Remains

U.S. shipments of central air conditioners and air-source heat pumps surged in June, although slower growth for the first half of the year suggested the monthly increase followed uneven demand earlier in 2026.

Manufacturers shipped a combined 1.02 million central

Thousands of migrants entered the Spanish city of Ceuta from neighbouring Morocco on July 31, bringing renewed attention to one of Europe’s most unusual borders.

Although Ceuta lies on the northern coast of Africa and is surrounded by Moroccan territory, it is administered by Spain and forms part of the European Union. Together with nearby Melilla, it forms the EU’s only land border with Africa, making both cities recurring flashpoints for migration and diplomatic tensions between Madrid and Rabat.

The latest crossing has once again highlighted border security and irregular migration, but it has also drawn attention to a broader question: why do these small Spanish territories on the African continent continue to generate recurring political crises between Spain and Morocco?

Understanding the latest tensions requires looking at three connected issues: migration pressures, the cities’ legal status, and Morocco’s long-standing claim over their sovereignty.

Why has the crisis resurfaced now?

The latest crossing reflects continued pressure along one of Europe’s most sensitive migration routes. Because Ceuta and Melilla are Spanish territory, entering either city means entering the European Union.

For some migrants travelling through North Africa, the two cities are among the few places where EU territory can be reached by land, making them recurring focal points during periods of increased migration towards Europe.

The timing of the latest surge has also been linked to a recent ruling by Spain’s Supreme Court on the treatment of migrants attempting to reach Ceuta and Melilla by sea. The court ruled that Spain’s “hot return” procedure, which allows certain immediate returns at the border, could not be applied to migrants intercepted at sea while attempting to swim into the enclaves. The judges found that the procedure applies to people who cross physical border barriers, such as fences, rather than those intercepted at sea.

The ruling did not create an automatic right to remain in Spain or legalise irregular entry. However, it was interpreted by some migrants as making immediate return more difficult if they reached Spanish territory by sea. Spanish and Moroccan officials pointed to the ruling as one factor that may have influenced the latest surge, while migration experts also cited broader migration pressures and misinformation circulating among migrants and smuggling networks.

The episode showed how legal decisions affecting border procedures can quickly influence perceptions on one of Europe’s most heavily monitored frontiers.

Migration cooperation has long been closely linked to the wider relationship between Spain and Morocco. Madrid relies heavily on cooperation with Rabat to manage migration routes, while Morocco’s role in controlling movement towards Europe has made border management an important element of its relationship with both Spain and the EU.

That dynamic became particularly clear in 2021, when thousands of migrants entered Ceuta during a period of heightened tensions after Spain allowed Brahim Ghali, the leader of the Polisario Front, to receive medical treatment in Spain.

The Polisario Front seeks independence for Western Sahara, which Morocco considers part of its territory and which has its final status unresolved under a United Nations-led political process. Rabat viewed Spain’s decision to host Ghali as a diplomatic setback, while Madrid said the decision was based on humanitarian grounds.

Spain accused Morocco of easing border controls during the crisis, while Moroccan officials rejected the suggestion that Morocco should act as Europe’s border guard. The episode demonstrated how migration cooperation can become entangled with broader political disputes between the two countries.

What is the legal status of Ceuta and Melilla?

Under the current international legal framework, Ceuta and Melilla are Spanish territories under Spain’s sovereignty. Spain exercises full administrative and governmental authority over the two cities, and they are represented in Spain’s political system and form part of the EU.

They are not listed by the UN as Non-Self-Governing Territories, a category that applies to territories whose people have not yet exercised the right to self-determination through decolonisation. Because Ceuta and Melilla are not on that list, they are not part of a UN decolonisation process.

There has also been no international court ruling or UN decision determining sovereignty over Ceuta and Melilla. The dispute remains a political disagreement between Spain and Morocco rather than a sovereignty dispute currently being adjudicated through an international legal process.

This is one of the key differences between Ceuta and Melilla and Western Sahara. Western Sahara remains on the UN list of Non-Self-Governing Territories and is the subject of a separate UN-backed political process over its future status, while Ceuta and Melilla are treated internationally as territories under Spanish sovereignty.

This is the basis of Madrid’s position that the sovereignty question is settled. Spain argues that the two cities are not colonial possessions but fully integrated parts of the Spanish state, governed under Spanish law and protected as Spanish territory.

Morocco disputes that interpretation, arguing that the cities’ location on the African continent and their historical connection to North Africa mean they should be viewed differently from other Spanish cities.

Why does Morocco continue to claim the two cities?

The dispute is rooted in the long history of the western Mediterranean.

The Strait of Gibraltar has historically connected Europe and Africa rather than separating them. Armies, merchants, cultures and religions moved across it for centuries.

During the medieval period, Muslim dynasties based in present-day Morocco, including the Almoravids and Almohads, ruled large parts of the Iberian Peninsula. Their influence remains visible today in Spain’s architecture, language and cultural heritage.

Later, Portugal and Spain established footholds along the North African coast as European powers expanded their influence overseas.

Portugal captured Ceuta in 1415. After the Iberian Union between Spain and Portugal ended in 1640, Ceuta remained under Spanish rule. Spain has administered the city ever since.

Melilla has been under Spanish control since 1497.

Spain points to this long history of administration, together with citizenship and constitutional integration, as evidence that the two cities are fully part of Spain.

Morocco views the same history through a different lens, arguing that European-controlled territories on the African mainland remain a historical legacy of European expansion.

Why do the cities matter beyond Spain and Morocco?

The importance of Ceuta and Melilla extends far beyond their size.

For Spain, the cities are sovereign territory and a direct extension of the Spanish state into North Africa.

For the European Union, they represent its only land borders with Africa and are therefore central to debates over migration, border security and cooperation with neighbouring countries.

For Morocco, the cities remain linked to a broader question of territorial sovereignty, even as Rabat maintains close cooperation with Spain on migration, trade and security.

This combination of interests means that developments in Ceuta and Melilla can quickly become issues of regional significance.

Could the dispute be resolved?

There is little indication that either Spain or Morocco is seeking to reopen formal negotiations over sovereignty.

Spain maintains that Ceuta and Melilla are integral parts of the country and that their status is not negotiable.

Morocco continues to maintain its claim, but in recent years has generally prioritised practical cooperation with Spain over direct confrontation on the issue.

As a result, the dispute tends to reappear indirectly during periods of political tension, diplomatic disagreements or increased migration pressure.

What does the latest crossing reveal?

The immediate challenge remains humanitarian: managing migration while protecting the rights and safety of people attempting to reach Europe.

But the events in Ceuta also show why the city repeatedly returns to international headlines. Migration may trigger the immediate crisis, but the response is shaped by border policy, Spain-Morocco relations, legal developments and a sovereignty dispute that continues to influence relations between the two countries.

