Iran's state news agency says the country's air defense batteries have fired after reports of explosions near a major air base at the city of Isfahan. It remains unclear if the country is under attack, but tensions remain high after Iran’s unprecedented missile-and-drone attack on Israel. Israel has vowed to respond to Iran’s unprecedented weekend attack, leaving the region bracing for further escalation after months of fighting in Gaza. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Friday's action in Iran. On Thursday, the U.S. vetoed a widely backed U.N. resolution that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for a state of Palestine. The U.S. and Britain also announced new sanctions on Iran.

A jury of 12 people has been seated in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial in New York. Alternates are now being selected. The rapid progress Thursday afternoon propels the case closer to opening statements and weeks of testimony in a case charging the Republican with falsifying business records to suppress stories about his sex life in the final days of the 2016 election. The jury includes a sales professional, a software engineer, an English teacher and multiple lawyers. The case centers on $130,000 Trump’s lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen paid to porn actor Stormy Daniels. Trump faces 34 felony counts. He denies any wrongdoing.

The White House says it's getting ready to welcome 40,000 people for its annual Easter Egg Roll. The egg-stravaganza was first held on the lawn in 1878. Guests this year will include thousands of military and veteran families, their caregivers and survivors. Members of the general public claimed tickets through an online public lottery. Monday's events will be held on the South Lawn and the Ellipse and will have an “egg-ucation” component to fit with Jill Biden's theme. The first lady is a career educator who still teaches English and writing at a northern Virginia community college.

The legendary American mountaineer Lou Whittaker has died at age 95. Whittaker is known for helping lead ascents of Mount Everest, K2 and Denali, and teaching generations of climbers during his more than 250 trips up Mount Rainier. Whittaker's guide company RMI Expeditions says he died peacefully at home Sunday. Whittaker and his twin brother Jim Whittaker grew up in Seattle and began climbing in the 1940s with the Boy Scouts. Jim Whittaker in 1963 became the the first American to summit Everest. While Lou Whittaker never summitted Everest himself, in 1984, he led the expedition that included the first successful American summit from the colder north side.

A Wisconsin museum and an historical group are launching a search for the wreckage of ace pilot Richard Bong's plane. Minnesota Public Radio reports that the Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center in Superior and the nonprofit World War II historical preservation group Pacific Wrecks announced the search on Friday. Bong, who grew up in Poplar, is credited with shooting down 40 Japanese aircraft. Another pilot was flying the plane, nicknamed Marge in honor of Bong's girlfriend, Marjorie Vattendahl, in 1944 when it crashed in what is now known as Papua New Guinea. Pacific Wrecks founder Justin Taylan plans to lead the search for the wreckage beginning in May.

A bill that would ban any “agent” of China from buying farmland in Georgia has passed the state House over the objections of Democrats who said it would lead to discrimination against Asian Americans. The bill passed Thursday after lengthy debate. It would ban agents of China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Russia who are not U.S. citizens or legal residents from owning farmland in Georgia unless they have spent at least 10 months of the previous year living in the state. The bill echoes measures already passed in numerous other Republican-leaning states. While it mentions other countries, lawmakers focused their debate on China. The bill now goes to the state Senate for consideration.