U.S. Strikes Iran After Cargo Ship Attack In Hormuz

SALT LAKE CITY - Nicholas Rossi, the fugitive who faked his own death and fled to Scotland, has died in a Utah prison months after his 2025 rape conviction. The Utah Department of Corrections said he died Thursday night from complications of an existing medical condition after he stopped treatment. He was 38. A nurse treating him for Covid in 2021 recognized him and helped bring the case back to earth.

DUBAI - The U.N.'s International Maritime Organization paused its plan to evacuate more than 11,000 sailors from the Strait of Hormuz after a cargo ship was hit near Oman. UKMTO said the vessel sustained damage but no injuries were reported. Several boats had already been moved. Oil prices climbed, and the strait's fragile reopening just got a lot less convincing.

BRUSSELS - The Democratic Republic of Congo has taken Rwanda to the International Court of Justice, accusing it of backing armed groups and committing abuses in the east for nearly three decades. Separately, the US sanctioned Rwanda's Gasabo Gold Refinery and two executives, saying they helped move gold from rebel-held areas of Congo. Kigali has not responded. The case and the sanctions now put the same war on two legal tracks.

OUAGADOUGOU - Burkina Faso’s military government severed diplomatic ties with France on Friday, accusing Paris of acting against its interests and backing subversive networks in the Sahel. The junta, led by Captain Ibrahim Traore since a 2022 coup, said France had “neo-colonial ambitions” and was no longer dealing with Burkina Faso on terms of mutual respect. The break deepens a clean split with the former colonial power.

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court said President Donald Trump can end deportation protections for people from crisis-hit countries, opening the door to removal for about 350,000 Haitians and 7,000 Syrians. The ruling is another win for Trump’s border crackdown, and it comes as the administration also pushes to block some asylum seekers at the border. The next fight is over how far that power goes.

GREENBELT - Former Trump national security adviser John Bolton pleaded guilty Friday to one count of illegally retaining classified information, ending his fight over a case tied to notes he kept for a book. He faces up to five years in prison and a $2.25 million fine. Sentencing is set for October 28. Bolton told the judge, "I'm sorry for it."

AUSTIN - Texas public schools will require students to read Bible stories after the state education board approved a new reading list Friday, a move critics say blurs the line between church and state. The mandate covers more than 5 million students and starts rolling out in 2030. Supporters call it a return to Judeo-Christian tradition. Opponents call it government overreach with a Bible verse attached.

WASHINGTON - Pete Buttigieg said an anonymous false report kept him separated from his 4-year-old twins overnight after police treated it as a threat against his family. The former transportation secretary described the episode as a swatting attack, one of the uglier little rituals of modern political life. Nobody was hurt. The point was the fear.

CUPERTINO - Apple is raising prices on some MacBooks and iPads after saying AI demand has pushed memory and storage chip costs sharply higher. The MacBook Air and iPad Air are both up by about 20 percent in some markets, including Australia. Microsoft also lifted prices on some Xbox products, blaming the same chip squeeze. Apple has not touched the iPhone yet, which is probably the part investors are watching most closely.

NEW YORK - Biolife Solutions Inc. has drawn takeover interest from parties including diagnostics company Repligen Corp., according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The talks are still early, which is usually where deal chatter lives when nobody wants to say much on the record. Biolife makes products used to preserve cells and tissues, a niche business that tends to attract bigger players when they want more scale. Nothing is agreed yet, and the market is doing what it always does with thinly sourced M&A rumors: paying attention.

NEW YORK - The Mets fired Carlos Mendoza on Friday after a 34-47 start and a six-game skid, then handed the job to front office executive Andy Green for the rest of the season. President of baseball operations David Stearns said the club needed a change, but also said he does not expect a switch to flip. The players mostly blamed themselves. That was probably fair.

NEW YORK - The WNBA suspended Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas for one game after she made contact with her fist to Caitlin Clark’s throat in Wednesday’s game.

The league called it a non-basketball act and said the play, which came with 6:52 left in the second quarter, was upgraded on review to a Flagrant Foul 2. No foul was called live. Indiana coach Stephanie White said she was glad the league stepped in, but not thrilled it took a replay to get there.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Soccer has offered Mauricio Pochettino a contract extension that would keep him in charge through the 2030 World Cup cycle, according to multiple reports. The decision is not expected until after this tournament ends, and Pochettino’s current deal runs through the end of the 2026 World Cup. The U.S. has already reached the round of 32, which makes the timing feel very on brand for soccer bureaucracy.

CHICAGO - The Bear signs off the way it lived, with a kitchen on the edge and everyone talking over one another. The finale sends Carmy, Sydney and Richie through one last brutal service, complete with flooding, a fallen ceiling and a plate dropped at the worst possible moment. Then it does something gentler. The restaurant survives, Carmy finally lets Sydney lead, and the show remembers that the real story was never just the food. It was the people.

LOS ANGELES - Larry David is back on HBO, and this time he is playing selfish, petty men throughout history. Jeff Schaffer, his longtime collaborator, co-created *Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness* and directed all seven episodes. The sketch series, which premiered June 26, is executive produced by Barack Obama, who also appears in one sketch. Schaffer says David was never going to retire for good. "He's like a prostitute who has sex when he's not working," he said. That is one way to put it.

NEW YORK - Amazon Prime Day 2026 is in its final stretch, and the clock runs out tonight at 11:59 p.m. PST. That leaves a last chance to grab the kitchen gear, travel accessories, kids' toys and baby items still marked down across the sale.

The best deals are already thinning out, but a few editor-approved buys remain, including Vitamix blenders, All-Clad pans, Away suitcases and packing cubes. If you were waiting for a better time to buy the thing you were already going to buy, this is it. After tonight, the prices go back to normal, which is always rude.