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How the AP decided to describe joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, and Iran’s retaliation, as a war

Then, when actual war breaks out, people might not understand its significance.What are previous examples of conflicts where the AP issued guidance to use the word ‘war’?The AP provided guidance on the attacks on Iran by Israel in June 2025, using the term “war” to describe the conflict in the days after the initial attacks and Iran’s retaliation. The war lasted 12 days, and Israeli and American strikes greatly weakened Iran’s air defenses, military leadership and nuclear program.The AP also beg

‘One Battle After Another,’ ‘Sinners’ face off at Actor Awards in final pre-Oscars showdown

With two weeks to go until the Academy Awards, the 32nd Actor Awards on Sunday will be the final pre-Oscars showdown for “One Battle After Another” and “Sinners.”Formerly known as the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the newly renamed Actor Awards are one of the most closely watched precursors. Actors make up the largest slice of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and their choices at the Actor Awards often align.The ceremony, presented by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of T

‘Police are not a high priority for them’: Jake questions lack of police hiring from $100M grant

Included in Washington Governor Bob Ferguson’s budget agenda is a $100 million grant for police hiring, though it has not been used effectively, as zero new officers have been hired.Jake Skorheim and Spike O’Neill, co-hosts of “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio, pointed to the lack of hiring numbers as a result of lawmakers viewing law enforcement as a low priority.“To me, it feels more like the police are not a high priority for them,” Jake said. &#8

‘It is hard to make a living’: Gee labels housing costs are pushing Americans abroad at record rates

People are leaving the U.S. at record rates. For the first time since the Great Depression, the U.S. experienced a net negative migration in 2025 with an estimated 150,000 more departures than arrivals.Gee Scott and Ursula Reutin, co-hosts of “<a href="https://mynorthwest.com/gee-and-ursula" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Gee and Ursula Show</a>” on KIRO Newsradio, explained why they believe more and more Americans, young or old, have been moving out of the country as of late.“I’ll tell you why people are moving out of the United States. When you have an opportunity to get outside of your bubble, and you have an opportunity to travel to all parts of the world, you start to realize the world is a big place. I don’t have to stay in this area for my entire life,” Gee said. “There are youngsters who have a chance to go to New Zealand and go out and visit and see the world.“If you’re living here in Washington state, it is hard to make a living. Housing Affordability is real,” Gee continued. “There are other places in the world where you don’t have the rat race, and some people feel that, and some people are like, ‘You know what? It just makes sense for me.’ And I think we’re seeing more of that.”Urusla noted that she can see the appeal for people having the desire to move out of the country, excluding any political beliefs, but solely prioritizing the chance to see new parts of the world.“I think this is a beautiful thing. I appreciate that you didn’t go straight to, well, it’s all about the politics. For some people, it probably is about the politics. I think it goes beyond that,” Ursula said. “All of a sudden, especially a lot of younger people, are saying, Why do I have to stay here? For me personally, I look forward to retiring in this country. We only have a short amount of time here on Earth, and we have this beautiful world and different places we can live. I think it’s awesome. I think it’s especially cool that younger people are saying I’m going to adventure out.Watch the full discussion in the video above.Listen to Gee and Ursula on <a href="https://mynorthwest.com/gee-and-ursula" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“The Gee and Ursula Show”</a> weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.

‘Numbers don’t lie, people do’: Advocate questions King County’s $1B budget discrepancy

Altheimer’s latest grievance was over a massive discrepancy in the Department of Community and Health Services audit, which previously was allocated $17 million for juvenile diversion, but the audit has since expanded to $1.8 billion.Altheimer joined “The John Curley Show” on KIRO Newsradio to detail his concerns over the legitimacy of the new ordinance, how it may be a potential waste of taxpayer dollars, and why he has a personal passion for diving into the statistics.“

‘Don’t look sloppy’: Jake, Spike respond to backlash over airport banning pajamas