Ceuta and Melilla remain unusual because they are geographically part of Africa but politically part of Europe. As long as migration pressures and sovereignty disputes persist, they are likely to remain among the Mediterranean’s most sensitive border flashpoints.

WASHINGTON — Immigration remains a stronger issue for President Trump than the economy or Iran among Republican voters, according to a new poll, even after three people were killed in encounters with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents within a week in July.

But Trump’s immigration approach is unpopular among Americans overall, the new survey from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found. Only 39% of U.S. adults approve of his performance on immigration, a decline from 49% at the beginning of his second term.

About 8 in 10 Republicans continue to approve of how Trump is handling immigration. That’s a slight decline from the beginning of his second term, when about 9 in 10 Republicans approved, but his support on the issue within his base has been mostly stable since last summer despite a chaotic year of immigration enforcement actions including several shooting deaths.

Republicans are also more likely to approve of how Trump is handling immigration than the economy or Iran. In just the last month, GOP voter approval of Trump’s handling of Iran dropped slightly in AP-NORC polling.

The poll found that about half of U.S. adults say Trump has “gone too far” on deporting immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. That number also has remained steady for more than a year, despite multiple immigration crackdowns that deployed federal law enforcement to large cities and at least 10 deaths involving encounters with immigration officers since the mass deportation campaign began. Republicans are much less likely to say Trump has overstepped in his immigration enforcement actions.

Overall, Trump’s popularity has fallen since he took office last year, but the findings highlight the relatively muted impact of the last year’s aggressive immigration enforcement on his public standing. That’s a contrast with views of his handling of Iran, where he’s seen more recent signs of slippage, even among supporters.

Partisan divide

Americans remain divided on whether Trump has overstepped on immigration.

About half of U.S. adults say Trump has “gone too far” when it comes to restricting legal immigration, in line with the last time the question was asked in February. Roughly half — 47% — say Trump has exceeded his authority when it comes to deporting immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. In each case, about 3 in 10 say Trump’s actions have been “about right,” and closer to 2 in 10 say he hasn’t gone far enough.

Few Republicans — about 2 in 10 or fewer — say he’s “gone too far” on deporting immigrants in the country illegally or restricting legal immigration.

Most Americans, however, say he’s gone too far when it comes to using traffic stops to find and arrest immigrants living in the U.S. illegally — a practice that was at the center of two recent ICE shootings in Texas and Maine — and when it comes to sending federal immigration agents into U.S. cities. Republicans were also less likely to see these as oversteps.

James Leatherman, a 68-year-old Republican from San Antonio, is generally supportive of Trump’s handling of the presidency and backs him on immigration in particular.

“You cannot come in here illegally — you’re breaking the law,” he said.

More Americans disapprove than approve of the way ICE is enforcing immigration laws. About half of Americans “strongly” or “somewhat” disapprove of the agency’s approach, while roughly 3 in 10 “strongly” or “somewhat” approve. There’s a wide partisan split, though: About 6 in 10 Republicans approve of ICE’s approach, compared with about 2 in 10 independents and just 4% of Democrats.

Eric Coursen, 76, an independent from Chincoteague, Va., agrees with the president that there were problems with the immigration system that needed to be addressed. He said doesn’t believe in “open borders,” but he’s deeply opposed to how the administration has been enforcing immigration law.

“It’s like taking some bread when you’re hungry, and you take it, you’re going to shoot that person rather than just, you know, get them for theft?” he said. “It’s just overkill.”

Poor marks on economy

About 3 in 10 U.S. adults, 32%, approve of how Trump is handling the economy. That’s down from 40% at the start of his second term, and marks a shift from his first presidential term when the economy was a relatively strong issue for Trump.

During Trump’s first term, his lowest approval on the economy was 40% in December 2017. Now, his rating is well below that.

Roughly 7 in 10 Republicans — 69% — approve of how Trump is handling the economy. That’s roughly in line with the share who approve of how he’s handing the presidency, but it’s slightly below the 78% who approved early in Trump’s second term.

Leatherman, despite his support for Trump, said he’s feeling the pinch of higher prices in his budget. “I almost have to go to the bank to get a loan before I go grocery shopping,” he said.

About 7 in 10 U.S. adults describe the nation’s economy as “very” or “somewhat” poor, in line with April. Republicans are more optimistic, with about 6 in 10 saying that the economy is doing well, compared with about 2 in 10 independents and roughly 1 in 10 Democrats.

Healthcare remains a weak issue

Healthcare never has been a strong issue for Trump. Unlike with immigration and the economy, a clear majority of U.S. adults has disapproved of Trump’s performance on healthcare across both terms. That hasn’t changed in the new poll, which found that only about 3 in 10 Americans approve of how Trump is handling healthcare, in line with when the question was last asked in December.

He’s experienced a rebound on the issue among his own supporters since late last year, though. Roughly 71% of Republicans now approve, compared with 59% in the December poll.

That shift comes as Democrats kicked off 100 days until the midterm elections last week, with leaders saying they’ll focus on healthcare cuts, in addition to the cost of living and the war in Iran. Democrats and independents continue to overwhelmingly disapprove of Trump’s handling of healthcare.

The AP-NORC poll of 1,165 adults was conducted July 23-27 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.7 percentage points. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 6 points for Republicans overall and plus or minus 5.4 points for Democrats overall.

Thomson-Deveaux, Sanders and Catalini write for the Associated Press.

Saltburn’s amateur cricketer at centre of cheating allegations that grabbed global headlines is suspended by club.

An English ‌amateur cricketer at the centre of allegations ⁠of finger-clicking ⁠trickery has been suspended and will not play “for the foreseeable future”, his club has said.

The fielder, dubbed “Clicky Ponting” on social media in a punning nod to former Australia captain ⁠Ricky Ponting, allegedly tricked umpires by clicking his fingers to make the sound of a ball nicking the bat as deliveries were missed and caught by ‌the wicketkeeper.

The video footage went viral on social media and made international headlines.

Saltburn Cricket Club, run by volunteers, said on Wednesday in a statement it was treating the allegations “with the utmost seriousness”.

“The player at the centre of the complaint has been suspended ⁠and will not play again ⁠for the club this season or in the foreseeable future, pending the outcome of this investigation.”

It said initial discussions between club ⁠officials and the North Yorkshire and South Durham league had already taken ⁠place.

The league said on Tuesday ⁠it had received a formal complaint “regarding alleged incidents in a Division Two game on Saturday 25th July 2026”.

Saltburn said it had ‌been a distressing and stressful experience for all concerned and asked for “personal boundaries” to be respected.

The club ‌are ‌top of the Division Two table with 10 wins from 15 matches.

Historically, cricketers – even at the highest level of the game – have been accused of trying to trick umpires with noises, including chomping on a biscuit, to fool umpires into believing the ball hit the bat.

