Disney and Pixar’s new film “Hoppers” is leading the North American box office with a strong debut, while Warner Bros.’ “The Bride!” is stumbling. Studio estimates on Sunday show “Hoppers” made $46 million in its first weekend domestically and $88 million globally after adding in international receipts. In the same weekend, “The Bride!” opened with about $7.3 million in North America and a total of $13.6 million globally, despite a big production budget. “Hoppers” is a boost for original Pixar movies after “Elio” failed to connect with audiences. Reviews and audience scores also favor “Hoppers.” Meanwhile “The Bride!” is collecting mixed reactions from audiences and critics.

Norwegian police are investigating an explosion outside the U.S. Embassy in Oslo. No injuries were reported. Police say they received reports of a “loud bang” or explosion around 1 a.m. Sunday. Police say the explosion was caused by some sort of incendiary device. Investigators believe the embassy was the target and are searching for any perpetrators and their motive.  The police security service called in additional personnel following the incident but hasn't changed Norway's terror threat level. The U.S. Embassy in Oslo referred media queries to the U.S. State Department which didn't immediately return a request for comment.

Women across the world will call for equal pay, reproductive rights, education, justice and decision-making jobs during demonstrations marking International Women’s Day. Officially recognized by the United Nations in 1977, International Women’s Day is commemorated in different ways and to varying degrees in places around the world. This years' theme is “Give to Gain.” It comes at a moment where many activists worry that the current political environment may result in a backsliding on many of the rights they’ve long fought for.

Iran’s national soccer team has finished the Women's Asian Cup group stage in Australia and now faces a return home to a country embroiled in war. Iran lost 2-0 to Philippines after earlier losses to South Korea and Australia in the group stage. The squad arrived in Australia before strikes by the U.S. and Israel on Iran. Players have mostly declined to comment on the war, although a muted anthem moment has sparked debate. The Australian Iranian Council has urged Australia’s government to protect the squad while it is still in Australia. It has launched an online petition that had more than 50,000 electronic signatures by kick-off in Iran's last group game.

North Carolina Democrats have had success in winning elections for governor. It's a different story in Senate races. A former governor is out to change that when Roy Cooper takes on Republican Michael Whatley in November. Whatley was Donald Trump's national Republican Party chairman. Republicans want to frame Cooper as too far left for a state that Trump won three times. That tactic will test Cooper’s bond with voters established across four decades of winning campaigns. Cooper wants to turn that narrative on its head. He says Whatley is a tool of “well-connected friends in Washington” who can't effectively represent the state.

President Donald Trump promised that 2026 would be a bumper year for economic growth. Instead it's kicked off with job losses, rising gasoline prices and more uncertainty about America’s future. In his recent State of the Union address, Trump said "the roaring economy is roaring like never before.” The latest batch of data on jobs, gasoline prices and the stock market suggests otherwise. There's a gap between the boom that Trump has predicted and the results he's produced. And that could set the tone in this year’s midterm elections as he tries to defend Republican majorities in the House and Senate.

As the Iran war widens, experts say the Middle East’s real strategic weak point may be water — not oil. Much of the Gulf’s drinking supply comes from desalination plants clustered along vulnerable coastlines within easy range of Iranian missiles and drones. Many of the individual plants supply water to millions of people. Without them, major cities could not sustain their current populations. In recent days, Iranian drones struck an energy facility that powers a desalination plant in the United Arab Emirates and sparked a fire at a desalination plant in Kuwait. Oil spills, contamination and sabatoge also could disrupt supplies of the freshwater that also sustains hotels, industry and some agriculture.

Israel has escalated its war with Iran with strikes in Lebanon and Tehran, and Iran has hit sensitive water sites in the Gulf. On Sunday, Israeli attacks ignited oil storage facilities in Tehran and left the capital under smoke. Iran says U.S. strikes also damaged a desalination plant on Qeshm Island. Bahrain says an Iranian drone damaged its desalination plant and wounded three people. Iranian leaders warned the conflict is driving oil prices higher and threatening supply. Iran’s president also threatened more attacks on U.S. targets as fighting spreads across the region.

Iranians are using a border crossing into Turkey as one of the only ways out during the war in Iran, with the country's airspace closed. A major influx of refugees has not yet materialized. Many people are crossing for work or family ties, while some have moved up planned trips. A few say they want to wait out the fighting in Turkey. Travelers say lack of money has prevented many others from fleeing. Some fly onward from Van, but flight cancellations have also disrupted plans. Turkish officials took measures to prepare for refugees after at one point hosting nearly 4 million Syrian refugees.

China says it hopes this year will be a “landmark year” in relations with the United States, as the two sides prepare for an expected leaders’ summit later this month. On Sunday, Foreign Minister Wang Yi tells reporters in Beijing that the two leaders have had “good exchanges” at the highest levels. U.S. President Donald Trump is due in Beijing near the end of March. While China did not confirm the summit, Wang says both sides have a ready agenda for discussions. The U.S. and China have tensions over issues from trade to national security.

Malaysian authorities say a renewed deep-sea search in the southern Indian Ocean has failed so far to find Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, twelve years after it disappeared. The Air Accident Investigation Bureau said Sunday that a seabed search conducted by marine robotics company Ocean Infinity between March 2025 and January 2026 surveyed thousands of square kilometers of ocean floor but has not produced any confirmed findings of the aircraft wreckage. Malaysia approved the hunt last year under a no-find, no-fee deal. The company gets paid only if it finds debris. Voice 370, a family advocacy group, is urging Malaysia to extend Ocean Infinity's contract, which runs until June.

George Russell wins a dramatic season-opening Australian Grand Prix, and Mercedes seals a one-two with Kimi Antonelli. It's Mercedes' 61st one-two result and first since 2024’s Las Vegas Grand Prix. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc jumps into the lead at the first corner and then trades positions with pole sitter Russell. On lap 12, a virtual safety car comes out after Isack Hadjar stops on track. Mercedes pits both cars and gains an edge. Leclerc finishes third as Ferrari’s slow reaction during the yellow flags cost the team. Lewis Hamilton takes fourth. Oscar Piastri crashes before the start and misses his home race.

Powerful storms tore through parts of Michigan and Oklahoma, leaving a trail of destruction that included flattened homes and scattered debris. Volunteers helped residents sift through rubble and begin cleanup as the threat of severe weather lingers across the nation’s…

West African cocoa farmers are facing a squeeze after the price of the global commodity crashed on the international market in recent months. Now some across Ghana and Ivory Coast are turning their land over to other purposes like mining sites. The two countries are responsible for nearly 70% of the world's supply of the commodity that feeds global chocolate cravings. Markets fluctuate, but one former agricultural union leader says authorities were not prepared for a crisis of this scale. Governments have long set the price for which farmers can sell their crop, but now the tradition is being challenged.

Alabama is marking the 61st anniversary of a key event in the Civil Rights Movement, when state troopers attacked voting rights marchers in Selma. The violence on March 7, 1965, shocked the nation and galvanized support for the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The annual commemoration pays homage to those who fought to secure voting rights for Black Americans. But the celebrations in Selma this weekend come as the U.S. Supreme Court considers a case that could limit a provision of the landmark legislation. Marchers are scheduled to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Sunday.