Tampa International Airport has already successfully banned Crocs for travelers coming through its airport, but now its sights are set on banning pajamas for passengers.Jake Skorheim and Spike O’Neill, co-hosts of “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio, both praised the airport’s decision to crack down on the dress code, noting that those at fault lack self-awareness and disrespect those around them.“I love authority with backbone and spine. First off, the soci

Afghanistan says it thwarted a Pakistani airstrike attempt on Bagram Air Base

But several rounds of peace talks in Turkey in November failed to produce a lasting agreement, and the two sides have occasionally traded fire since then.On Sunday, the police headquarters of Parwan province, where Bagram is located, said in a statement that several Pakistani military jets had entered Afghan airspace “and attempted to bomb Bagram Air Base” at around 5 a.m. The statement said Afghan forces responded with “anti-aircraft and missile defense systems” and had managed to thwart the at

Trump talks regime change in Iran after strikes, but history shows that could be very hard

<block>Barely an hour after the first U.S. and Israeli missiles struck Iran, President Donald Trump made clear he hoped for regime change. “Now is the time to seize control of your destiny,” he told the Iranian people in a video. “This is the moment for action. Do not let it pass.”Doesn’t sound complicated. After all, with Iran’s fundamentally unpopular government weakened by fierce airstrikes, some of its top leaders dead or missing and Washington signaling support, how hard could it be to overthrow a repressive regime? Possibly very hard. So says history. Washington has a long, complicated past when it comes to regime change. There was Vietnam in the 1960s and 70s, and Panama in 1989. There was Nicaragua in the 1980s, Iraq and Afghanistan in the years after 9/11, and Venezuela just weeks ago.There was also Iran. In 1953, the CIA helped engineer a coup that toppled Iran’s democratically elected leader and gave near-absolute power to Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. But as with the shah, who was overthrown in Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution after decades of increasingly unpopular rule, regime change rarely goes as planned.Attempts to usher in U.S.-friendly governments often start with clear intentions, whether hope for democracy in Iraq or backing an anti-Communist leader in Congo at the Cold War’s height. But often those intentions stumble into a political quagmire where democratic dreams turn into civil war, once-compliant dictators become embarrassments and American soldiers return home in body bags. That history has long been a Trump talking point. “We must abandon the failed policy of nation building and regime change,” he said in 2016.“In the end, the so-called ‘nation-builders’ wrecked far more nations than they built,” he said in a 2025 speech in Saudi Arabia, deriding U.S. efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq. The “interventionists were intervening in complex societies that they did not even understand.”Now, after Saturday’s actions, a key question emerges: Does today’s U.S. government understand what it’s getting into?<hl2>It’s unclear what regime change would even mean</hl2>Iran’s economy is in shambles and dissent remains strong even after a brutal January crackdown on protests left thousands of people dead and tens of thousands under arrest. Many of the nation’s key military proxies and allies — Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Assad government in Syria — have been weakened or eliminated. And early Sunday, Iranian state media confirmed Israel and the United States had killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.The United States hasn’t laid out a postwar vision and doesn’t necessarily even want a complete overthrow of the Iranian leadership. As in Venezuela, it may already have potential allies in the government willing to step into a power vacuum.“But there’s a lot that needs to happen between now and a possible scenario along these lines,” said Jonathan Schanzer, executive director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington think tank that is deeply critical of the Iranian government. “There needs to be a sense that there is no salvation for the regime as such, and that they will need to work with the United States.”In a country where the core leaders are deeply united by ideology and religion, that may be extremely difficult. “The question to my mind right now is have we been able to penetrate the ranks of the regime that are not true believers that are more pragmatic,” Schanzer said. “Because I don’t believe that the true believers will flip.”It’s simply too early to know if — or how much — the political winds are shifting in Tehran. The leaders who come next could turn out to be equally repressive or seen domestically as an illegitimate U.S. stooge.“We’ll see whether elements of the regime start moving against each other,” said Phillips O’Brien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. “Air power can damage a leadership,” he said. “But it can’t guarantee that you’ll bring in something new.”<hl2>US intervention in Latin America has a long history</hl2>In Latin America, Washington’s history of intervention in goes back a long way — to when President James Monroe claimed the hemisphere as part of the U.S. sphere of influence more than 200 years ago.If the Monroe Doctrine began as a way to keep European countries out of the region, by the 20th century it was justifying everything from coups in Central America to the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in 1961. Very often, historians say, that intervention led to violence, bloodshed and mass human rights violations. Therein, they say, lies a lesson.Direct U.S. involvement has rarely “resulted in long-term democratic stability,” said Christopher Sabatini, a senior fellow for Latin America at the London think tank Chatham House. He points to Guatemala, where U.S. intervention in the 1950s led to a civil war that didn’t end for 40 years and left more than 200,000 people dead.Or there’s Nicaragua, where backing of the Contra rebels against the Sandinista government in the 1980s contributed to a prolonged civil conflict that devastated the economy, caused tens of thousands of deaths and deepened political polarization.While large-scale, overt U.S. involvement in the region mostly petered out after the Cold War, Trump has rekindled the legacy. Since assuming office last year, Trump launched boat strikes against alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean, ordered a naval blockade on Venezuelan oil exports and got involved in electoral politics in Honduras and Argentina. Then, on Jan. 3, U.S. forces captured Venezuelan strongman leader Nicolás Maduro, flying him to the U.S. to face drug and weapons charges.What followed in Caracas may signal what the White House hopes will happen in Tehran. Many observers thought the U.S. would back María Corina Machado, who has long been the face of political resistance in Venezuela. Instead, Washington effectively sidelined her and has repeatedly shown a willingness to work with President Delcy Rodríguez, who had been Maduro’s second-in-command.“There are those who could claim that what we did in Venezuela is not regime change,” said Schanzer, at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “The regime is still in place. There’s just one person that’s missing.”___Tim Sullivan has reported from more than 35 countries for The Associated Press since 1993. Danica Kirka in London and Eléonore Hughes in Rio de Janeiro contributed to this report.</block>

