
Ecuador votes for its next president amid deadly crime surge
CNN
Voters must pick between conservative incumbent Daniel Noboa and leftist lawyer Luisa González to address the drug-fueled violence that has consumed the once-peaceful country.
Voters in Ecuador are casting their ballots in a presidential runoff election between conservative incumbent Daniel Noboa and leftist lawyer Luisa González – a race overshadowed by drug-fueled violence that has consumed the once-peaceful South American country. Voters who spoke to CNN on Sunday overwhelmingly said that security was their main concern. “Tranquility … is the most important thing for the country because there is a lot of insecurity,” one voter said. “Security is in pieces,” another voter said, adding that she hopes whoever wins will keep their promise to tackle violence. Polls opened at 8 a.m. ET and are scheduled to close at 6 p.m. The first results are expected to be announced a few hours after that. This is the latest electoral contest between the two candidates. In the 2023 snap election, Noboa defeated González with just over 50 percent of the vote.

US officials are furiously trying to avert a potential monthslong closure of the Strait of Hormuz, privately acknowledging that reopening the key waterway is a problem without a clear solution and dependent at least in part on what lengths President Donald Trump is willing to go to force the Iranian regime’s hand, multiple administration and intelligence officials tell CNN.

Supreme Court revives First Amendment lawsuit from street preacher who called concertgoers ‘sissies’
The Supreme Court on Friday revived a First Amendment lawsuit from a street preacher who used a loudspeaker to call people “whores,” “Jezebels” and “sissies” as they tried to enter an amphitheater to attend concerts in a suburban Mississippi community.