Cricket cheating allegations have even extended to dirt being applied to the ball, for which former England captain Michael Atherton was once fined, and the use of bottle tops to scuff the ball.

Both were attempts to create extra swing for the quick bowlers.

Shohei Ohtani has not pitched in a game for the Dodgers since July 3, though he admitted after Tuesday’s game that there’s more going on than just a sore left knee.

“My biceps is not 100%,” said Ohtani through interpreter Will Ireton while speaking with the media for the first time since before the All-Star break. “Just [a] similar issue with the knee. Do we consider pushing this? It is still July. So, I think the conversation would be a little different if we’re in August or September.”

Ohtani, who has remained in the lineup at designated hitter, has stalled in his throwing program after the team scratched a bullpen session tentatively scheduled for last Saturday that was to come on the heels of a roughly 30-pitch side session he threw last Wednesday in Philadelphia.

Ohtani received an orthovisc injection in his knee on July 12 and he skipped All-Star Game obligations in Philadelphia to allow for rest and recovery. But it remains unclear when Ohtani will return to the mound, and though manager Dave Roberts remains optimistic about him pitching again this season, concerns about building back up start to factor in.

“We are getting closer to that,” Roberts said. “You know, he’s a starting pitcher, and then, when you start missing three, four, five weeks of that build-up, then you’ve got to kind of start up again.”

Ohtani, who led off Tuesday’s 7-6 loss to the Seattle Mariners with a home run, clarified the origins of his knee problem and shared an estimate of where it’s at strength-wise.

“The discomfort was caused initially by the pitching,” Ohtani said. “So, it’s something I have to work around. In terms of running, I’m not exactly at 100% capacity. When I know it’s not, then it’s always a little harder to be aggressive on the basepaths.”

Ohtani and Roberts both said that the Dodgers haven’t reached a point of considering shutting down Ohtani from pitching.

“Everything that I’ve heard, that’s not the option,” Roberts said. “I guess anything’s possible, but for me, it’s highly unlikely.”

Added Ohtani: “The knee is where it is in terms of, for it to heal is the most important priority. I don’t think the team has really come to a place exactly where, do I pitch through it or not. That’s still really up in the air.”

In other injury-related updates, Kiké Hernández was activated Tuesday after being out since May 26 with a grade 3 oblique strain. Alex Freeland was optioned to triple-A Oklahoma City in a corresponding move.

“All you can do is take it one day at a time,” said Hernández, who did not play Tuesday. “And the best way that you can take things one day at a time is focusing on what you can do today to get better. And that’s what I did … literally going one day at a time and trying to be the best rehabber I could … the best teammate that I could. … It’s been a really long time. … So, I feel pretty good, and happy to see what I can do out on the field.”

Hernández had already made his season debut late — on May 25 — because of his recovery from offseason elbow surgery. Now, the 34-year-old utilityman is grateful to be back and eager to build on his four-for-four start over two games.

“A lot of nervousness,” Hernández said about playing again, mentioning that he had a panic attack when first learning of his worse-than-expected diagnosis. “I feel pretty good. … I feel like everything is in a pretty good spot right now. Trying to keep my 1.000 batting average going and be the best hitter in the league.

“[I’m] just happy to be back with the boys.”

Edwin Díaz will be the next to return.

The right-handed closer is scheduled to be activated Wednesday — fittingly, when 40,000 fans will receive an Díaz bobblehead — after missing three months because of right elbow surgery.

“He’s checked all his boxes,” Roberts said. “So getting him back in the mix is going to be fun for all of us as well.”

Meanwhile, Will Smith is starting baseball activities “pain-free” after sitting on the injured list since June 5 with a neck injury, Roberts added, and Tyler Glasnow will throw a live session Wednesday after being out since May with a back problem.

PYEONGTAEK, South Korea, July 28 (UPI) — Seventy-six years after the United Nations Command was established to help repel North Korea’s invasion of the South, the multinational force remains an essential pillar of stability on the Korean Peninsula, its deputy commander said.

Speaking after a July 7 ceremony marking the command’s founding anniversary, Australian Army Lt. Gen. Scott A. Winter said the command’s responsibilities have evolved far beyond its wartime origins while remaining rooted in the Korean War armistice that halted fighting in 1953.

“The United Nations Command has two key missions,” Winter told UPI at UNC headquarters on Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, about 35 miles south of Seoul. “One is to enforce the armistice, which is a sacred duty that we take every day. The other is to coordinate sending-state contributions in times of crisis or conflict.”

Created by a U.N. Security Council resolution on July 7, 1950, the command brought together forces from 22 nations under U.S. leadership after North Korea invaded South Korea. More than 1.9 million service members from UNC member states served in combat, medical and logistical roles during the Korean War.

Active fighting ended with the signing of the armistice on July 27, 1953 — the anniversary of which was commemorated Monday — rather than a peace treaty, meaning the two Koreas remain technically at war. The UNC continues to oversee implementation of the agreement and maintains a rare direct communication channel with North Korea’s military.

Winter said the command still conducts routine telephone communications twice daily with the Korean People’s Army through the military hotline, also known as the “pink phone.”

“It continues to enable us to de-conflict, avoid any sort of miscalculation,” he said, citing the example of recent firefighting operations inside the Demilitarized Zone.

The milestone comes as North Korea has abandoned its longstanding policy of peaceful reunification with South Korea, accelerated development of its nuclear and missile programs and deepened military cooperation with Russia, including sending troops to support Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

Winter said North Korea’s partnership with Russia has reinforced the need for the UNC to adapt to an increasingly complex security environment and strengthen its deterrence role on the peninsula.

“The growing nexus between North Korea and Russia is a reminder for all of us of the global nature of these security threats,” he said. “It’s clear that North Korea has gained both contemporary battlefield experience and exposure to technology.”

He argued that the UNC’s multinational composition strengthens deterrence by demonstrating that security on the Korean Peninsula remains an international concern.

“The more flags that we bring together, the more we can provide multinational legitimacy during periods of peace, the more we contribute to deterrence,” Winter said.

Despite renewed efforts by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s administration to reduce tensions with Pyongyang and eventually pursue a formal peace regime, Winter said the command would continue to have a role even if the armistice were someday replaced.

“Having a ready-made coalition prior to a crisis is much easier than trying to pull a coalition together in crisis or conflict,” Winter said. “I absolutely believe that the best way to prevent conflict is through that multilateral working together.”

He added that the armistice itself was designed to create conditions for a political settlement rather than become a permanent arrangement.

“The armistice was put in place to ultimately create the space for a political solution,” he said. “We welcome any moves in that direction.”

Reflecting on the anniversary, Winter said the command’s history offers lessons that remain relevant as conflicts continue in Europe and the Middle East.

