Trump lashes out

at allies on war

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — President Donald Trump lashed out at allies who have been unwilling to do more to support the U.S. war effort against Iran.

The president on Tuesday told them to “go get your own oil” and said it was not America’s job to secure the Strait of Hormuz. Trump said the military could end its offensive in two to three weeks and that the U.S. won’t have anything to do with what happens next in the strait, which has been closed by the Islamic Republic. Instead, he told reporters, the responsibility for keeping the vital waterway open will rest with countries that rely on it.

US journalist

kidnapped in Iraq

BAGHDAD — Iraqi officials say an American journalist was kidnapped in Baghdad and security forces are pursuing her captors.

The journalist was identified as freelancer Shelly Kittleson by one of the outlets she worked for. A U.S. official blamed the Iran-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah.

Two Iraqi security officials said the journalist was kidnapped on Tuesday and that she has U.S. citizenship. They said that two cars were involved in the kidnapping, one of which crashed while being pursued near the town of Al-Haswa in Babil province southwest of Baghdad. The journalist was the transferred to a second car that fled the scene.

Trump orders

list of US voters

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that aims to tighten voting rules by creating a national list of eligible voters and limiting mail ballots.

The order signed Tuesday directs the Department of Homeland Security to work with the Social Security Administration on state-by-state voter lists. It also seeks to stop the Postal Service from sending absentee ballots to people not on approved lists.

The order calls for adding barcodes on ballot envelopes and threatens to withhold federal funds from states that do not comply. Democratic election officials in Oregon, Arizona, and Maine quickly promised lawsuits and non-compliance. Legal experts also question the order’s constitutionality.

The Associated Press