The Latest: Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei killed in US-Israeli attack

Embassy.Gunshots were heard and smoke was seen rising in the area, according to AP footage.Qatar says 8 people wounded in Iranian attacks early SundayQatar’s Interior Ministry said eight people were wounded early Sunday in Iranian attacks on the country, raising the total number of those wounded since strikes began the day before to 16.The ministry said attacks also caused “limited” material damages.It urged people in Qatar to stay home and only go out in case of emergency and keep roads open fo

World leaders urge return to talks after US and Israeli strikes kill Iranian leader Ali Khamenei

BRUSSELS (AP) — World leaders urged peace and a return to talks as the military strikes by the United States and Israel on Iran raised concerns about whether the violence could spread across the region and tensions rose with Iran vowing devastating blows after the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.A massive explosion rocked the Iranian capital on Sunday morning as the Israeli military said it was targeting the “heart” of the city after stating it cleared the path to Tehran

Trump’s Medicaid work mandates are meant to save money. But first states will have to spend millions

And states are still waiting on federal rules — not due until June — to define some of the exceptions to the work requirements, such as how to determine who qualifies as “medically frail.”States face extra pressure to get it right because the federal government will start penalizing states with too many Medicaid payment errors in October 2029.States will be angling for extra federal moneyCongress guaranteed all states a share of the $200 million allotted for Medicaid work and eligibility changes

US Senate candidates in Texas make final pitches to voters ahead of Tuesday’s primary