“Seventy-six years ago, nations came together because they understood that’s what it would take to prevent further aggression,” he said. “The importance of multilateralism, the importance of building coalitions of the willing with like-minded countries, because the alternative is unthinkable.”

Wall Street ended the holiday-shortened week higher as investors looked past softer-than-expected labor market data and increased bets that the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates before year-end.

The June jobs report showed the U.S. added just 57,000 jobs, missing expectations, while the

July 2 (UPI) — A young World War II pilot who disappeared during a flight in1944 has been accounted for, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced Thursday.

The remains of 1st Lt. Franklin H. McKinney, 21, of the U.S. Army Air Forces were identified May 15, nearly 82 years after his plane vanished on a mission, the agency said.

McKinney was a pilot with the 35th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron, 14th Air Force, the announcement said. On Nov. 5, 1944, he left a U.S. base on a reconnaissance mission from Yunnanyi, China, over Burma and Thailand.

“Photo reconnaissance work by the 35th and the intelligence derived from it helped turn the tide of the war in China,” an Air Force article on the squadron noted.

McKinney, who was flying an F-5 Lightning aircraft, failed to return from the mission. Personnel from the American Graves Registration Service searched along his planned flight path to the Chinese/Thailand border, but found no sign of a crash, the DPAA report said.

His remains were not recovered immediately after the war, and his name was engraved on the Tablets of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

McKinney’s personnel profile on the DPAA website says that a wartime report from the Royal Thai Air Force Museum later led researchers to new information. The report said that a plane was hit by lightning, exploded and crashed in a wooded area in Lampang Province, Thailand, near the time McKinney’s aircraft vanished.

In 2018, the profile said, third-party researchers found a crash site in the region that they matched with McKinney’s plane. In 2022, a recovery team excavated the site and found human remains. Modern forensic techniques eventually identified them as McKinney’s.

The pilot’s family will be briefed by the DPAA, CBS News reported. A rosette will be added next to his name on the Tablets of the Missing. McKinney will be laid to rest with full military honors.

McKinney’s home of record is listed as Rhode Island. This does not necessarily mean he from the state, but that he joined the service there, the DPAA said.

The agency is a department within the U.S. Department of Defense. It identifies its mission as providing “the fullest possible accounting for our missing personnel to their families and the nation.”

WASHINGTON — To much of America, he may be Mr. Environment. But at home, Al Gore was just another scofflaw. Finally one of his kids urged: “Dad, turn off the water when you’re brushing your teeth!”

He denounces violent images in entertainment. Yet one of his favorite movies is “The Matrix,” a sci-fi film filled with blood and . . . gore.

A minor contradiction in each case, to be sure. But they are emblematic of the sort of duality that defines Albert Arnold Gore Jr.

Now, in his relentlessly combative bid to become the next president of the United States, Gore remains–after 23 years in public life–a study in contrasts, an enigma to friends and supporters.

“He’s just like everybody else,”insists Tipper Gore, the vice president’s wife of 29 years. “We all struggle with our idealism and our practical daily realities.”

Known for his high-wattage intellect, Gore also is working on becoming a better listener, especially with well-meaning advisors.

Few people have had to grapple with more competing demands–and his own demons–in so public a manner as the vice president.

Now the conflicts of his biography mirror the challenges of his campaign to succeed Bill Clinton.

A decade ago, Gore resolved to no longer “put a finger to the political winds” when facing tough choices. Yet when he embarked on this campaign, Gore assembled an organization top-heavy with pricey pollsters and controversial consultants.

As vice president, he has wielded more clout than any of his 44 predecessors. He is among the nation’s most cerebral politicians–an extraordinarily disciplined and competitive man on a never-ending quest for excellence. Yet he has an inexplicable tendency to embellish his resume.

‘It’s a Tightrope He’s Had to Walk’

He clings to President Clinton’s popular economic policies but distances himself from the White House on issues such as global trade and abortion funding, saying that he would do things differently–even while urging Congress to back Clinton’s agenda.

“It’s a tightrope that he’s had to walk all his life,” says a longtime Gore confidant.

But the vice president does not see his life as a high-wire balancing act.

“A tightrope has a lot of tension–you always worry about falling off one side or the other,” Gore said.

He has worried about the inconsistencies in his life before.

In his best-selling book, “Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit,” Gore acknowledged his own hypocrisy by riding in an air-conditioned car while en route to deliver a speech calling for a ban on the very chemicals that were keeping him cool.

He mused that such are “distractions and distortions that interfere with the task.”

The challenge of balancing competing imperatives was thrust upon Gore virtually from Day One, nearly 52 years ago.

He was born in a Washington hospital a mere dozen blocks from the White House. But his arrival was heralded on the front page of the Nashville Tennessean.

In Washington, Gore was the exquisitely mannered progeny of an influential congressman and then senator from Tennessee.

When he was growing up, the Gores lived in a hotel suite on Embassy Row that also served as a salon to the power elite. Young Gore often sat in as politicians and statesmen held forth.

“Al was raised in a political family and he had always been fascinated by politics,” said Tipper Gore.

At one of the city’s premier prep schools, St. Alban’s, Gore excelled in academics and sports–and served as a student leader.

Just Another Unruly, Fun-Loving Kid

But he lived for the glorious summers on the 225-acre family farm, about 50 miles east of Nashville.

His father invariably had a list of back-breaking farm chores for him, but when done, Gore was just another rambunctious, fun-loving kid. As a prank, he once hypnotized a flock of chickens and left them on a neighbor’s porch. At age 14, he drove so fast down a country lane that he overturned his father’s station wagon. To this day, he keeps his motorcycle license current.

Gore kept his two worlds distinctly apart from one another. For a brief time during his senior year in high school, he even had a girlfriend in each city. But Tipper won out.

Mary Elizabeth “Tipper” Aitcheson was a fun-loving, drum-playing teenager from across the Potomac River in suburban Virginia, an only child who grew up in a broken home. The attraction was immediate and mutual.

“I’ve always had two separate lives,” Gore recalled.

But when it came to which world he preferred, there was no contest.

”. . . If you’re a boy, and you have the choice between the eighth floor of a hotel and a big farm with horses, cows, canoes and a river, it was an easy choice . . . ,” he said.

For Gore, Washington felt like a “temporary assignment.” That he returned to it as a profession–and now aspires to its pinnacle–would not surprise those who knew him earlier.

At Harvard University, Gore participated in his share of anti-war demonstrations but steered clear when students took over the administration building.

Despite his opposition to the war, Gore joined the Army within two months of graduation. At Ft. Rucker in Alabama, a gung-ho Pfc. Gore was named post soldier of the month.

After five months as an Army journalist in Vietnam, Gore returned to civilian life–”probably as disillusioned as any person you have ever met,” he said.

