The federal deferred resignation program accepted by thousands of workers continues to cause confusion and concern. Now the courts are involved.

Wes Battle has been glued to the phone at his financial-planning office in Maryland for days, endlessly fielding calls from clients, most of whom work for the federal government. They all want to know the same thing in a hurry: Is the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s “fork in the road” offer a good deal financially?

Australia's iron ore export hub, the world's largest, braced on Friday for a powerful tropical cyclone, forcing the closure of all of the major commodity ports in the country's northwest as residents rushed to stock up on essential supplies.