<block>AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A heated U.S. Senate race in Texas entered its final stretch on Sunday with candidates on both sides of the aisle making final pitches to voters ahead of Tuesday’s primary, the nation’s first big contest of the 2026 midterm elections.Incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn is trying to hold on to the seat he has held since first being elected in 2002, but finds himself in the toughest race of his long career against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt.“Complacency is a killer,” Cornyn told voters Saturday at a seafood restaurant in The Woodlands, a Houston suburb. “It kills relationships. It kills careers.”Democrats haven’t won a Senate race in Texas since 1988, but they see an opening this year to help boost their long-shot hopes of recapturing a Senate majority, especially if Republicans nominate Paxton, who is popular with MAGA voters but has had years of legal problems.On the Democratic side, state Rep. James Talarico, a self-described policy wonk who emphasizes his crossover appeal to Republicans, faces U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a rhetorical brawler on Capitol Hill who received a high-profile endorsement Friday from former Vice President Kamala Harris. Candidates and political groups are pouring money into the race at a record pace, partly fueled by Talarico’s fundraising and allies of Cornyn trying to save his long career.Heading into Tuesday’s primary elections, the cost of advertising and reserved advertising time had topped $110 million, the most ever for a Senate primary, according to the <a href="https://x.com/AdImpact_Pol/status/2025963819781005342">ad-tracking firm AdImpact</a>. A late visit to Texas on Friday by President Donald Trump, who used the Port of Corpus Christi as a backdrop for a speech highlighting energy production, drew all of the top Republican U.S. Senate candidates. And while Trump said Friday he’s “pretty much” decided whom to endorse, he declined to name who he’ll actually support.“We have a great attorney general, Ken Paxton. Where’s Ken? Hi, Ken,” Trump said. He continued, “And we have a great senator, John Cornyn. Hi, John.”Noting that they’re in a “little bit of a race,” Trump added: ’It’s going to be an interesting one, right? They’re both great people.” Despite his long career in Texas politics, Paxton has painted himself as a Washington outsider and a staunch supporter of Trump.“I’m not going up to Washington, D.C., to join the swamp club,” Paxton said at a campaign event in Fort Worth. “I will go up there and fight for you.”</block>

See photos from the NAACP Image Awards, a celebration of Black excellence in arts and culture

<block>PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Stars are gathering for the final night of the NAACP Image Awards, where “Sinners” is the leading film nominee.The Image Awards crown winners over multiple nights in a variety of categories including film, television, music, books and more. The ceremony is being held Saturday and is one of the final stops on Hollywood’s awards season and comes near the end of Black History Month in the U.S.___This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.</block>

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who led the Islamic Republic since 1989, is dead at 86

Diplomatic efforts to restore the deal under President Joe Biden stalled.In a March 2011 speech, Khamenei used toppled Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, who had given up his own nuclear program years earlier, as an example of why Iran’s nuclear program remained so important in the wake of the Arab Spring upheavals in the Middle East. “Just the way you give a lollipop to a child, Westerners gave ‘incentives’ to them and they gave up everything,” Khamenei said. Protests and demands for change inten

Trump was once wary of ordering regime change in Iran. Here’s what made him change his mind

Administration officials told reporters that they offered Iran many ways to have a peaceful nuclear program that could be used for civilian purposes, including an offer of free nuclear fuel in perpetuity.But the officials, who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said it was clear to them that Iran wanted enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon. One of them said that Iran has met their offers with “games, tricks, stall tactics.”The order to launch strikes ca