By then his father had been defeated in a brutal reelection campaign. The assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. were still fresh in Gore’s mind. The Watergate scandals were unfolding.

He viewed politics as “the last thing I would do with my life.”

Instead, Gore became a government watchdog–as a reporter for the Nashville Tennessean.

In time, he started to see the good in public service–and discovered that at times he could influence the Nashville Metro Council’s debate by the degree of interest, or boredom, that he displayed. When council members saw Gore taking notes, they figured they were on to something. Conversely, some would drop an issue when the young reporter yawned or doodled in his note pad.

“I began to see things that I thought needed to be done,” Gore recalled. “And I began to think: If I got involved in that. . . .”

Gore Pounced on Father’s Old Post

That opportunity arose unexpectedly in 1976, when the local Democratic congressman announced his retirement. Gore leaped at the chance to run for the seat once held by his father.

Gore was so nervous that minutes before showing up for a news conference to declare his candidacy, he vomited. He was 28.

Twenty years later, while aboard Air Force II, the vice president self-effacingly reenacted his awkward campaign style as a political neophyte. “If you think I’m stiff now . . . !” he bellowed.

About the time he ran for Congress, Gore stopped smoking marijuana. Although he disclosed his pot use in 1988, during a short-lived bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, the issue resurfaced this year amid questions over the frequency of his pot smoking.

Gore told reporters in Iowa recently that it had been rare, adding: “When I was young, I did things young people do. When I grew up, I put away childish things.”

In the House, Gore was one of its hardest working members, returning to his district almost every weekend to hold town hall meetings–still a favored Gore setting.

On Capitol Hill, he served on an investigative subcommittee that held more public hearings than any other–from ozone depletion and genetic engineering to contaminated infant formula and toxic wastes. He quickly became among the most visible House members.

“Few there could match his ability to seize an issue, uncover a pattern of abuses, draw attention in the media and propose a solution,” said Congressional Quarterly, a journal that covers Congress.

In 1979, when the House opened its proceedings to television cameras, Gore was the first member to speak.

Five years later, he won his father’s old Senate seat, capturing more than 60% of the votes despite a Reagan landslide.

The Senate was something of a culture shock for Gore.

In the House, he had a group of basketball buddies. But even after more than seven years, Gore could claim few genuine friends in the Senate, where many had viewed him as a pedigreed upstart with aspirations for higher office.

“An automatic distance set in,” recalled Roy Neel, a top Gore aide for almost two decades in Congress and the White House.

Gore’s somewhat imperious demeanor also rubbed some the wrong way.

During a floor vote in the late 1980s, Gore was chatting with another Democrat when the colleague’s eyes strayed.

Gore snapped: “Look at me when I’m talking to you!”

Shortly after a failed bid for his party’s presidential nomination in 1988, another life-changing event occurred.

Gore’s young son nearly died after being hit by an automobile. Albert III eventually recovered, but Gore emerged from the family crisis a more patient and introspective man.

“I changed all of my priorities to ensure that I was able to spend a lot more time with each child and with the family as a whole,” Gore recalled.

Gore also decided to not run for president in 1992. Yet when Bill Clinton asked, Gore did not hesitate to join what became the nation’s first baby boomer ticket.

His fortes–arms control, the environment, foreign policy–neatly complemented Clinton’s message of economic revival.

As vice president, Gore was involved in virtually every foreign policy decision, from the bombing of Iraq to the deployment of troops in Haiti and Somalia. In the domestic arena, Gore led the fight for the North American Free Trade Agreement, the V-chip and gun control. He also directed the effort to downsize the federal bureaucracy and develop “empowerment zones” that helped revitalize cities.

Gore said he has been surprised by “the intensity . . . and the bracing challenges” of working in the White House but added: “I’ve really enjoyed it. I love it. I love it.”

It was often Gore who clashed with congressional Republicans in budget disputes when Clinton sought compromises.

Gore’s willingness to mix it up suggests that his campaign mantra–”I want to fight for you!”–is no idle boast. That same brawler’s instinct got Gore ejected from a high school football game for fighting. After the 1992 election, Gore waged one bureaucratic fight after another to enhance his power and influence in the new administration–and even bested First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton for a prime West Wing office just 18 paces from the Oval Office.

Another little-known Gore trait, which some aides have found more troubling, is his tendency to be aloof and intellectually arrogant.

“He’s so competitive. He has to be smarter, faster and better than you,” said one former top aide. “He has a disdain for people who aren’t as prepared or as smart. If you can’t keep up with him intellectually, he gets bored.”

This ex-staffer recalled an occasion when Gore slammed the phone down on her late one night when she did not have a piece of information that she regarded as trivial.

“Gore does have an edge,” Neel conceded. “He’s a man with a mission in life, and that can be off-putting. He’s just not a hail-fellow-well-met politician. So he’s often misunderstood . . . . I don’t think he’s always the smartest guy in the room, but often he’s the person in the room who has thought the most about an issue.”

Many aides also say that it is often difficult to give Gore advice.

A stark example occurred in March of 1997. Gore had come under criticism for his prodigious fund-raising efforts in 1995 and 1996, including having made numerous telephone solicitations from his office.

After those calls came to light, Gore held a strategy session in his office. White House lawyers told him that he had done nothing wrong, that there was “no controlling legal authority.”

“He latched on to that phrase,” recalled one aide present at the meeting.

Gore wanted to hold a news conference to defend himself. But the advice to Gore was all but unanimous: Don’t.

Gore not only ignored the advice but flatly rejected the suggestion by one top White House aide that he refrain from using the legalistic phrase.

The vice president turned on the aide (who was not an attorney) and all but snarled: “You’re not a lawyer, are you?”

Asked about the perception among insiders that he is a difficult man to advise, Gore replied after a long pause and a deep sigh:

“Well, if I was ever that way, I’m not now–because learning requires an appropriate appreciation for what you don’t know. If anybody ever felt that way, then I didn’t intend to make them feel that way.”

Aides say that one way to influence Gore–who many say is slow to trust hired hands–is by going through his wife and his eldest daughter, Karenna Gore Schiff.

Gore also responds readily to facts, aides and confidants say. “You’ve got to go through his head,” said one longtime Clinton-Gore advisor.

At his core, the vice president remains a private, even shy man, someone who seems more comfortable reading a book (or writing one) than mixing with strangers. On the road, the exercise-conscious Gore uses a treadmill in his hotel suite. He relaxes by painting–a hobby he developed in second grade. Until recently, he also has been refining ideas for two novels.

In an election cycle when voters yearn for authenticity and personalities seem to trump issues, one of Gore’s major vulnerabilities may be his tendency to distort his record by exaggerating, which baffles even friends and longtime aides.

“He makes mistakes when he’s tired,” ventured one close friend.

