News Wrap: Iranian port rocked by massive, deadly explosion

John Yang:

In tonight's other news, there was an explosion at a Persian Gulf port in southern Iran. At least five people were killed and more than 700 others injured. Plumes of black smoke could be seen for miles. The cause of the blast is unknown, according to a private security firm. Last month, a shipment of chemical rocket fuel for missiles was delivered to the port. Iran hasn't commented on that.

The explosion came on the same day as a third round of talks between the United States and Iran on Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program. U.S. officials said the talks in Oman were productive and that there would be another recession soon in Europe.

India said Pakistani soldiers shot at Indian posts for a second straight night in the disputed Kashmir region, fueling longstanding tensions between the two nations. It comes in the wake of a gun attack earlier this week in Kashmir that killed dozens of people, most of them Indian tourists.

India blames Pakistan for the incident, calling it an act of terrorism. Pakistan denies any involvement. Both Pakistan and India claim the entire Kashmir region as their own and have fought wars over it.

A federal judge wants the Trump administration to explain why a 2-year old U.S. citizen was deported to Honduras with her mother and older sister. Lawyers for the girl say that she, her mother and her 11-year-old sister were detained when they showed up at an ICE office in New Orleans Thursday for a routine appointment when the girl's legal custodian, who is a U.S. citizen, went to federal court seeking their release. Administration lawyers said the mother wanted her daughters to go with her.

Judge Terry Daugherty asked to speak with the mother about her wishes, but was told they had already been released In Honduras. Dougherty, who's a Trump appointee, ordered a hearing in three weeks in the interest of dispelling our strong suspicion that the government just deported a U.S. citizen with no meaningful process.

And Virginia Giuffre, a key figure in the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case, has died. Giuffre was among the first survivors of Epstein's abuse to go public and press for his criminal prosecution. She claimed that when she was a teenager, Epstein forced her to have sex with Britain's Prince Andrew. Both men denied the claim. Andrew eventually settled with Giuffre, including donating an undisclosed sum to the organization she founded for survivors of sexual abuse. Giuffre's family said she died by suicide. She was 41 years old.

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