The Associated Press

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday would be the most intense day yet of U.S. strikes inside Iran. The Islamic Republic, its firepower diminished, vowed to fight on. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the war's aim is a popular overthrow of Iran's government, and "we are breaking their bones." White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said U.S. President Donald Trump "is not making anything up" as he offers varying justifications for launching the war.

Oil prices have eclipsed $100 per barrel for the first time in more than three and a half years as the Iran war hinders production and shipping in the Middle East.

A South Florida university has launched an investigation into a group chat started by an official with the Miami-Dade chapter of the Republican Party that included violently racist slurs, antisemitic comments and misogynistic language. The chat, which was denounced by the state GOP, involved students and several top conservative leaders at Florida International University, according to the Miami Herald, which viewed and independently verified the conversations.

President Donald Trump on Thursday fired his embattled Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, after mounting criticism over her leadership of the department, including the handling of the administration's immigration crackdown and disaster response. Trump says he'll nominate in Noem's place Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin. Trump made the announcement on social media Thursday, two days after Noem faced a grilling on Capitol Hill from GOP members as well as Democrats. Trump says he'll make Noem a "Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas," a new security initiative he says will focus on the Western Hemisphere.

An American soldier from Winter Haven, Florida, has been identified as one of the six U.S. casualties in the Iran war. Three other soldiers were also identified. Israel stepped up airstrikes on Iranian missile launchers and a nuclear research site, and Iran retaliated against Israel and across the Gulf region, disrupting energy supplies and travel. As explosions rang out in Tehran and in Lebanon — where Israel said it struck Hezbollah militants — the American embassy in Saudi Arabia and the U.S. consulate in the United Arab Emirates came under drone attacks. Four days into a war that President Donald Trump suggested would last several weeks but perhaps longer, hundreds of people have been killed in Iran, including people Trump said he had considered as possible future leaders of the country.

The U.S. and Israel have launched a major attack on targets across Iran. U.S. President Donald Trump called on the Iranian people to "take over your government." That was an extraordinary appeal that suggested the allies could be seeking to end of the country's theocracy after decades of tensions. The first strikes of the attack Saturday appeared to target the compound home to Iran's 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in downtown Tehran. It wasn't immediately clear if he was there at the time. Iran launched a wave of drones and missiles targeting Israel. Several countries around the region reported explosions or being targeted. Explosions could be be heard in Qatar.

Officials in Florida say an injured mother manatee and her calf have been rescued from a river and taken to SeaWorld Orlando for rehabilitation. The Lee County Sheriff's Office shared video on social media showing Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission staffers netting the pair on Wednesday. Drone video shows the rescue boat circling around the manatees to corral them in what looks like a fishing net before the crew hauls the sea cows aboard. Officials didn't have details about how the mother manatee was injured or their current conditions. The mother and calf are among at least six manatees rescued in the county since Feb. 19 because of cold stress, watercraft injuries and malnutrition.

At least 73 people died in Mexico's attempt to capture the notorious leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the violent aftermath of his death. That's according to authorities who spoke Monday as much of the country feared another wave of violence. The body count taken by security officials included security forces, suspected cartel members and others. Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, called "El Mencho," was the boss of one of the fastest-growing criminal networks in Mexico. It is known for trafficking fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine to the United States and staging brazen attacks against government officials. The organization responded to his death with widespread violence.

The Supreme Court has struck down President Donald Trump's far-reaching global tariffs, handing him a significant loss on an issue crucial to his economic agenda. Friday's decision centers on tariffs he unilaterally imposed under an emergency powers law, including the sweeping "reciprocal" tariffs levied on nearly every other country. The Republican president has called the case one of the most important in U.S. history and said a ruling against him would be an economic body blow to the country. But legal opposition crossed the political spectrum, including libertarian and pro-business groups typically aligned with the GOP. Administration officials have said they expect to keep the tariff framework in place under other authorities.

The federal Transportation Department says more than 550 commercial driving schools in the U.S. that train truckers and bus drivers must close after investigators found they employed unqualified instructors, failed to adequately test students and other safety issues. The department plans to announce this latest move to improve safety in the trucking industry later Wednesday. And unlike the previous action last fall to decertify up to 7,500 schools that included many defunct operations, this is focused on active schools with significant shortcomings. The department has been aggressively going after states that handed out commercial driver's licenses to immigrants who shouldn't have qualified for them ever since a fatal crash in Florida in August.