New York Times

• New Air Force One Lacks Defensive Countermeasures of Previous Model, Officials Say

  Experts said the lack of such capabilities poses a potential risk when the president travels overseas. The White House defended the aircraft’s safety.

• How Trump Is Trying to Tip the Scales for the Midterms, and Why Grocery Stores Are Scrambling

  Plus, the Friday news quiz.

• Iran’s Supreme Leader Remains Absent, a Void at the Top of the Regime

  Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei did not appear at his father’s funeral this week, fueling speculation about his physical condition and leaving a power vacuum in a divided country.

• The U.S. and Iran Are Fighting Again. Is the Cease-Fire Over?

  Eric Schmitt, a New York Times National Security correspondent, analyzes recent skirmishes between the U.S. and Iran and whether they threaten ongoing negotiations for a peace deal.

• Bombing Iran Didn’t Work for Trump. Neither Did a Tentative Cease-Fire. Is There a Plan C?

  The administration appears to be reverting to an all-stick, no-carrot approach. But it has yet to answer why it believes economic warfare and bombing will yield a different result this time.