US Sen. Lindsey Graham has died after a brief and unexpected illness, his office says
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of President Donald Trump's closest allies in Congress who traveled the globe to advocate for a more aggressive U.S. foreign policy, died Saturday evening after a “brief and sudden illness,” his office said in a statement posted on social media. He was 71.
His office did not provide did not provide any additional details about the South Carolina Republican and said his family “appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period.”
“Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known, is dead!” Trump posted on social media early Sunday morning. “He was always working, and was a true American Patriot. Lindsey will be greatly missed!!! DETAILS AND ARRANGEMENTS TO FOLLOW. So sad!”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said “my heart is heavy this morning to learn the passing of my friend and colleague, Senator Lindsey Graham.”
“Lindsey’s long and dedicated service in the Air Force and in Congress carried him to far-flung regions of the world,” Thune said. “He was a strong advocate for the United States and a strong ally to freedom-loving countries across the globe. He believed in the might of America to achieve good in the world and dedicated his life to advancing that cause.”
US attacks Iran over ship being hit in Strait of Hormuz; Tehran lashes out again at Gulf Arab states
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United States attacked Iran early Sunday morning over an Iranian strike on a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz that set the container ship ablaze and forced its crew to abandon it. Iran responded with attacks targeting several countries in the Gulf, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman.
The outburst of fighting raised new questions about efforts to reach a permanent end to a war that began on Feb. 28. The strait, a key transit route for oil and natural gas, has become the key sticking point in negotiations, and repeated fighting over the past week has left negotiations in danger of collapse.
The U.S. military’s Central Command said it hit some 140 targets in Sunday’s strikes, far more than in the two previous rounds of attacks, and went after missile and drone launch sites, ammunition dumps, communication equipment and other sites. It said the attacks would weaken Iran’s ability to threaten civilian shipping.
“Iran made a poor choice. Now they pay,” U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote online.
The U.S. has launched three rounds of airstrikes targeting Iran in the last week over Iranian attacks on ships heading through the strait using a route seeking to avoid the Islamic Republic’s territorial waters. Iran retaliated by attacking nations in the region hosting U.S. military forces, while insisting it alone must control the strait and potentially charge vessels for traveling through it.
Trump suggests a standing order to attack Iran if it assassinates him. But Vance would make the call
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is suggesting he has left standing orders for the U.S. military to destroy Iran “ at levels they've never seen before ” if Tehran follows through on its long-standing threats to kill him.
But the U.S. government has no way to create an automatic, preauthorized “dead man’s switch” that would prompt immediate retaliation.
Instead, if Trump were killed, the transfer of power to his successor is governed by the 25th Amendment and the Presidential Succession Act of 1947. Vice President JD Vance instantaneously would become commander in chief and have authority for any retaliation.
Under such a scenario, Vance could do exactly what Trump called for, though there also is a chance he could decide not to follow his predecessor's orders — or offer a direct response in a different way.
“The U.S. has, for a whole variety of reasons, never utilized a technical ‘dead man’s switch,'” said Garrett M. Graff, author of “Raven Rock: The Story of the U.S. Government’s Secret Plan to Save Itself -- While the Rest of Us Die.”
Qatar's former ruler Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani has died at age 74, state news agency says
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who as ruler of Qatar transformed the tiny Persian Gulf nation into a global player in diplomacy, media and investment, and then shattered tradition by voluntarily turning over power to his son, has died, state media reported. He was 74.
The state-run Qatar News Agency reported his death. It offered no cause.
Sheikh Hamad, who stepped down in June 2013 after 18 years as emir, was the architect of energy-rich Qatar’s stunning ambitions that turned it from a backwater into an international crossroads in less than a generation. Qatar owns the Harrod’s department store in London and founded the powerful Al Jazeera satellite news network.
Qatar’s political reach today stretches from North Africa to Afghanistan and it hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the world’s most-watched soccer event. Sheikh Hamad, though long out of power, received thunderous applause from Qataris attending its opening match.
But Qatar’s rise under Sheikh Hamad also rankled regional and Western allies with its independent-minded policymaking, including its close ties to Shiite powerhouse Iran, the Palestinian militant Hamas group and Egypt’s outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.
Typhoon Bavi weakens but brings strong winds and rain to China as more than 2 million evacuated
BEIJING (AP) — Typhoon Bavi weakened to a severe tropical storm after making landfall in eastern China's Zhejiang province but was still bringing strong winds and heavy rain to eastern China on Sunday.
It weakened early Sunday with maximum sustained winds of around 101 kph (63 mph) near its center, according to China’s national weather center, and is expected to move northwestward across eastern China.
Bavi passed north of Taiwan on Saturday but did not make a direct landfall. Taiwan’s fire department said at least 134 people across the island were injured as of 7 a.m. Sunday, some sustaining injuries while riding motorcycles or bicycles under strong winds or due to slippery road surfaces.
Strong winds and heavy rain are expected to impact many eastern Chinese cities on Sunday, China’s National Meteorological Center said.
