• Dear Readers: Yes, pen pal programs still exist in a digital world
• Trump advisers step up their calls on China to help open Strait of Hormuz ahead of Beijing summit
• Takeaways from Indiana, Ohio and Michigan: Trump's flex pays off and Democrats win special election
• Burkina Faso junta secretly detained journalist and others, advocacy group says
• Amputee football players in Rwanda find healing and a sense of community
• Fire at a shopping center in Iran kills 8 people and injures dozens
• Antarctica's tourism boom raises concerns about contamination and disease
• UK local elections could hasten Keir Starmer's exit
• Candidates for California governor tangle in testy debate with mail voting already underway
• Cade Cunningham scores 23, Tobias Harris has 20 to help Pistons beat Cavs 111-101 in Game 1
• MacKinnon has goal and 2 assists in 5-2 win over Wild as Avalanche take 2-0 lead in series
• Vivek Ramaswamy wins Ohio's GOP nomination for governor and will face former state health director
• South Carolina joins Southern redistricting push after US Supreme Court ruling on minority districts
• Michigan Democrats keep control of state Senate in election win that offers clues about midterms
• New weapons charges filed against suspect in deadly shooting at Bondi Beach Hanukkah festival