NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks rushed higher worldwide, and oil prices eased as hopes built that the war with Iran could end soon. The S&P 500 rose 0.7% and added to its leap from the day before, which was its best since last spring. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 1.2%.

LIMA, Peru (AP) – Peru’s Congress on Wednesday will choose the country’s eight president in a decade to replace the newly ousted former leader José Jerí, with four lawmakers largely unknown by the public in the running.

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump sought on Wednesday to explain his rationale for the war against Iran at a pivotal moment at home and abroad, but he offered few new details as he amasses extraordinary executive authority to prosecute the military operation.

LIMA, Peru (AP) – Peru’s Congress on Tuesday voted to remove interim President José Jerí from office as he faces corruption allegations, triggering a fresh wave of political instability just weeks before the nation’s April presidential and congressional elections.

President Donald Trump said U.S. forces will keep hitting Iran “very hard” in the next two or three weeks and bring the country “back to the Stone Ages,” even as he touted the success of U.S. operations and argued that all of Washington’s objectives have so far been met or exceeded.

LIMA, Peru (AP) – The Trump administration on Wednesday expressed concern that China was costing Peru its sovereignty in solidifying control over the South American nation’s critical infrastructure, a blunt warning after a Peruvian court ruling restricted a local regulator’s oversight of a Chinese-built mega port.

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:

VATICAN CITY (AP) – Peru’s ambassador to the Holy See publicly invited Pope Leo XIV to visit his second homeland on Saturday, as 2026 is shaping up to be an important year for the pontiff’s travel with big trips under study for Africa and South America.