September 4: Iran Strikes U.S. Targets and Missouri Map Ruling

In the Middle East Iran has struck U.S. military targets in the region as Washington investigates a deadly attack on a wedding. Oil prices climbed after Iran continued restricting traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a passage used for roughly one-fifth of global oil shipments. Disrupting that route can quickly turn a regional confrontation into a global economic problem. In Russia Russian investigators say a serviceman was hospitalized after a shooting in Engels. Russian Telegram channels identified him as Major General Nikolai Varpakhovich, commander of a heavy bomber division accused of planning the July 2024 missile strike on Kyiv’s Okhmatdyt children’s hospital. Authorities have not confirmed his identity or identified a shooter. In U.S. elections Missouri’s Supreme Court unanimously blocked Republican-favored congressional districts from being used in November’s midterm election, ruling that the map never legally took effect despite being used in a recent primary. President Trump criticized the decision. Missouri voters will decide whether the districts can be used in future elections. In Maryland, the state Supreme Court allowed a Democratic-backed redistricting amendment onto the November ballot. It would let lawmakers draw legislative and congressional districts without the state’s current strict compactness requirements. In Britain Former GP practice manager Helena Paiva received a three-year suspended sentence after admitting she stole £517,260 from a Southwark NHS surgery between 2023 and 2025. Prosecutors said she altered bookkeeping entries to route funds to her own account. About £7,000 has been recovered, and a proceeds-of-crime hearing is scheduled for February.