Trump’s ‘America First’ campaign battle cry gives way to military strikes abroad

<block>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump, whose fierce denunciation of military adventurism abroad fueled his unlikely rise to the top of the Republican Party, risks becoming ensnared by that very type of conflict. The U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran Saturday cemented Trump’s decade-long transformation from a candidate who in 2016 called the Iraq War a “big, fat mistake” to a president warning Americans to prepare for potential casualties overseas and encouraging Iranians to “seize control of your destiny.” The strikes were also at odds with Trump’s warnings during the 2024 campaign that his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris, was surrounded by “war hawks” eager to send troops overseas. Trump justified the action as necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons or developing missiles capable of reaching the US, less than a year after he said airstrikes “obliterated” their capability. US intelligence has also said Iran’s weapons capability was substantially degraded. For Trump, memories of the false pretenses underlying the Iraq War could lead to pressure to prove his assertion that Iran’s weapons production posed an imminent threat to Americans. And for Republicans already facing a challenging election year weighed down by economic anxiety, the shift could force a reassessment of how the attacks fit into the “America First,” isolationist-leaning movement the party has embraced during the Trump era.While Trump might benefit from an early rally-around-the-flag effect, that could be hard to sustain for weeks and months, if not longer, a far different scenario from the swift effort to remove Nicolás Maduro from power earlier this year in Venezuela.Success on day one is one thing. The days after are inherently unpredictable. “The question is whether Iran’s goal is simply to outlast America and whether Trump has strategic attention deficit disorder, which will allow the Iranians to rise from the ashes and claim victory,” said Michael Rubin, a historian at the American Enterprise Institute who worked as a staff adviser on Iran and Iraq at the Pentagon from 2002 to 2004. <hl2>Many Republicans get behind Trump</hl2>Many Republicans were quick to line up behind the president, including Texas Sen. John Cornyn and state attorney general Ken Paxton, who are fighting a competitive Senate primary election on Tuesday. “Hopefully lives will not be lost needlessly, but this always entails risk,” Cornyn said Saturday at a campaign stop near Houston. “But we know that Iran will not stop unless the United States and our allies stop them.”Others, like Sen. Todd Young of Indiana, praised the military and were critical of Iran while noting that Americans will have questions that “must be answered.” And there was outright opposition from some who have long criticized overseas entanglements, including Sen. Rand Paul, the Republican of Kentucky, who lamented the start of “another preemptive war.” Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Georgia Republican who was once a close Trump ally, rejected the president’s warning of Iran’s nuclear capabilities.“It’s always a lie and it’s always America Last,” she wrote online. “But it feels like the worst betrayal this time because it comes from the very man and the admin who we all believed was different.”<hl2>Little advance preparation for Americans</hl2>The administration did little in advance to prepare Americans for such a dramatic action. Vice President JD Vance told The Washington Post this week there was “no chance” that the U.S. would become involved in a drawn-out war as it did in Iraq. During his State of the Union speech on Tuesday, Trump dedicated just a few lines to Iran, arguing the country and its proxies have “spread nothing but terrorism, death and hate.”That stands in stark contrast to the lengthy runup to the Iraq War. President George W. Bush, for example, named Iraq as a member of the so-called axis of evil in January 2002. Then-Secretary of State Colin Powell delivered a now-infamous speech to the United Nations in February 2003, making the case for war based on the inaccurate assertion that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. The invasion, which ultimately dominated Bush’s second term, didn’t begin until March 2003. “We just have to be honest that there is a sense that this was not sold to the American public sufficiently,” Andrew Kolvet said Saturday on “The Charlie Kirk Show,” an online program founded by the late conservative activist who was close to Trump. “Perhaps there will be an opportunity on the backend of this.”Kolvet was willing, however, to give Trump leeway, noting these are the types of challenging decisions presidents are entrusted with.“President Trump has earned a big, long leash,” he said. “Not an unlimited one. But a very long one to make tough decisions.”Polling suggests that many Americans share Trump’s concerns about Iran’s nuclear capabilities, even if they’re less confident in the president’s response. About half of U.S. adults were “extremely” or “very” concerned that Iran’s nuclear program poses a direct threat to the U.S., according to a poll this month from <a href="https://apnorc.org/projects/trust-in-trumps-decision-making-on-the-use-of-military-force-overseas-is-low/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research</a>. Most Americans, 61%, said Iran is an “enemy” of the U.S., which is up slightly from a <a href="https://apnorc.org/projects/many-view-the-war-in-afghanistan-and-its-key-goals-as-unsuccessful/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pearson Institute/AP-NORC poll</a> conducted in September 2023. But their confidence in the president’s judgment when it comes to relationships with adversaries and the use of military force abroad is low, the new poll shows, with only about 3 in 10 Americans saying they have “a great deal” or “quite a bit” of trust in Trump.<hl2>Democrats sense an opening</hl2>Democrats sense a political opening on the issue. In Maine, Gov. Janet Mills and Graham Platner are competing for the Democratic nomination to challenge incumbent Sen. Susan Collins in the fall. They both issued statements on Saturday pressing Collins, the only Republican on the ballot this year in a state won by Harris, to step up her oversight of the administration.Collins was one of three Senate Republicans who backed an unsuccessful push last month for a war powers resolution that would have limited Trump’s ability to conduct further attacks on Venezuela. Democrats said Saturday they would quickly seek a vote on a similar proposal for Iran. “If we’ve started a war where we begin to lose American lives, that starts changing the political calculus,” said Republican strategist Ron Bonjean.But he noted that Democrats have vulnerabilities of their own, particularly if there’s a domestic terror attack while the Department of Homeland Security is closed as they demand changes to how immigration operations are conducted.For now, Trump isn’t offering much of a detailed strategy on what comes next. In a social media post Saturday evening, he said bombings could continue “as long as necessary.”___Associated Press writer Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City contributed to this report. </block>