Among the many statements that Gore has had to retract or revise: that he created the Internet; that he and Tipper were the models for “Love Story”; that he saw more action in Vietnam than he did; that his work as an investigative reporter had sent people to jail.

Gore also has been ridiculed for shaking up his staff, moving his campaign headquarters from here to Nashville and adopting an earth-tone wardrobe–in short, for reinventing himself and his message.

As one exasperated Democratic senator put it: “One day he’s in his cowboy boots. The next day, he’s Eddie Bauer. The day after he’s Brooks Brothers. Which is the real Al Gore?”

The answer may well be: all of them.

Restless Drive to Improve Himself

For Gore’s restless drive to improve himself is his very essence–whether it’s devouring a book on how to connect with people or mastering the intricacies of ballistic missiles.

And trying to become a better candidate, in fact, may be consistent with the “intensive search for truths about myself and my life,” to use Gore’s words.

That journey–for a man who has described himself during this campaign as “someone who has a lot of imperfections and shortcomings”–seems likely to continue through Campaign 2000 and beyond–thus defying the simplistic portrayals of Gore as a stiff, wooden politician.

“I don’t know how you get around the end result of taking a complex, fragile, wonderful human being–no matter who it is–it’s very difficult to convey that this is a complex person with all kinds of experiences,” said Tipper Gore. “And what comes out is a stereotype . . . something one-dimensional.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Profile:

Albert Arnold Gore Jr.

* Born: March 31, 1948, to the late U.S. Sen. Albert Gore Sr. and Pauline Gore

* Residence: Washington, D.C.

* Education: Bachelor’s degree in government, Harvard University, 1969. Attended Vanderbilt University Divinity School, 1971 to 1972. Law degree, Vanderbilt University, 1976.

* Career highlights: U.S. Army (including service in Vietnam), 1969 to 1971. Reporter for the Nashville Tennessean, 1973 to 1976. U.S. representative from Tennessee, 1977 to 1985. U.S. senator, 1985 to 1993. Vice president, 1993 to present. Wrote “Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit” (1992).

* Family: Married 29 years to former Mary Elizabeth “Tipper” Aitcheson. Three daughters, one son.

Iran’s foreign minister has urged ‘all parties not to interfere’ in the management of the Strait of Hormuz, after the US bombed Iran for a second day following a drone attack on a vessel. Abbas Araghchi says the MoU gives Tehran control of the waterway, during a press conference with his Iraqi counterpart in Baghdad.

The Delhi High Court grants bail to Kashmiri rights activist Khurram Parvez, jailed in India for nearly five years.

New Delhi, India — A prominent Kashmiri human rights activist who has been imprisoned for nearly five years has won a partial legal victory after being granted bail in a “terror funding” case, but remains in jail over a second case.

The Delhi High Court granted Khurram Parvez, 49, bail in a November 2021 case on Wednesday, according to legal website LiveLaw. However, he will remain in jail in a separate case from March 2023.

Parvez was first arrested about five years ago by India’s main counterterrorism law enforcement bureau, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), over accusations of “terror funding”, recruitment of rebels in Indian-administered Kashmir and mobilising protesters during a civilian uprising. The second case is also related to alleged “terror funding”.

International rights groups have widely condemned Parvez’s arrest and continued imprisonment.

His lawyer, Swati Khanna, said she hoped Parvez could be freed from jail soon if there was a “positive result” in the second case.

“We are hoping, in a month or two, he could be out,” she told reporters.

The trial has not begun in either of the cases – an issue highlighted by international rights organisations, which say the process becomes the punishment for political prisoners in India who have to wait years behind bars before even facing trial.

The conviction rate in the counterterror law, the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), remains low at 5 percent nationally. It dips further, to less than 1 percent, when it comes to Indian-administered Kashmir.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government has been criticised for persecuting dissent and criminalising expression in Kashmir, the country’s only Muslim-majority region.

“Khurram’s arrest proved to be the last nail in the coffin of any meaningful rights activism in Kashmir, one of the world’s most militarised zones,” said a political analyst based in Srinagar, Kashmir, who requested anonymity fearing repercussions from the authorities.

“This bail comes in a completely shallow, and nearly fictitious, trumped-up case after years in jail, and Khurram would still not walk free.”

Kashmir remains disputed between India, Pakistan, and China, which control parts of the region. Pakistan controls the northern and western portions – Azad Kashmir; and Gilgit and Baltistan. India controls the southern and southeastern parts – the Kashmir valley, including its biggest city, Srinagar; Jammu; and Ladakh. China controls the Aksai Chin area in the northeast.

The two neighbours have fought three major wars over Kashmir since the end of British colonial rule and their partition in 1947 led to the creation of Muslim-majority Pakistan and Hindu-majority India. Both countries continue to assert claims to the entire region of Kashmir.

When Nithya Raman stepped up to a podium on the night of L.A.’s mayoral primary election, she thanked her supporters for standing up to the “powerful interests” who spent millions of dollars trying to “preserve this city’s broken and unjust status quo.”

“At a time when so many people have written Los Angeles off or have lost hope in the future of this incredible city,” the democratic socialist L.A. mayoral hopeful said, “you are proof that Angelenos are hungry for change.”

But as election results rolled in, the movement for change was underwhelming, or at least divided. Incumbent Mayor Karen Bass was in the lead, advancing to the November runoff. That left Raman locked in a battle for a second spot with Republican former reality TV star Spencer Pratt.

Bass is one of several high-profile establishment Democrats to emerge on top. In California’s gubernatorial race, centrist Xavier Becerra, a veteran of the Biden Cabinet, advanced to the runoff after being challenged from the left by billionaire green activist Tom Steyer and Democratic former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter. Steyer is now behind Steve Hilton, a Republican, and battling to make the runoff.

Still reeling from the rise of Donald Trump, Democrats in California and beyond are struggling to figure out the future direction of the party.

Some progressives, inspired by Zohran Mamdani’s New York mayoral victory, saw 2026 as an opportunity to move the city further left. But the results have been mixed in key races, with veteran Democrats like Bass and Becerra eking out leads even as polls show dissatisfaction with status quo politics in California.

“This was supposed to be a change revolution, but voters clearly said no to the revolution,” said Sara Sadhwani, a politics professor at Pomona College. “Voters want change,” she noted, “but it doesn’t appear right now that there has been an appetite for a major shift in the ideology of the city or the state.”

Xavier Becerra speaks during an election night event in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday.

(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)

Becerra emerged as the Democratic favorite late in the election and won support from many establishment party leaders. Pundits said after a wild primary that included the implosion of Democratic U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell’s campaign amid sex assault allegations, Becerra emerged as a “safe” choice.

Some opponents attacked his moderate views and his willingness to accept campaign donations from big oil companies like Chevron. But that did not stop his rise.

Bass was also beset with challenges, being an incumbent in a city beset with problems.

