Kayla Hayempour

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday defended U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran’s infrastructure, saying “sometimes you have to escalate to de-escalate.”His comments came just hours after President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that he was giving Iranian leadership 48 hours to open the Strait of Hormuz or risk strikes that “will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!”Bessent defended Trump’s rhetoric, saying it’s “the only language the Iranians understand.”Earlier Sunday, a spokesperson for Iran’s military command headquarters warned that if the U.S. strikes oil infrastructure, Tehran will respond in kind with further escalation.“If Iran’s fuel and energy infrastructure is attacked, then fuel, energy, information technology systems and desalination infrastructure used by America and the regime in the region will be struck,” Col.

“One Battle After Another” and “Sinners” score big at the Oscars. Why reopening the Strait of Hormuz won’t be easy. And more registered voters view Israel negatively, according to an NBC News poll.

Mojtaba Khamenei is named Iran's new supreme leader. Politicians warn of white-collar jobs displacement from AI. And a superbloom in Death Valley National Park.

Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of Iran’s slain supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been named as his replacement.

Trump’s decision to strike Iran followed prolonged negotiations that left him frustrated. Texas Democrats gear up for the Senate primary. And how popular weight loss could affect bone health.

A supreme leader is killed. The AI boom of child abuse images. And how much a measles outbreak costs.

Olympians attend the State of the Union, a woman sneaks on a plane (again), and an award show faces controversy: Test your knowledge of the week in news, and take last week’s quiz here.

A biathlete comes clean, figure skating judges face scrutiny, and two athletes are unexpectedly pitted against each other.

These are the top moments of the Winter Olympics. Unrest in Mexico after the army kills a drug cartel leader. And millions across the U.S. remain under blizzard alerts.

Forty-six years to the day since the U.S. men’s hockey team paved the way to Olympic gold with a miracle victory, Team USA earned gold again, this time with a sudden-death stunner

Former Prince Andrew’s arrest presents a crisis for the royal family. Historic Olympic golds in women’s figure skating and hockey. And Homeland Security wants to buy a luxury jet for deportations.