possible later ...Read more

While the Iran war rages, Israel is quietly planning for a potential base at the mouth of the Red Sea from which to strike one of the Islamic Republic's last proxies still operating at full strength: the Houthis of Yemen.

That’s thanks to Somaliland, the breakaway territory on the Gulf of Aden that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ...Read more

The bulk of the money Missouri gives to its crisis pregnancy centers comes from federal funds meant to assist families experiencing poverty with basic necessities and child care, Republican Rep. Jason Smith said on the U.S. House floor in January.

As many as $3 of every $4 for pregnancy centers in Missouri was from the federal Temporary ...Read more

The patient came in with a belly full of blood, Dr. Leilah Zahedi-Spung recalled. Her pregnancy was ectopic, no longer viable, and could have killed her if left untreated. But when she went to a mobile pregnancy help center offering free care in an RV in St. Louis, she was told the pregnancy could be saved.

By the time she saw Zahedi-Spung days...Read more

ONTARIO, Calif. — Outside Andrea Galván’s Ontario home, two young boys stop on their scooters to watch their neighbor create signs. Galván, an art consultant and activist, is accompanied in her driveway by a group of volunteers passing stencils and aerosol paints around to one another.

“Can we join?” the boys ask.

Soon, they’re ...Read more

For nearly 60 years, crisis pregnancy centers have been a pillar of the anti-abortion movement.

Largely staffed by volunteers or part-time workers, these centers — sometimes referred to as pregnancy resource centers — offer limited services related to pregnancy and are guided by a religious mission to stop people from considering abortion. ...Read more

The Baltimore County bill that aims to ban law enforcement officers from wearing masks to conceal their identities and to require them to identify themselves on the job visibly continues to draw scrutiny from one Republican councilman.

Councilman Izzy Patoka, a Pikesville Democrat who’s running for county executive, introduced the measure ...Read more

North Korea test-fired cruise missiles from its latest warship, the second time in a week it has launched its new sea-to-surface weapons system as reports grow that the U.S. is shifting air defense assets out of South Korea to help it fight Iran.

Kim Jong Un oversaw the test on TV, accompanied by his daughter, Ju Ae, on Tuesday, a photo ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — San Diego County filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration on Tuesday, seeking full access to conduct a public health inspection of the Otay Mesa Detention Center after being allegedly denied the opportunity last month.

The legal action was expected after county Supervisors Terra Lawson-Remer and Paloma Aguirre gave...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A Florida woman was criminally charged Tuesday after she allegedly sprayed bullets at the home of star singer Rihanna earlier this week.

Ivanna Ortiz, 35, of Orlando faces one count of attempted murder, nine counts of assault with a firearm, two counts of shooting into an inhabited dwelling and one count of shooting at a motor ...Read more

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A week after Florida cut nearly 12,000 people off the state program providing affordable access to life-saving HIV/AIDS medication, state senators are making a last-minute move to fund the program in full for the next few months.

The Florida Department of Health blindsided lawmakers in January when it announced a plan to ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson said Tuesday that Missouri’s self-defense law imposes a burden of proof that is too high for her office to secure a murder conviction against one of the shooters in the 2024 Chiefs Super Bowl rally that left one dead and dozens of others wounded.

Johnson spoke during a press ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Energy markets whipsawed for a second consecutive day as investors raced to interpret rapidly shifting comments from the Trump administration over the war in Iran.

Oil prices plummeted after Energy Secretary Chris Wright erroneously posted — and then deleted — a message that the U.S. Navy had escorted an oil tanker through ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — The University of Pennsylvania on Tuesday defended its refusal to give the federal government names of faculty and students affiliated with Jewish programs, telling a judge that doing so would interfere with their First Amendment rights.

The university, which is facing an investigation into antisemitism by the Equal Employment ...Read more

After five decades of providing medical care to nationals of Guyana and Jamaica, Cuba is withdrawing its doctors and other health specialists that have been a cornerstone of Caribbean health care.

The move comes after both Jamaica and Guyana acknowledge that they have been unable to restructure their respective long-standing agreements with ...Read more

OLYMPIA — What started as an evening debate Monday has turned into a marathon at the state Capitol.

By Tuesday afternoon, the state House was still debating a proposed income tax on high earners, more than 21 hours after lawmakers first took up this bill around 5:30 p.m. Monday.

Bleary-eyed lawmakers cycled through speeches and gulped down ...Read more

A bill to regulate automated license plate readers in Washington state for the first time is heading to Gov. Bob Ferguson for his signature.

The state Senate on Tuesday approved amendments made by the House to Senate Bill 6002, also known as the Driver Privacy Act." At least 23 other states have approved such regulations since 2007.

The bill ...Read more