The possible reopening of the Strait of Hormuz may not prompt China to return quickly to prewar levels of oil purchases from the Persian Gulf.

In a battle of symbols, the Catholics of Las Cruces, N.M., argue that religious freedom should stop the wall from scarring a mountain that has attracted pilgrims for nearly a century.

Federal prosecutors had been examining the circumstances behind the commutation of David Gentile’s sentence. He was aided by a Catholic priest friendly with the president.