When Elon Musk debuted the Department of Government Efficiency recently at the Capitol, House Speaker Mike Johnson enthusiastically predicted the coming Trump administration would bring "a lot of change around here."

Three weeks in, the change the Trump administration has brought is a disruption of the federal government on an unprecedented scale, dismantling longstanding programs, sparking widespread public outcry and challenging the very role of Congress to create the nation's laws and pay its bills.

Iran's rial currency plunged Wednesday to record low of 850,000 to $1 after U.S. President Donald Trump's order to restart 'maximum pressure' campaign.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Trump's reimposition of a policy of "maximum pressure" against Iran will end in "failure" as it did during his first term.

Iran's government seems to be welcoming some recent decisions by the United States — even though they happen to come from a man Iranian operatives have allegedly been plotting to assassinate.

President Donald Trump's moves to freeze spending on foreign aid and overhaul, maybe even end, the U.S. Agency for International Development have been lauded in Iranian state media.

Palestinians will mark this year the 77th anniversary of their mass expulsion from what is now Israel, an event that is at the core of their national struggle.

But in many ways, that experience pales in comparison to the calamity now faced in the Gaza Strip — particularly as President Donald Trump has suggested that displaced Palestinians in Gaza be permanently resettled outside the war-torn territory and that the United States take "ownership" of the enclave.

U.S. President Donald Trump's stunning proposal to forcibly transfer hundreds of thousands of Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip and develop it as a tourist destination faces major obstacles.

The Palestinians and many others view such plans as ethnic cleansing, an attempt to drive them from their homeland after Israel's 15-month offensive against Hamas rendered much of it uninhabitable. It was also seen as an attempt to liquidate their decades-long struggle for a state, which has wide international support.

Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, many of whom in exile since 1948, believe that U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal for Gaza is doomed to fail, an activist said.

Suheil Natour, who heads an aid group in the Mar Elias camp in Beirut, said that neither the Palestinians themselves nor the neighboring countries that Trump suggested might absorb them will accept the population transfer plan.

Monsoon rains unleashed flooding in Australia's Queensland that have claimed the lives of two people as the week-long deluge dropped months of rainfall in a few days, devastating small rural towns on the state's north coast.

The body of an 82-year-old woman was found on Tuesday in a paddock near the North Queensland town of Ingham. It followed the death of a 63-year-old woman on Sunday when the rescue boat she was traveling in struck a tree and flipped.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice and Saudi Arabia's Al-Nassr defeated the United Arab Emirates' Al-Wasl 4-0 in the AFC Champions League Elite on Monday.

The Portuguese star, who turns 40 on Wednesday, notched his 22nd and 23rd goals of the season for the Riyadh club, which had already secured progression into the round of 16 before this penultimate round of the group stage.

Real Madrid's problems on defense have been compounded by a muscle injury to David Alaba.

Alaba has "an adductor injury in his left leg," the club said on Tuesday.

Manchester City and Aston Villa made big moves just before the midseason transfer window closed on Monday.

Four-time defending Premier League champion City secured a late deal for Porto midfielder Nico Gonzalez for a reported $61.8 million, while three-time Champions League winner Marco Asensio joined Villa on loan to the end of the season.