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April 29, 2026
 

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Erin Banco
A woman walks past a billboard featuring an image of the late supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on a building in Tehran on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 29, 2026
U.S. spy agencies examine how Iran would react to Trump declaring victory
A quick de-escalation could ease political pressure on the U.S. president but also leave behind an emboldened Iran that could eventually threaten U.S. allies in the region.
Iran's grip on the Strait of Hormuz, the world¡¯s most vital oil artery, provides the only real leverage it has over the United States.
WORLD
Apr 4, 2026
U.S. intelligence warns Iran unlikely to ease Hormuz Strait chokehold soon
Tehran's grip on the world's most vital oil artery provides the only real leverage it has over Washington.
A Palestinian man climbs on the remnants of an Iranian missile that landed in the Israeli-occupied West Bank village of Hares on Tuesday.
WORLD
Mar 29, 2026
U.S. can only confirm about a third of Iran's missile arsenal destroyed
Iran's drone capability may be similarly depleted, according to one source.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset on the day of Trump's address in Jerusalem last October
WORLD
Mar 24, 2026
Trump OK'd Iran operation after Netanyahu argued for joint killing of Khamenei, sources say
The Israeli leader argued there might never be a better chance to kill the Iranian supreme leader and avenge previous efforts to assassinate Donald Trump.
Smoke rises following airstrikes near a cemetery in Tehran on Monday.
WORLD
Mar 19, 2026
U.S. weighs military reinforcements as Iran war enters possible new phase
The deployments could help provide Trump with additional options as he weighs expanding U.S. operations, with the Iran war well into its third week.
Shia Muslims holding portraits of slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and of his son, new Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, shout anti-U.S. and anti-Israel slogans during the Youm-e-Ali procession in Karachi on Wednesday, marking the anniversary of the death of Imam Ali, the son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 12, 2026
U.S. intelligence indicates Iranian government is not at risk of collapse, sources say
With political pressure building over soaring oil costs, U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested he will end the biggest American military operation since 2003 "soon."
Puerto Ricans line up at a U.S. voting booth in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 12, 2026
Trump¡¯s ¡®Stop the Steal¡¯ lawyer pushed for voter fraud evidence from U.S. intelligence agency
Some officials are attempting to prove the president's charges that the 2020 election was stolen, a claim repeatedly rejected by courts.
A Ukrainian soldier shoots during training at an undisclosed location in the country's Zaporizhzhia region on Jan. 30.
WORLD
Feb 7, 2026
U.S. aims for March peace deal in Ukraine followed by quick elections
Sources say that timeline is likely to slip given a lack of agreement between Russia and Ukraine on the key issue of territory.
Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello speaks at a rally in Caracas on Dec. 1.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 19, 2026
U.S. talks with hard-line Venezuelan minister Cabello began months before raid
Diosdado Cabello controls the country's security services and militant ruling-party supporters, and could threaten interim President Delcy Rodriguez's grip on power.
A destroyed anti-aircraft unit at La Carlota military airbase in Caracas is seen after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. struck the country and captured President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday.
WORLD / FOCUS
Jan 4, 2026
Mock house, CIA source and special forces: The U.S. operation to capture Maduro
The action came as a surprise, but planning for one of the most complex U.S. operations in recent memory had been in the works for months and included detailed rehearsals.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his annual end-of-year news conference, in Moscow on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 20, 2025
U.S. intelligence indicates Putin's war aims in Ukraine are unchanged
The reports present a starkly different picture from that painted by U.S. President Donald Trump and his Ukraine peace negotiators.
U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House in July 2024.
WORLD
Dec 13, 2025
U.S. briefly withheld some intelligence from Israel during Biden era
The decision came as worries intensified in the U.S. intelligence community about the number of civilians killed in Israel¡¯s military operations in Gaza.
A firefighter extinguishes a fire at the site of a Russian drone strike in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Nov. 19.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 26, 2025
U.S. peace plan for Ukraine drew from Russian document, sources say
The paper contained language that the Russian government had previously put forward at the negotiating table, including concessions that Ukraine had rejected.
Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev talks to U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff during a meeting in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on April 11.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 23, 2025
