U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed 鈥渆fforts to achieve a durable peace in the Middle East鈥� in talks at the Vatican on Thursday aimed at easing tensions following U.S. President Donald Trump鈥檚 criticisms of Pope Leo XIV.
Rubio met with Leo and then Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin in a visit that lasted 2陆 hours.
Also, Iran on ending , as Trump threatened the country with a new wave of bombing unless a deal is reached that includes reopening the crucial to international shipping. The developments followed from the Trump administration over its strategy to end the war.
Here’s the latest:
Democratic senators press US military on Israel鈥檚 evacuation zones, warning of legal risks
A group of Democratic U.S. senators have called for the U.S. Central Command to answer questions about American coordination with Israel in declaring broad 鈥� 鈥� in Lebanon and Iran, alleging the practice may violate international law.
The letter underlines how the Democratic Party 鈥� both its leaders and the base 鈥� has grown increasingly critical of Israel.
Since the beginning of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran and the latest in Lebanon, the Israeli military has regularly issued maps covering large areas of territory along with warnings telling all residents of the zones to flee. Israel had previously used a similar approach in Gaza.
The senators said the sweeping warnings have 鈥渂een used to permanently displace people and destroy homes and towns鈥� and that some civilians who refused to leave their homes in the areas have been killed by subsequent strikes.
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State Department official says high-level talks between Israel and Lebanon will resume in Washington
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss plans for the closed-door talks, said the meeting would take place next week on May 14 and 15. The official did not specify the venue but the previous two rounds have taken place at the State Department and the White House.
The earlier rounds were led by the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon and the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the United States, although Secretary of State Marco Rubio participated in both and President Trump greeted the participants at the second.
鈥� Matthew Lee
US imposes sanctions on Iraqi officials and firms over Iran ties
The U.S. Treasury Department announced new sanctions on an Iraqi oil official, several Iraqi firms and leaders of Iran-backed militias accused of helping Iran evade U.S. sanctions and finance militants.
The Treasury Department alleges that Iraq鈥檚 deputy oil minister, Ali Maarij Al-Bahadly, helped divert Iraqi oil and falsify documents so Iranian oil could be sold as Iraqi oil, benefiting Iran and allied militias.
鈥淭reasury will not stand idly by as Iran鈥檚 military exploits Iraqi oil to fund terrorism against the United States and our partners,鈥� Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement Thursday.
The Vatican says the pope and Rubio discussed the need to work for peace
The Vatican said the 鈥渘eed to work tirelessly in favor of peace鈥� was discussed in talks Thursday with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who came to Rome on a fence-mending visit after President Trump鈥檚 criticisms of Pope Leo XIV.
During Rubio鈥檚 meeting with Leo, and the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, 鈥渢he shared commitment to fostering good bilateral relations between the Holy See and the United States of America was reaffirmed,鈥� the Vatican said.
In a statement, the Vatican said the two sides then exchanged views on current events 鈥渨ith particular attention to countries marked by war, political tensions, and difficult humanitarian situations, as well as on the need to work tirelessly in favor of peace.鈥�
Legislative session on redistricting is underway in Tennessee
Republican lawmakers in Tennessee are debating a plan that could carve up a majority-Black congressional district, reshaping it to the GOP鈥檚 advantage as part of President Trump鈥檚 strategy to try to hold on to a slim House majority in the November midterm elections.
Protesters shouted 鈥淣o Jim Crow鈥� outside the House and Senate chambers as lawmakers convened to consider the legislation. The redistricting effort in Tennessee is one of several rapidly advancing plans in Southern states as Republicans try to leverage that weakened the federal Voting Rights Act.
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These numbers show the impact of Iran鈥檚 grip on the Strait of Hormuz
US stocks hold near their records as crude oil prices fall again
The U.S. stock market is holding near its records as oil prices keep dropping on hopes that a deal may be nearing to allow tankers to carry crude once again from the Persian Gulf.
The S&P 500 added 0.1% early Thursday to its all-time high set the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 193 points, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.1%.
DoorDash jumped after reporting better results than expected. Whirlpool tumbled after reporting much weaker results than expected. The seller of home appliances said it would raise prices by at least 10% for some of its offerings, while accelerating cost cuts.
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Chief Justice John Roberts says the Supreme Court is not political
justices are not 鈥減olitical actors,鈥� Chief Justice John Roberts said Wednesday, insisting unpopular court decisions are based solely on the law.
鈥淚 think, at a very basic level, people think we鈥檙e making policy decisions, we鈥檙e saying we think this is how things should be, as opposed to what the law provides,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think they view us as purely political actors, which I don鈥檛 think is an accurate understanding of what we do.鈥�
His remarks to a conference of judges and lawyers from the 3rd U.S. Circuit in Pennsylvania came at a time of in the court, and about a week after the court handed down a decision that hollowed out the Voting Rights Act.
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Tennessee poised to vote on new US House map sought by Trump that carves up Memphis
Republican lawmakers in Tennessee are poised to take up a plan Thursday that could carve up a majority-Black congressional district, reshaping it to the GOP鈥檚 advantage as part of President Trump鈥檚 strategy to try to hold on to a slim House majority in the November midterm elections.