For her, election night marked a “victory with an asterisk,” Sadhwani said, noting that Bass is first incumbent L.A. mayor in more than two decades to face a runoff. “It would be wrong for Karen Bass to think that this victory … is a ringing endorsement of the work she is currently doing.”

The results underscore Bass’ unpopularity as an incumbent, garnering just 35% of the vote so far. If Raman can catch up and eventually surpass Pratt in the vote count, she could pose a considerable challenge to Bass as more young voters come to the polls in November.

Mike Bonin, a former L.A. City Council member who leads the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at Cal State L.A., said if Bass exceeded expectations it was because they were very low.

“Coming in first in a runoff isn’t a huge victory for an incumbent mayor,” he said. “Two-thirds of the city did not vote for her. That’s not a position of strength.”

James Adams, a political science professor at UC Davis, said that Becerra and Bass coming through indicates the centrist Democratic candidates were in a stronger short-term position than their rivals. But problems loom ahead, he said, as the longtime Democratic establishment that’s been governing California for the last 15 years failed to make notable progress in solving problems with affordable housing, homelessness, public transportation and education.

“I think the Democrats’ prospects are very bright in 2026 given the California Republicans’ dysfunctionality and a complete backlash against Donald Trump,” Adams said. “But I have much bigger concerns about the California Democrats long term, because it seems to me they’re setting a record for most consecutive years of failing to fix the state’s problems while getting reelected anyway.”

Democrats in California, he said, were suffering from being in power too long.

“Whenever one party gets into a long-term, dominant position, usually because the other party is just in the midst of self-destructing … the whole thing ends in tears, because the party that is in a dominant position, they don’t have to be that good.”

As the vote count continues in the mayor’s race, democratic socialists in Los Angeles already have some wins down-ballot.

“We are gaining momentum,” said Leslie Chang, a co-chair of the 5,000-member L.A. chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, a decentralized anti-capitalist group that advocates for rental protections and defunding the police. Over the last six years, Angelenos have elected four DSA-backed City Council members and a DSA-recommended city controller.

The DSA did not officially endorse Raman, because she entered the race after the group had issued endorsements and another DSA candidate was also running for mayor. However, three of the six DSA-backed candidates for citywide office were projected to win outright.

DSA Councilmembers Hugo Soto-Martinez and Eunisses Hernandez were reelected by such large margins they avoided runoffs. In the city attorney’s race, DSA-endorsed Marissa Roy was in the lead and the mainstream Democratic incumbent became the first city attorney ousted in a primary in nearly a century. City Controller Kenneth Mejia, a progressive anti-establishment candidate who is not a DSA member but an ally of the group, led by nearly 20 percentage points.

When Chang knocked on doors, she said, some voters asked: “Well, what’s the difference between Nithya and Karen Bass?”

A few voters told her that after reviewing Bass’ and Raman’s websites, they found their platforms similar. Chang was surprised. She thought Raman articulated a clear and novel strategy for how to get L.A. out of the housing crisis, but she said some on the left took issue with her working with housing developers to reduce red tape.

Neel Sannappa, chair of the California Democratic Party’s progressive caucus, said Raman was stymied by getting into the race late and having only a few months to campaign. It also didn’t help that a more left-wing challenger, Rae Huang, already had some momentum — not enough to win, but enough to split the left.

“Nithya does represent something real and growing in Los Angeles,” Sannappa said. “There is a hunger for more progressive, left-leaning candidates that want to make sure that we’re investing in people and not so much investing in just police … and being able to build things that are new and innovative.”

Supporters watch election results come in on their phones during Nithya Raman’s election night party at Boomtown Brewery on Tuesday.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

Some have criticized Raman’s coalition-building, noting she was not endorsed by her fellow DSA-backed City Council members. Others said the MIT and Harvard graduate, who has been a councilmember for six years, performed tepidly in a May televised debate and suffered from Pratt’s attempts to tie her to the establishment.

“If you’re a part of the institution, which she is,” Sadhwani said, “then you can’t exactly claim that you’re going to bring massive change.”

Sadhwani said that California’s left, in contrast to New York’s, appears to have a charisma deficit. While Pratt and Hilton had an advantage with their television backgrounds, they also spoke “in plain terms about the real problems that the state faces.”

Part of Bass’ success can also be attributed to assembling a coalition that included the L.A. County Federation of Labor, the L.A. police officers union, the L.A. County Democratic Party and immigrant rights groups.

In the mayoral race, Sadhwani said, “the dominant political coalition still has power, money, the organization.”

“If you can garner the support of the unions, then having a broader message, maybe it’s less important,” she said. “You don’t have to work quite so hard, because the unions have the base machine.”

People attend Mayor Bass’ election party for the California 2026 primaries at the LINE Hotel on Tuesday.

(Carlin Stiehl/For The Times)

Yusef Robb, a longtime Democratic strategist who is an advisor to Bass, attributed the mayor’s lead to her campaign’s success in building a broad coalition and communicating across the political spectrum. Most voters, he said, tend to think less about ideology — and whether a Democrat was mainstream or DSA-supported — than candidates’ positions on bread and butter issues.

“Mayor’s races are first and foremost about what people see outside of their front doors, when they walk their kids to school, when they drive to work,” he said. “At the end of the day, the voters look at the field and say, ‘OK, who do I trust to keep my kids from having to skip around a tent on the way to school?’ ‘Who can I trust to hire more officers?’ … and ‘Who can I trust to fight back against ICE in court through executive action and even in the streets?’ And that’s Karen Bass.”

For Democrats in this robustly blue state, part of the challenge in figuring a path forward is that every candidate — even those already in power — pitches themselves as a bona fide progressive against the status quo.

“We have led a grassroots campaign because we want to bring change to our city,” Bass said on election night. “And that’s what we’ve been doing, and that’s what we’re going to continue to do.”

Raman also tried to tout herself as a change candidate. Articulating her platform in broad strokes rather than bread-and-butter detail, Raman said she wanted L.A. to be a place “where government actually functions and delivers every day on this city’s beautiful bighearted values, where we stand up against ICE, where we show up for our gay and trans siblings.”

But as she talked of neighborhoods “full of trees and shade … and people and good food,” she seemed low-key and equivocal. Her message was a far cry from the pressing one U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) put forward in his presidential campaigns, highlighting the millions of Americans working for “starvation wages” and a young single mother in Nevada struggling on $10.45 an hour.

Ultimately, the fight between Bass and Raman, as a struggle between mainstream and progressive Democrats, is complicated by the fact that Bass came up through the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, founding the grassroots Community Coalition in South L.A. in the 1990s.

Campaign worker Khai Dombroe prepares balloons before Nithya Raman’s election night party.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

And even though Raman is a DSA member, she has tacked to the center during the campaign, distancing herself from past calls to defund the police by saying she did not want the LAPD to lose more officers.