UN chief condemns US-Israeli attacks on Iran. He will soon brief the Security Council

He said Iran was exercising its right to self-defense under the charter in response.He urged the council members “to take the necessary and immediate measures to halt this unlawful use of force and to ensure accountability.” And he called for an unequivocal condemnation of “this act of aggression … as it undoubtedly poses an unprecedented threat to regional as well as global peace and security.”In a joint statement, the leaders of Britain and France — both veto-wielding members of the council —

A look at Iran’s key political and religious figures

<block>The U.S. and Israel launched a major attack on U.S. President Donald Trump called on the Iranian public to “seize control of your destiny” by rising up against the Islamic leadership that has ruled the nation since 1979.After assassinating several top Iranian military officials and nuclear scientists, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei could be next, and that doing so could topple Tehran’s entire leadership.There was no immediate information on whether top Iranian officials were killed. Even if Iran’s top leaders were killed, regime change is not guaranteed.Here is a look at Iran’s top political and spiritual leaders.<hl2>Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei </hl2>In 1989, Khamenei became Iran’s supreme leader after the death of Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Khamenei played an important role in the movement that overthrew Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in the 1979 revolution. The 86-year-old Khamenei is Iran’s commander-in-chief, who has the final say on all policy and religious matters. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, the force that safeguards the Islamic Republic, answers directly to him.Khamenei has been in charge during previous crackdowns on protesters in Iran. He recently said Iran was ready to retaliate against any American attack. One of the first strikes Saturday hit near Khamenei’s offices. It wasn’t immediately clear where Khamenei was at the time; he hadn’t been seen for days.<hl2>President Masoud Pezeshkian</hl2> <hl2/>The president of Iran is broadly seen as a reformist. A former heart surgeon, Pezeshkian took office on July 28, 2024. The president is the second-highest ranking official in Iran, acting as the head of government that handles daily administration, economic policy and implements the Supreme Leader’s decrees. Iranians elect a president and parliament for four-year terms. <hl2>Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi</hl2>Iran’s foreign minister is a longtime diplomat and was a key negotiator in the now-defunct 2015 nuclear deal. He was appointed on August 21, 2024.Days before Saturday’s attack, Araghchi warned that a conflict with the U.S. would be “a devastating war” and reiterated Tehran’s interest in a peaceful solution ahead of this week’s high-stakes talks.<hl2>Khamenei Adviser on Public Policy Ali Larijani</hl2>Larijani hails from one of Iran’s most famous political families. A former parliamentary speaker and senior policy adviser, he was appointed to advise Khamenei on strategy in nuclear talks with the Trump administration. In January, the U.S. imposed a new round of sanctions against Iranian officials, including Larijani, who were accused of repressing nationwide protests challenging Iran’s theocratic government.The U.S. Treasury Department accused him of being one of the first officials to call for violence against Iranian protesters.<hl2>Chief Justice Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehi </hl2>A conservative jurist and hard-line prosecutor, Mohseni Ejehi has been chief justice since 2021. He is widely regarded as a Khamenei loyalist.Mohseni Ejehi was quoted by state media in January as saying that there would be “no leniency” for those behind the wave of unrest.<hl2>Head of Assembly of Experts Mohammad-Ali Movahedi Kermani </hl2>Movahedi Kermani is the head of the 88-seat clerical body responsible for appointing the next Supreme Leader. The Assembly of Experts is Iran’s version of the Vatican’s College of Cardinals.