The redistricting effort in Tennessee is one of several rapidly advancing plans in Southern states as Republicans try to leverage that weakened the federal Voting Rights Act.
The court ruled Louisiana when creating a second Black-majority House district as it attempted to comply with the federal law. The high court鈥檚 decision altered a decades-old understanding of the law, giving Republicans grounds to try to eliminate that have elected Democrats.
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Rubio鈥檚 Vatican talks included discussing efforts to achieve 鈥榙urable peace鈥� in the Middle East
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Pope Leo XIV and then Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin in a visit that lasted 2陆 hours.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said Rubio and Leo discussed the situation in the Middle East 鈥渁nd topics of mutual interest in the Western Hemisphere. The meeting underscored the strong relationship between the United States and the Holy See and their shared commitment to promoting peace and human dignity,鈥� he said.
In a separate statement about the Parolin meeting, Pigott said the two diplomats discussed 鈥渙ngoing humanitarian efforts in the Western Hemisphere and efforts to achieve a durable peace in the Middle East. The discussion reflected the enduring partnership between the United States and the Holy See in advancing religious freedom,鈥� the statement said.
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Trump, hoping for an eventual Supreme Court victory, seeks to halt $83M payment in sexual abuse case
Trump鈥檚 lawyer, hoping for an eventual Supreme Court victory, has asked a federal appeals court in New York to temporarily block a longtime columnist from collecting an .
The lawyer told the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a filing Tuesday to stay its decision supporting the award so that Trump won鈥檛 have to pay writer E. Jean Carroll while he appeals to the high court.
A Manhattan jury awarded Carroll the payout in January 2024. Another jury in May 2023 after concluding Trump sexually abused her in a Manhattan luxury department store dressing room in 1996 and then defamed her after she published her account of it in 2019.
Trump has vehemently denied or ever and has repeatedly accused her of making accusations against him for political purposes or to promote her memoir.
Attorney Roberta Kaplan, who represents Carroll, declined to comment through a spokesperson.
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Trump wants to paint the Eisenhower office building white. Now a key federal agency considers it
Trump鈥檚 proposal to put a coat of white paint on the exterior of a 19th-century historic landmark building next to the White House is slated for a hearing Thursday by a key federal agency, which he expects to approve what would be a dramatic makeover.
The National Capital Planning Commission is scheduled to begin considering the plan on Thursday, according to its meeting agenda. Trump calls for painting all or most of the Eisenhower building鈥檚 gray granite exterior with white paint. He last year called the gray a 鈥渞eally bad color.鈥�
But the proposal has alarmed preservationists, architects, historians and others who argue that granite is not meant to be painted and that paint would trap moisture, deteriorate the stone and not solve problems the administration wants to fix.
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Trump administration sows confusion as it tries to reopen Strait of Hormuz
The Trump administration鈥檚 approach to the Iran war over the past 24 hours has pinballed from declarations that a tenuous ceasefire was holding and military operations were over to the Islamic Republic.
Tuesday started with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth explaining how the U.S. military was so they could traverse the Strait of Hormuz.
That afternoon, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters at the White House that the military operation was 鈥渃oncluded鈥� and that . But in almost the same breath, he said Trump was still seeking a 鈥減ath of peace鈥� that required Iran to agree to a deal to reopen .
By Tuesday evening, Trump announced that to see if an agreement could be reached. Then on Wednesday morning, he again warned that bombing would resume if Tehran didn鈥檛 agree to U.S. terms.
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Iran reviewing US proposal as Trump pressures Tehran for agreement on deal to end war
Iran said it was reviewing the latest American proposals on ending , as Trump threatened the country with a new wave of bombing unless a deal is reached that includes reopening the crucial to international shipping.
Hope that the two-month conflict could soon end on Thursday, even as the U.S. military fired on an Iranian oil tanker attempting to breach an American blockade of Iran鈥檚 ports hours earlier. The developments followed from the Trump administration over its strategy to end the war.
Trump posted on social media that the two-month war could soon end and that oil and natural gas shipments disrupted by the conflict could restart. But he said that depends on Iran accepting a reported agreement that he did not detail.
鈥淚f they don鈥檛 agree, the bombing starts,鈥� Trump wrote.
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Rubio arrives for audience with Pope Leo XIV to ease tensions after Trump鈥檚 criticism over Iran
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio opened a fence-mending visit to the Vatican on Thursday after President Donald and the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran angered the Holy See and sparked ongoing sparring between the two American leaders.
Rubio, a practicing Catholic, had an audience scheduled with Leo, which was complicated at the last minute by . Leo has pushed back, calling out Trump鈥檚 misrepresentations of his views on Iran and nuclear weapons and insisting that he is merely preaching the biblical message of peace.
Rubio was also due to meet with the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who on the eve of his visit strongly defended Leo and criticized Trump鈥檚 attacks in understated diplomatic terms. 鈥淎ttacking him like that or criticizing what he does seems a bit strange to me, to say the least,鈥� Parolin said Wednesday.
Parolin said Washington had requested Rubio鈥檚 audience, and that the pope was open to continued dialogue.
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