Shanghai evacuated more than 290,000 people from at-risk areas, state media reported. Authorities in Zhejiang evacuated about 2.2 million residents, while Fujian province evacuated over 180,000 people.
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Shooting near Toronto street festival kills 2 people and wounds 4, police say
TORONTO (AP) — A shooting near a Toronto street festival killed two men and wounded four other people Saturday evening, police said, adding that what initially prompted an active-shooter warning was an exchange of gunfire between two people targeting each other.
Toronto Police Deputy Chief Frank Barredo said investigators recovered two firearms after the shooting that was reported at 8:12 p.m. near St. Clair Avenue West and Arlington Avenue, where the Salsa on St. Clair festival was underway.
No suspect or suspects had been arrested by the time of a late-night news conference, where Barredo confirmed both of the deceased victims were men.
Officers initially urged the public to avoid the area before later announcing the scene had been secured.
“There was some concern about an active shooter. That turned out not to be the case,” Barredo said. But the two gunmen involved in the shooting “indiscriminately put vast numbers of people in danger.”
Vietnam police detain captain after speedboat capsizing kills 15 Indian tourists
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnamese police detained Sunday the captain of a speedboat that capsized off southern Vietnam, killing 15 Indian tourists.
The speedboat was carrying 32 Indian tourists and four Vietnamese crew members when it overturned less than half a kilometer (0.30 mile) from shore Saturday afternoon, shortly after leaving Hon May Rut Ngoai island near Phu Quoc, Vietnam’s largest island, authorities said.
The captain, Nguyen Hong Hai, 57, is under investigation for alleged violations of waterway transport safety regulations, state media reported.
Sixteen survivors of Saturday’s speedboat accident have been discharged from the hospital and are returning to India, the Indian Embassy in Hanoi said on social media Sunday. One remains in critical condition in a Vietnamese hospital.
The bodies of the victims were being transported to Ho Chi Minh City before being flown to India after official formalities, according to the embassy.
Focus turns to building stronger institutions in Africa to speed shift to renewable energy
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Africa’s biggest clean energy challenge is shifting from building projects to building the institutions, markets and regulatory systems needed to deliver them at scale, experts say.
That challenge is emerging even as clean energy reaches a historic milestone globally. Renewables generated 34% of the world’s electricity in 2025, overtaking coal’s 33% share. Together with nuclear power, renewables are expected to provide half of global electricity by 2030.
As industrialization, artificial intelligence and electrification push demand higher, experts say the bottleneck in transitioning to cleaner energy has shifted from technology to the systems supporting it, including funding. Overcoming such obstacles is vital for securing access to power for the 600 million people in Africa who are yet to be connected.
“Clean energy is now cheaper than fossil fuels in virtually every part of the world,” former New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, the U.N. Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions, said in late June while announcing a new $285 million Bloomberg Philanthropies initiative to strengthen clean energy industries in emerging and developing economies.
“But fixable obstacles are still slowing down deployment, and with energy demand rising at an unprecedented speed, we can’t allow those obstacles to continue standing in the way,” he said.
Alvarez’s 112th-minute goal helps lift Argentina past Switzerland 3-1 and into World Cup semifinals
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Perhaps it is in Argentina's character that the reigning World Cup champion always finds a way to win.
Perhaps it is simply its ability to suffer.
Whether it was tiny Cape Verde taking them to extra time, or Egypt burying them in a two-goal hole late in their match, Lionel Messi and La Albiceleste have always been able to survive. And that was the case once more on Saturday night, when Julián Alvarez's long-range strike in the 112th minute and Lautaro Martínez's finish later in extra time sent them back to the semifinals with a thrilling 3-1 victory over Switzerland at raucous Arrowhead Stadium.
“We’re among the best four,” Alvarez said, “so we’re meeting our objectives, and we knew it wasn’t going to be easy. The whole match was hard, and we would have loved to have the win earlier, but we tried to get the win however we could.”
“It seems like if there’s no suffering, it doesn’t count,” Argentina’s Leandro Paredes added, “but as long as the results come through.”
Conor McGregor suffers early knee injury in return, loses to Max Holloway at UFC 329
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Conor McGregor’s return against Max Holloway at UFC 329 ended unceremoniously at just 1:09 of the first round Saturday night because of a knee injury.
Fighting for the first time in more than five years, McGregor flew across the ring with a flying left roundhouse kick when the match started and landed awkwardly on his right knee.
After attempting to kick and strike Holloway (28-9-0) two more times, it was clear McGregor (22-7-0) couldn’t finish the scheduled five-round welterweight bout.
“My head gasket is gone. Destroyed," McGregor said on social media. “I had no injury / injuries going into the fight. I was throwing kicks, planted and jumping, all throughout camp as well as backstage before the fight. This came out of nowhere. I am beyond dark here. I can only describe it as hell.”
Asked if there may have been an existing injury, UFC President Dana White said there were no signs of it Friday at the ceremonial weigh-in.

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