NPR News: 05-16-2026 5PM EDT

The Pakistani interior minister made an unannounced visit to Iran this weekend, Iranian state media reported, as the two countries continue efforts to mediate an end to the latest Mideast war. The visit by Mohsin Naqvi, who has been a key interlocutor in Pakistan’s mediation push, came as a ceasefire between Iran and the US-Israel coalition has held for weeks but both sides continue to blockade the Strait of Hormuz. That narrow sea route carries about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas and about a third of globally traded fertilizer, and the dual blockade has contributed to rising gas prices and fertilizer shortages worldwide.

Voting rights rally in Selma

Voters from across the country gathered in Selma, Alabama, this weekend for a traditional day of action in support of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The event began with prayer and worship at the historic Tabernacle Baptist Church. Congresswoman Terri Sewell, who represents Alabama’s 7th District, told the congregation the fight for voting rights is “not just a political movement, but a moral one” rooted in the belief that “every child of God deserves dignity, equality, and a voice in this democracy.” The service was followed by a march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where peaceful voting rights marchers were violently attacked by police and state troopers in 1965.