Trump administration hit by court defeats, Hormuz tanker blows up, and designer Bob Mackie dies

A federal appellate setback hit the Trump administration as the Supreme Court declined to pause a lower-court injunction, leaving in place a ruling that blocks the administration’s stricter absentee-ballot rules. In a separate case, a U.S. district judge rejected a regulation that would have limited the residence of foreign students and journalists, describing the government’s justification as "exceptionally weak." On the geopolitical front, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard reported that the oil tanker El Gaia detonated after striking a mine on the southern route through the Strait of Hormuz, setting the ship ablaze and prompting the Guard to announce the waterway’s closure under its authority.

In cultural news, iconic American costume designer Bob Mackie, known for work with stars such as Cher and Beyoncé, died in a hospital after battling pneumonia, aged 87. The article also mentions a murder investigation in an Austrian prison, but the primary headlines focus on the U.S. legal defeats, the Hormuz incident, and Mackie’s death.