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SAM METZ

President of the Palestine Football Association Jibril Rajoub is seen after speaking during the 76th FIFA Congress in Vancouver, Canada on April 30, 2026. (Photo by Don MacKinnon / AFP)
June 12, 2026, 3:19 pm
Palestinian soccer chief says US, Canada haven’t granted him visa to attend World Cup
Senior Palestinian Authority official Jibril Rajoub decries move as unfair, after attending soccer championship’s opening match in Mexico
By SAM METZ
Mourners gather prior to the burial of Hamas leader Mohammed Odeh and his family members, during their funeral in Gaza City on May 27, 2026. (Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
May 28, 2026, 4:41 pm
Targeted killings haven’t improved Israel’s strategic regional position — experts
While multiple layers of leaders in Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah have been taken out, all three have managed to press on, while broader goals behind assassinations have gone unmet
By SAM METZ and FATMA KHALED
In this satellite photo provided by Planet Labs PBC, a vessel identified as the Virgo by the advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran is seen off Khargh Island, Iran, on Jan. 16, 2022. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)
March 31, 2026, 8:59 am
Seizing Kharg Island would risk US troops and may not end Iran war, experts say
If the US captures its crucial oil terminal, experts say Tehran and its allies could retaliate, including by laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz and escalating drone strikes
By Ben Finley and SAM METZ
This handout image taken by the European Space Agency, captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite, shows a view of Iran's Kharg Island, which hosts the country's main crude export terminal and is responsible for the overwhelming majority of its oil shipments to the world, about 30 kilometers south of the mainland in the north of the Gulf, on March 7, 2026. (European Space Agency/AFP)
March 30, 2026, 5:26 pm
Kharg Island is key to Iran’s oil exports, but targeting it would carry major risks
A threatened US ground operation to seize control of the energy hub would put troops just 21 miles off Iran’s coast, within range of missiles and drones
By SAM METZ
Boys stand on a launcher of an Iranian domestically built missile during an annual rally marking the 1979 Islamic Revolution at Azadi (Freedom) Square in Tehran, Iran, February 11, 2026. (Vahid Salemi/AP)
February 26, 2026, 4:29 pm
Iran would be outgunned in war with the US, but could still inflict considerable pain
Whether by using missiles to attack American military assets, getting support from its proxies, or closing the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran has potent options
By SAM METZ
Members of the Iranian Basij paramilitary force march as a domestically built missile is displayed during a parade in Tehran, Iran, January 10, 2025. (AP/Vahid Salemi)
February 13, 2026, 9:52 pm
Iran’s military degraded by 12-day war with Israel, but still has significant capabilities
Despite its losses to Israel and US, Tehran retains missiles, manpower and regional reach
By David Rising and SAM METZ
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, left, speaks alongside Somaliland's President Abdirahman Abdullahi Mohamed during a press conference at the Presidential Palace in Hargeisa, the capital of the breakaway East African region, on January 6, 2026. (Somaliland Presidential Office via AFP)
January 14, 2026, 10:30 am
Israel’s recognition of Somaliland brings danger and opportunity to a rough region
‘It is a mutually beneficial friendship,’ says breakaway region’s FM, though al-Shabab threats, Houthi risks and Middle East power games make the new ties with Jerusalem precarious
By SAM METZ and Omar Faruk
A man sits amidst the wreckage that was caused by earthquake, in the town of Imi N'tala, outside Marrakech, Morocco, September 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
September 14, 2023, 2:57 pm
Displaced by earthquake, Moroccan families brace for nights with no shelter
Devastation has affected 300,000 Moroccans, including 100,000 children; villagers determined to stay and rebuild
By SAM METZ and MOHAMED BOUKDIRE
A man stands next to a damaged hotel after the earthquake in Moulay Brahim village, near the epicentre of the earthquake, outside Marrakech, Morocco, September 9, 2023. (Mosa'ab Elshamy/AP)
September 10, 2023, 9:28 am
‘Ten seconds and everything was gone’: Moroccan villagers mourn quake destruction
Moulay Brahim residents plead for ambulances and other help as they search for survivors after tremor devastated mountain town
By SAM METZ and AHMED HATEM
A rescuer searches for survivors under the rubble of a house destroyed in an earthquake in Moulay Brahim, Al-Haouz province, on September 9, 2023. (Fadel Senna/AFP)
September 9, 2023, 10:10 pm
Rescue teams struggle to reach survivors as Morocco quake kills over 1,300
Many in historic Marrakesh sleep outside, fearful to reenter buildings; one expert says he expects final death toll to be in the thousands
By SAM METZ and Mosa'ab Elshamy
A man walks with his belongings through the rubble in an alleyway in the earthquake-damaged old city in Marrakesh on September 9, 2023.(Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP)
September 9, 2023, 5:07 am
Powerful earthquake strikes Morocco, killing over 1,000
Toll expected to rise further after 6.8 magnitude quake damages buildings and historical landmarks in major cities
By SAM METZ
Law enforcement investigate the scene of a shooting involving the FBI, Aug. 9, 2023 in Provo, Utah. (Laura Seitz/The Deseret News via AP)
August 10, 2023, 9:03 am
FBI shoots and kills Utah man accused of posting death threats against Biden
Special agents were trying to serve a warrant on the home of Craig Deleeuw Robertson, who had written online about wanting to ‘put a nice hole in [the president’s] forehead’
By LINDSAY WHITEHURST and SAM METZ
Republican US presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a news conference at the Capitol in Salt Lake City, July 21, 2023. (Jeffrey D. Allred/The Deseret News via AP)
July 22, 2023, 10:35 am
Republican 2024 hopeful DeSantis says he’s driven more by faith in God than politics
Visit to Utah comes as Florida governor tries to make inroads among religious voters, days after his speech at Christians United for Israel conference
By MICHELLE PRICE and SAM METZ
The Bible is read aloud at the Utah Capitol, November 25, 2013. (Steve Griffin/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, File)
June 22, 2023, 8:51 pm
Utah school district returns the Bible to its shelves after ban sparked outcry
Davis School District rules that text is age-appropriate, after it was banned last month amid Republican push to get ‘sensitive material’ out of student libraries
By SAM METZ
The Bible is read aloud at the Utah Capitol, Monday, November 25, 2013. The Bible has been banned at elementary and middle schools in the Davis School District north of Salt Lake City, after a review committee decided it wasn't age appropriate 'due to vulgarity or violence.' (Steve Griffin/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP)
June 3, 2023, 12:44 pm
Utah district bans Bible in schools ‘due to vulgarity or violence’
Complaint filed in apparent protest after previous books were barred, leading to removal of the Bible from Davis District elementary and middle schools
By SAM METZ
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