Iran faces 'greatest financial offensive ever', says US treasury secretary

We begin this afternoon with an update from Washington, where Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has expanded his statement on Iran, saying the United States will now sever all economic ties with Tehran and that any nation partnering with Iran financially will also be isolated.

That's a significant expansion from this morning's statement, which focused on direct U.S. sanctions. This now includes third-party nations.

Bessent called it the greatest financial offensive ever imposed. The statement did not name which nations might be affected, but analysts say China and Russia maintain significant trade relationships with Iran.

Turning now to the Crown Prosecution Service in the United Kingdom, which has confirmed it will review a case file from London's Metropolitan Police relating to a man in his eighties. The file is part of the investigation into allegations against the late Mohamed Al Fayed, the former owner of Harrods department store.

Al Fayed died in twenty twenty-three. He owned Harrods from nineteen eighty-five to twenty ten, and also owned Fulham Football Club in the Premier League.

The file relates to a man in his eighties, not to Al Fayed himself. The CPS has not said how the individual is connected to the broader investigation. No charges have been filed.

In sports, British Olympian Keely Hodgkinson has withdrawn from Thursday's Diamond League meeting in Zurich. The women's eight hundred metre runner said her body is not quite ready following the Paris Games.

Hodgkinson won gold in Paris in the eight hundred metres. That was Great Britain's first Olympic gold in that event since nineteen eighty.

Nineteen eighty-eight. Ann Packer won in sixty-four, but the modern era for British middle distance began with Kelly Holmes in Athens, two thousand four.

Back in June of last year, a man in Florida was arrested after police say he attempted to board a commercial flight with what officers described as a suspicious collection of survival gear, duct tape, and a handwritten note reading quote, 'I am the sole survivor.'

Police said there was no emergency and no reason to believe he was a survivor of anything.

He told officers he had been preparing for this moment his entire adult life. The aircraft had not left the ground.

Prosecutors charged him with making a false report and disrupting air travel. He pleaded no contest and received probation.

A Massachusetts man led police on what officers are calling a slow-speed pursuit while driving a stolen front-end loader through three towns at approximately twelve miles per hour.

Police said the pursuit lasted forty minutes and covered seven miles. Officers eventually used stop sticks to flatten the tires.

The suspect is a person of interest in at least two other construction equipment thefts in the region.

He has been charged with larceny of a motor vehicle, failure to stop for police, and operating after suspension.

Missouri police discovered fentanyl hidden inside Barbie dolls being sold at a discount store near the Arkansas border. Officers said the dolls had been repackaged and the drugs were concealed in the packaging.

Investigators say the dolls were removed from shelves immediately and no children were harmed. Two people have been arrested.

A California burglary suspect who became trapped inside a wall while fleeing police was rescued after officers on a coffee break heard his cries for help.

Police said the man had climbed into a narrow gap between two buildings and became wedged approximately eight feet down. Fire crews used specialized equipment to extract him after two hours.

He was treated at a hospital and then booked on the original burglary charge.

Number three. One hundred and twenty pounds of dog, hiding from ice, behind a two-year-old. Posted by Tiny Boss Big Dog on the twentieth of August. Three million one hundred and eighty-six thousand nine hundred and sixty-two new views.

A hundred and twenty pounds. That is a very large dog.

Very large dog. Very small bodyguard.

Number two. Fisherman Found This Heron Fighting For Its Life. Posted by Sassy on the twenty-first of August. Seven million two hundred and seven thousand seven hundred and fifty-six new views in the last three days.

Seven million views. That is a lot of people who wanted to know the heron made it.

When Kindness Goes Both Ways. Posted by Windypaws on the twentieth of August. Seven million two hundred and twelve thousand three hundred and seventy-nine new views in the last three days. It has led our countdown for thirty-six consecutive hours.

The Cubs beat the White Sox yesterday four to three on Pete Crow-Armstrong's walk-off home run in the crosstown series. First Cub ever to do that.

Magnus Carlsen defended his chess title at the Esports World Cup. Beat Hikaru Nakamura three games to one. They are calling him the greatest of all time.

Ohio State is ranked number four in the Yahoo Sports preseason college football Top 25. Buckeyes are looking to beat Michigan and make a deep playoff run this fall.