<hl2>Secretary of Guardian Council Ahmad Jannati</hl2>Jannati is the de facto leader of Iran’s Guardian Council, a 12-member body that vets candidates for office as well as legislation, and rules out individuals it believes are incompatible with Iran’s Islamic theocratic system. It consists of six Islamic theologians and six legal experts.The council can disqualify presidential candidates who are perceived as not being aligned with the Supreme Leader.<hl2>Khamenei’s Chief of Staff Mohammad Golpayegani</hl2>Golpayegani is an Islamic cleric and longtime confidante of Khamenei. He heads the Supreme Leader’s office. <hl2>Khamenei Adviser on International Affairs Ali Akbar Velayati</hl2>A physician by training, Velayati was previously Iran’s foreign minister, and is a top adviser to Khamenei on international affairs. He is involved in the country’s nuclear policy. <hl2>Khamenei Adviser on Foreign Policy Kamal Kharazi</hl2>Kharazi is a trusted adviser to Khamenei on foreign policy, especially during the recent nuclear talks with Washington. A former diplomat and foreign minister, Kharazi previously represented Iran at the United Nations. He has held numerous governmental, diplomatic and academic posts.<hl2>First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref</hl2> <hl2/>Aref is considered the highest-ranking reformist in the executive branch of Iran’s government. He serves as the primary deputy to the president and leads cabinet meetings when the president is absent. He liaises between the president and parliament. <hl2>Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf </hl2>A former mayor of Tehran and Revolutionary Guard general, Ghalibaf was re-elected parliamentary speaker on May 27, 2025. He is a conservative politician who was linked to student crackdowns in 1999 and 2003.<hl2>Tehran Friday Prayer Imam Ahmad Khatami</hl2>Khatami belongs to Iran’s 12-member Guardian Council and is an influential prayer leader and religious figure loyal to the Supreme Leader. He is a member of Iran’s Assembly of Experts and has long been known for his hard-line views. In January, Khatami called for the death penalty for protesters detained in a nationwide crackdown, and described those taking part in the unrest as “butlers” of Netanyahu and “Trump’s soldiers.” <hl2>Son of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei </hl2>Khamenei’s second-eldest son is a mid-ranking cleric and the Supreme Leader’s rumored successor. He has close ties with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. Mojtaba served in the armed forces during the Iran-Iraq war, and is said to wield influence behind the scenes as his father’s gatekeeper.<hl2/> <hl2/> </block>

Photos show global reaction to US and Israeli strikes

<block>Demonstrators took to the streets in cities around the world after the United States and Israel launched a major strike on Iran.Many rallies voiced strong support for the military action, while opposing protests condemned the attacks and warned of wider regional consequences.___This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.</block>

Cher’s son charged with simple assault and trespassing at New Hampshire private school

<block>CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Police say Cher’s son was arrested on Friday after acting belligerently at a New Hampshire private high school, of which he has no association.Elijah Allman, 49, was charged with four misdemeanors: two counts of simple assault, criminal trespass and criminal threatening. Allman, whose father was the late Gregg Allman, was also charged with a violation of disorderly conduct, which is illegal in the state but not considered a crime. At about 7 p.m. that day, Concord police responded to reports that Allman was disturbing people in the dining hall of St. Paul’s School. After charging Allman, police said he was released on bail as his case works through the court system. Attorney information for Allman was not available in court records.A representative for Cher was not immediately available. St. Paul’s School declined to comment.An investigation is ongoing. </block>