Talk of the Town
A judge dismissed a citizen-led petition Friday seeking to remove LC Jones from the Martinsville City Council, ruling it lacked enough valid signatures under Virginia law.
Jones called the decision “a great lift off my shoulders.”
Petition organizers blamed incorrect guidance on signature requirements and said concerns about transparency remain.
A Virginia State Police investigation tied to a forensic audit continues, though no charges have been filed against Jones.
Two people are in jail, charged with the death of 60-year-old Debbie Ann Marrero, whose body was discovered in the…
(LONGDON) — The interim leadership council of Iran has been formed following the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s supreme leader, Iranian state TV reported Sunday.
The interim leadership council will include Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, the head of the judiciary and Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, who was selected as the representative of the Guardian Council.
According to the Islamic Republic constitution, the Guardian Council consists of 12 members: six “faghihs,” or Islamic jurists, and six Muslim “experts” in various areas of law.
Watch ABC Sunday night at 9 p.m. ET for an ABC News special “Shockwaves: The Attack on Iran” to see the latest on the unfolding situation in the Middle East. Stream on Disney+ and Hulu.
Pezeshkian — who sources told ABC News was targeted in Saturday’s joint U.S.-Israel attack — resurfaced on Sunday on Iranian state TV. He said that the interim leadership council has started its work following the death of Khamenei.
In a taped video message broadcast on the Iranian state TV, Pezeshkian said that the armed forces of the Islamic Republic are “powerfully crushing the enemy’s bases.”
Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, Ali Larijani, appeared in a television interview in Iran on Sunday and commented on the death of Khamenei, saying, “The passing of a great personality has wounded the hearts of all of us.”
“Americans should know that by stabbing the hearts of the Iranian nation, their hearts will be stabbed,” Larijani said. “What they did in a cruel way towards the Iranian leadership has angered the people so much that they will never achieve their goals.”
He also said a temporary leadership council would be formed of the president, the head of the judiciary, and one of the jurists of the Guardian Council.
A spokesperson for the Guardian Council said, “The country’s constitution provides for the current situation and the leadership council will be in charge until the leadership is determined.”
According to the law, the leadership must be determined as soon as possible, given the war conditions. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said 40 Iranian commanders were also killed in Saturday’s attack that President Donald Trump described as a “massive and ongoing operation” against Iran and its Middle East proxies.
The IDF said the Israeli Air Force struck and eliminated seven members of the top Iranian security leadership who had gathered at several locations in Tehran.
Among those eliminated in the strikes was Abdolrahim Mousavi, who served as chief of staff of the armed forces, according to the IDF.
Mousavi served as one of the highest senior military ranking officials and was the successor of Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, who was killed in the opening strike of “Operation Rising Lion” in June 2025.
The majority of the highest-ranking senior military officials of the Iranian security leadership were also killed, the IDF said.
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(NEW YORK) — Oil prices surged and stocks tumbled worldwide in early trading on Thursday as Iran escalated shipping attacks in a critical tanker route.
Global crude spiked above $100 a barrel on Thursday before settling slightly below that key benchmark. The rise in oil prices defied a U.S. effort hours earlier to reassure markets with an announcement of the second-largest ever release from the nation’s petroleum reserve.
A selloff hit Wall Street as traders feared economic fallout from a potentially prolonged bout of elevated oil prices.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 550 points, or 1.1%, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.8%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 0.8%.
Oil markets are suffering a major supply shortage due to the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a trading route that facilitates the transport of about one-fifth of the global oil supply.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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