World Echo

Prosecutors in a Utah county announced the filing of two attempted aggravated murder charges on Friday against a man who police said had stabbed a Muslim man multiple times earlier this week because of the victim's religion. Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said the defendant, Peter Michael Larsen, was charged with two counts of first-degree felony attempted aggravated murder over Monday's knife attack at the Valley Fair Mall in West Valley City. Read: The West's increasing campaign against Islam "In the filed information document, notices are given for a potential hate crime, the defendant as a habitual violent offender, and use of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person," Gill's office said in a statement. "An alleged unprovoked attack on anyone in our community is unacceptable, but an attack allegedly motivated because of the victim's religion ...

A new wave of US attacks on Iran has plunged Iranians back into deep uncertainty and anxiety after a period of relative calm while a shaky ceasefire held. Iranians contacted by Reuters via an encrypted messaging app ​said economic problems were mounting and they were consumed by worries over what will happen next. Sharing a photograph of her weekly grocery shopping, Somayeh, 40, a photographer in ‌Tehran, said the pre-war prices had almost doubled. "The most important thing overall in the middle of the war is the economy. Every day our situation is worse and more difficult," she said. "The thing that’s the most stressful is the back and forth: one day it’s war, the next it’s peace. We don’t know what’s actually going to happen. We can’t even make plans for two days in the future." Like everyone else interviewed by Reuters, she spoke on ​condition of partial anonymity, declining to let her full name be used and citing...

Two of the three major United States television networks and CNN did not broadcast a prime-time address on Thursday by President Donald Trump on their primary platforms, drawing a rebuke from a president who has placed unprecedented pressure on American media. The speech focused on election security, four months before the critical midterm elections. During his speech, Trump said that networks that did not air his speech were engaged in a "plot" and should have their licenses revoked. "In a rare move NBC and ABC fake news have both said they would not cover this speech," he said, adding, "Fraud like this should mean a revocation of their licenses." Networks have broad First Amendment rights to decide what they choose to broadcast, experts say. But historically, broadcasters have carried most such speeches on the grounds that they provid...

Multiple pro-Iranian users, based on their display profiles and past posts, have been sharing a video on social media platform X since July 14, 2026, claiming that it shows the Iranian Navy destroying a ship in the Strait of Hormuz amid the rising tension in the Middle East. However, the video is old and shows the US Navy destroying an Iranian Soleimani-class corvette vessel in the Persian Gulf. Traffic in the Strait of Hormuz was disrupted once again after Iranian forces shut down the vital maritime route after exchanging heavy missile and drone assaults with US forces, with multiple US facilities in the Gulf states coming under fire on July 12, 2026. The United States military has concluded a third consecutive night of strikes against Iran, hours before a reinstated naval blockade of Iranian ports takes effect, as Washington and Tehran both stake claims for the control of the Strait of Hormuz. Similarly, the United Arab Emirates said two of its oil tankers were hit by Iranian...

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Wednesday mandatory annual testosterone screening for troops 30 ​years old or above, an initiative he said was ‌aimed at combating testosterone deficiency that can undermine health. Hegseth said the screening could lead to troops being offered testosterone replacement ​therapy aimed at "ensuring you have the right ​testosterone levels to operate at your absolute ⁠best". "Because it's well-established science that as we age, ​testosterone levels often naturally drop," he said in a video ​message. The screening would become part of annual testing for troops aged 30 and above, and troops could voluntarily decide whether to ​accept any recommended hormone replacement treatment if they were diagnosed ​with low testosterone levels. Troops below the age of 30 ‌could request to be tested. The move comes as the US Department of Health and Human Services has moved to ease some restrictions on testo...

The US House of Representatives defeated an amendment to cut off aid to Israel on Wednesday, with nearly half of Democrats opposing the amendment, reflecting a rupture between US progressives and Israel over its attacks in Gaza, as well as an apparent rift within the Democrats themselves. The House voted 314 to 104 to defeat the measure, offered as an amendment to a State Department spending bill by Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky. However, 103 Democrats and one Republican backed it, a sharp departure from years in which bills supporting Israel passed almost unanimously. Left-wing Democrats are pushing to end US aid to Israel as they campaign in midterm election primaries. At the same time, moderate Democrats promote sending money that would be used for defensive weapons only. Massie is a fiscal hawk who opposes all foreign aid, but he said he was also responding to the heavy toll on civilians of Israel's attacks in Gaza. "There h...