While Raman and Bass have much in common, the most significant difference between them is on homelessness, Sannappa said. Even though Bass comes from a political tradition of not wanting to criminalize the unhoused, he said, she understood her voters include people wanting to move homeless people off the streets.

“Brass tacks is that we need people that are going to be willing to fight for mental health services,” Sannappa said.

“I think Nithya more so represents the direction where the Democratic Party is going to have to go.”

As L.A. becomes less affordable and homeownership becomes out of reach for many Angelenos, young renters have become a rising political constituency — a shift that many say will likely propel the city leftward.

Bonin said he expected the next new rising Democratic coalition in L.A. to be a labor-renter coalition. He cited Councilmember Soto-Martinez, a renter and union organizer, as probably the best avatar of that.

But as the middle-class splinters along generational lines, other political experts warn that many ordinary Angelenos feel increasingly shut out of L.A. politics.

“Once upon a time the Democratic Party was the party of the working class, and today it has become the party of the educated elites,” Sadhwani said. “Perhaps one of the gifts that Donald Trump has given to Democrats is to force them to contend with the everyday issues of voters, which they seem to have distanced themselves from.”

As many Angelenos feel worse off now than four years ago, Chang said Bass was not directly responsible for every problem. Still, she said, she could have done more to move the city in the right direction.

Delaying the wage boost tied to the 2028 Olympics, she said, was a move that failed working people at a time when many are struggling to make ends meet.

“My fear, of course, is people pivot away from corporate Democrats and they choose the MAGA Republican, because that is the most visible fight,” Chang said. “Or because they think, ‘Oh, well, a democratic socialist running on the Democratic Party line, this is just more of the same status quo.’ ”

June 5 (Asia Today) — South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said Friday that the mutual repatriation of Korean War remains by South Korea and the United States is “the most compelling evidence” of an alliance forged in blood.

Lee made the remarks at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, where South Korea and the United States held a mutual repatriation ceremony for Korean War remains. It was the first time the ceremony was held in South Korea. Previous mutual repatriation ceremonies had been held in Hawaii.

“Today’s repatriation is a meaningful milestone that deepens and strengthens the South Korea-U.S. alliance, which was built on the blood and dedication of veterans,” Lee said.

“The effort to find not only one’s own warriors but also those of an ally and return them to their families is the most compelling evidence of an alliance forged in blood,” he said.

The ceremony returned the remains of 10 South Korean service members from Hawaii to South Korea. The remains of three U.S. service members were returned to the United States.

Lee said the repatriation was a promise by both countries to remember the heroes who devoted themselves to freedom and peace, calling it “the most noble tribute to their sacrifice.”

“More than 70 years ago, we were able to defend freedom and peace because of the noble sacrifice of heroes who gave their most precious lives to protect the freedom and peace of the Republic of Korea,” Lee said.

“But there are heroes who, long after the war ended, have still not returned to their hometowns,” he said. “Returning them fully is the historical duty of those of us who survived.”

Lee said trust built through battlefield promises has sustained the U.S.-South Korea alliance for decades.

“The trust that keeps promises made on the battlefield, even after decades have passed, is the strong root that has supported the South Korea-U.S. alliance,” Lee said. “With the firm South Korea-U.S. alliance as nourishment, the Republic of Korea is writing a new history of prosperity that amazes the world.”

Lee said the two allies should continue working together for peace and mutual prosperity.

“If South Korea and the United States join hands and move unwaveringly toward the future, complete peace will take root on this land and the flower of mutual prosperity will bloom,” Lee said. “We will continue to carry forward, with future generations, the noble history of solidarity for freedom and peace.”

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260605010001908

Iran has reasserted its control over the Strait of Hormuz, warning that foreign commercial and military vessels will be targeted, if they do not comply with regulations governing passage through the strategic waterway.

The announcement on Saturday came after the United States signalled that President Donald Trump was close to a decision on a potential deal with Iran, but Tehran denied an agreement had been reached.

“The management of the Strait of Hormuz is exercised with full authority by the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the operational headquarters of Iran’s armed forces, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said in a statement reported by Iranian media on Saturday.

“All ships, commercial vessels, and tankers are only required to travel through the designated routes and obtain permission from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps [IRGC] Navy. Any violation of these regulations will seriously jeopardise the security of their traffic,” it added.

Iran also issued a warning to foreign military forces operating in the area, saying any attempt to interfere with maritime management or shipping movements would trigger a response.

On Friday, Trump met with advisers in the White House Situation Room and said a “final determination” on a possible deal with Iran would soon be made. But no statement followed the meeting.

US sources had told the AFP news agency the deal was waiting on Trump’s sign-off, but he made no decision after Friday’s meeting.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, said on Friday that while messages continue to be exchanged “no final agreement has been reached” on a deal with the US.

US ‘more than capable’ of restarting war

While attending a defence summit in Singapore on Saturday, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said that Washington was “more than capable” of restarting the war if a satisfactory deal is not reached.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) posted on social media that American forces “remain present and vigilant across the region”.

The efforts to reach a deal were thrown into question this week by US strikes on the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, countered by retaliatory Iranian fire.

Iran’s IRNA state news agency said air defences shot down a drone “belonging to the US-Zionist aggressor enemy” on Saturday, citing a statement from the army.

Trump said his priorities in any deal include Iran agreeing to never develop nuclear weapons, and the reopening of the blockaded Strait of Hormuz.

“President Trump will only make a deal that is good for America and satisfies his red lines,” a White House official told AFP, adding: “Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon.”

Trump ‘betraying diplomacy’

Also on Saturday, Mohsen Rezaei, an adviser ⁠to Iran’s Supreme ⁠Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, said in a social media post that Trump was “betraying diplomacy for ⁠the third time” by ⁠continuing the US naval blockade in the strait, and making what he described ‌as “excessive demands ‌in ‌negotiations”.

In a social media post on Friday, Trump said Tehran would remove mines from the strait and end its closure of the waterway with “no tolls”, while the US would lift its blockade.

Both countries would coordinate on removing and destroying Iran’s enriched uranium, he said, adding that “no money will be exchanged, until further notice”.

Iran’s Fars news agency, however, cited sources as saying Tehran was demanding “the immediate release of $12bn” in frozen assets before moving to the next phase of negotiations.

On the toll-free reopening of Hormuz, the sources said “no such clause appears in the text of the agreement”, while Trump’s comment on destroying Iran’s nuclear material “is fundamentally baseless”.

Iran’s ISNA news agency cited legislator Alireza Salimi as saying a plan “to implement Iran’s management and sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz will soon be approved by parliament”.

Iran’s Tasnim news agency said the US blockade remains in place, and its ships “are receiving warnings from CENTCOM to stop and not cross the blockade line”.