Ryland Barton

Baseball's new automatic ball strike system could be making games a little longer so far this season, with the time of a nine-inning game creeping to towards two hours and 42 minutes through this weekend.

That's up four minutes from last season, and that's all after the league successfully brought down the length of games in 2023 by introducing a pitch timer and other rules.

This is NPR.

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton.

California Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell says he will resign from Congress following multiple sexual assault allegations made against him.

He had been seen as a frontrunner in California's gubernatorial race before dropping out yesterday after the accusation surfaced.

In a statement, he says he will fight what he called a false allegation against him, but added, quote, I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I did make.

Swalwell was one of four House members, two Democrats and two Republicans facing possible expulsion over alleged misconduct.

The temporary ceasefire between the U.S.

and Iran appears to be holding, though talks over the weekend produced no deal to end the conflict.

President Trump announced a blockade of Iranian ports today in an attempt to force it to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Ambassador Wendy Sherman, the lead negotiator of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal under former President Obama, said it was unrealistic for the Trump administration to expect to strike a deal in one day.

Meanwhile, Israel is continuing its war against Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Lebanon's health ministry says Israeli airstrikes have killed 2,089 people.

Crude oil prices are hovering around $100 as markets continue to watch what's happening in the Strait of Hormuz.

As NPR's Camilla Dominovsky reports, the last week's ceasefire deal brought prices down, but President Trump's blockade sent them back up today.

President Trump is trying to explain away a now-deleted social media post depicting himself as Jesus by saying he thought it showed him as a doctor.

He's also refusing to apologize to Pope Leo XIV after criticizing the pontiff's opposition to the war in Iran.

Trump lashed out at the pope yesterday, calling him weak on crime and foreign policy.

Leo responded by saying that the Vatican's Appeals for Peace and Reconciliation are