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

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he's authorized negotiations with Lebanon

aimed at disarming Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants and establishing relations between the countries.

They've technically been at war since Israel was established in 1948.

Meanwhile, President Trump posted on social media that Iran is doing a very

poor job of allowing oil through the Strait of Hormuz, and it is, quote, not the agreement we have.

As NPR's Daniel Estrin reports, after more than a month of war, Iran is feeling emboldened.

The regime is still there. It is proven that it can withstand the most powerful army in the world and the most powerful army in the region, Israel.

And it discovered the Strait of Hormuz and what havoc it can wreak not only on the Gulf, but on the entire globe.

NPR's Daniel Estrin reporting. First Lady Melania

Trump gave a surprise statement today denying any connection to Jeffrey Epstein. They appear together

in a group photo from 2000, but Trump decries what she says are fake images and statements about

herself and the deceased convicted sex offender.

She does urge Congress to hold hearings on the Epstein probe.

NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben has this.

The First Lady called for public hearings to allow victims to testify.

Several prominent male executives resign from their powerful positions after this matter became widely politicized. Of course,

this doesn't amount to guilt, but we still must work openly and transparently to uncover the truth.

It's unclear what prompted this statement. President Trump has mentioned numerous times

in the Epstein files. He has denied any wrongdoing or knowledge of Epstein's crimes. Trump has

called on the country to move on from the Epstein scandal. Danielle Kurtzleben, NPR News, the White

House. Federal forecasters say it's increasingly likely that an El Nino weather pattern

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