Trump officials¡¯ meeting with Russian envoy spurs questions about latest Ukraine plan
The meeting resulted in a 28-point plan for ending the war, sources said, that appears heavily tilted toward Russian interests.
Israeli soldiers walk out from a tunnel underneath the European Hospital in Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip on June 8.
WORLD
Nov 13, 2025
U.S. had intel on Israeli forces using human shields in Gaza, sources say
The U.S. intelligence gathered in the final months of 2024 raised questions inside the White House and the intelligence community about how widely the tactic was being used.
Palestinians walk amid the rubble of destroyed buildings in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, on Friday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Nov 8, 2025
U.S. intel found Israeli military lawyers warned there was evidence of Gaza war crimes
The previously unreported intelligence pointed to doubts within the Israeli military about the legality of its tactics in Gaza.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth looks on as President Donald Trump delivers remarks at the White House in Washington on March 21.
WORLD / Politics
May 7, 2025
Hegseth's order to cancel Ukraine weapons caught White House off guard
The story of how the flights were canceled points to an at-times haphazard policymaking process within the Trump administration.
U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 2, 2025
Trump ousts White House national security adviser Waltz, replacing him with Rubio
Waltz was blamed for adding the editor of The Atlantic to a private thread describing details of an imminent U.S. bombing campaign in Yemen.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on April 7.
WORLD
Apr 19, 2025
Israel still eyeing a limited attack on Iran's nuclear facilities
Israel has not ruled out an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities in the coming months despite a lack of U.S. support for now.
President Donald Trump said the United States will sign a minerals and natural resources deal with Ukraine soon.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 21, 2025
Trump says U.S. will sign Ukraine minerals deal soon
The U.S. president made the comments at a White House event after signing an order to increase U.S. production of critical minerals.
The Japanese dietitian who keeps the Blue Jays¡¯ engines running
Sports dietitian Yuka Sanui works behind the scenes to ensure Blue Jays players get the most out of their bodies when they step on the field.
Head of U.S. military in South Korea calls for ¡®kill web¡¯ linking Seoul, Tokyo and Manila
U.S. Army Gen. Xavier Brunson (center), commander of U.S. Forces Korea, walks on a pontoon bridge with U.S. and South Korean Army soldiers during a U.S.-South Korea joint river-crossing exercise, part of the annual Freedom Shield joint military training, near the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, in Yeoncheon, South Korea, on March 14.
Zoo employee admits to burning wife¡¯s body in incinerator
The incinerator at the Asahiyama Zoo in Hokkaido on Sunday
Magnitude 6.2 quake shakes Hokkaido
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake, measuring an upper 5 on Japan¡¯s seismic intensity scale, struck Hokkaido before 5:30 a.m. on Monday.
China holds live-fire drills in waters near Luzon as Japan joins military exercises in Philippines
Head of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Chief of Staff Romeo Brawner Jr., speaks during the opening ceremony of the U.S.-Philippines Balikatan joint military exercises, at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, Metro Manila, on Monday.
Head of U.S. military in South Korea calls for ¡®kill web¡¯ linking Seoul, Tokyo and Manila
U.S. Army Gen. Xavier Brunson (center), commander of U.S. Forces Korea, walks on a pontoon bridge with U.S. and South Korean Army soldiers during a U.S.-South Korea joint river-crossing exercise, part of the annual Freedom Shield joint military training, near the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, in Yeoncheon, South Korea, on March 14.
The Japanese dietitian who keeps the Blue Jays¡¯ engines running
Sports dietitian Yuka Sanui works behind the scenes to ensure Blue Jays players get the most out of their bodies when they step on the field.
The American chef reconnecting with Japan through a Kyoto restaurant
SoNoMa chef partner Kyle Connaughton (right) and chef de cuisine Keita Tominaga both have ties to Sonoma County in Northern California, the restaurant¡¯s namesake. Connaughton rose to prominence there with SingleThread, while Tominaga¡¯s father ran a Japanese restaurant in the region.
Inkonbini: Slice-of-life, cozy gaming from Japan¡¯s convenience stores
Alongside the simplified management of a convenience store, Inkonbini asks players to help a small cast of regular shoppers with not only their shopping but problems in their personal lives.
Japanese developers worry over construction supply shortages amid Iran war
Paul Nikel, President of West Canada Homes, with an increasingly rare supply of plastic foam

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Projects like the BuddhaBot aim to re-create dialogue once lost to time, raising questions about whether AI can extend the teachings of Buddha or merely simulate them.
Can AI replace a priest? Japan¡¯s temples and shrines are testing the limits.
By Alex K.T. Martin

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